Chicago hip-hop label Closed Sessions looks to the future on its 15th anniversary 

DJ Muggs I’m not surprised that Closed Sessions landed a west-coast star as big as Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs to headline its 15th-anniversary party. The Chicago label has done impressive work not only flying the flag for midwestern hip-hop artists but also establishing their work as part of a larger continuum, connecting MCs and producers throughout the country who are inspired by their reverence for the culture’s history. Tonight’s bill is otherwise full of local artists whose careers are intertwined with the Closed Sessions story. Loquacious lyricist Defcee will revisit his partnership with producer BoatHouse, which has already produced one of the best Chicago hip-hop albums of this decade, 2022’s For All Debts Private and Public. Last month, multifaceted rapper, producer, and DJ GreenSllime (who appears on several Closed Sessions releases) dropped a collaborative album with Chicago rapper-producer Iceface, the foggy, cerebral Wolves Eat Goats. Rapper and producer SolarFive (who collaborated with local producer Custom Made on last year’s Paved With Good Intentions) has helped shape the city’s indie hip-hop scene with the beat collective OnGaud. Veteran producer DJ Rude One is still plugged into newer voices on the scene; last year he released a full-length with outre Rochester MC...