Chicago based hip-hop media company iLLANOiZE is hosting the third installment of its Let’s Get Social event series, a music showcase featuring rising hip-hop and R&B artists from across Chicagoland. The Let’s Get Social series is the brainchild of hip-hop artist Bekoe, the founder of iLLANOiZE. Bekoe launched iLLANOiZE in 2012 with the clothing line iLLANOiZE Apparel, a brand inspired by the meteoric rise of the Chicago hip-hop scene.
It was with this in mind that Bekoe began the Let’s Get Social music showcase. He uses the social media engagement of the Chicago hip-hop audience to determine the lineup for each event. The iLLANOiZE Radio team takes into account how often and how effectively each artist communicates with his or her fan base, then they share their music via iLLANOiZE social media pages and gauge the response from their own audience. “Social media can sometimes be superficial but it can also show you who’s putting in the [groundwork] to get themselves heard,” says Bekoe. Ultimately, though, it is the quality of the music that trumps all. That distinction was especially important to Law tha Dragon who, along with Mika Luciano, is slated to perform at the showcase as The Wonder Twins.
“I want everything we’re doing in the music business send the message that this is possible to do, even while we’re young,” says 18-year-old producer turned rapper Rick Stevenson. “People like Bekoe giving us this platform is necessary in being able to do that.”
