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Rising Chicago Rappers You Need to Know – Complex
Song You Need to Know: Lil Zay Osama, ‘Changed Up’ – Rolling Stone
His ragged debut ‘Hood Bible’ became an Auto-Tuned manifesto for the streets and proved what Lil Zay could accomplish in quieter moments, with reflective music that felt more sorrowful about the past than anchored by tall tales. – Pitchfork
Looking at Osama’s career so far, you’ll see that forging his own path has made him into one of Chicago’s most well-known burgeoning rap stars. For nearly the last three years, Osama’s pensive street music has become the soundtrack to the city’s newest trap movement. – DJ Booth
Lil Zay Osama makes “pain music.” That’s what the South Side native calls his combination of raw, gripping lyrics and a passionate delivery. One of Chicago’s most captivating young voices, the 23-year-old pens heart-wrenching street narratives riddled with eulogies for tragically lost family and friends. With booming drums and poignant melodies, somber trap production scores Zay’s tear-stained memoirs, auto-tune accentuating the hurt embedded in every syllable. It’s a sound that’s resonated far and wide, yet these songs talk directly to those born in the trenches. Since he arrived in 2019, Zay has continued to touch fans. His music encapsulates his greatest strengths and the emotional impact of his heaviest songs conveying the callousness of Chicago street life. A departure from the more celebratory Hood Bible (2019), which Zay recorded while glowing from signing to Warner Records, his latest duology Trench Baby and the recent Trench Baby 2 distill decades of unsettling truths and hard-earned wisdom.Trench Baby 2 as well as the follow-up deluxe edition, which included an array of street hits from “Rumors,” “Ride for Me” (with Jackboy)” to fan-anthems “61st to 64th,” and “We’ll Be Straight.” A gifted storyteller and melodic virtuoso, Zay is able to maneuver between different moods from drill to trap ballads, earning him the praise of XXL, Pitchfork, HipHopDX, Complex and more.
Press Releases
Lil Zay Osama and PGF Nuk Lay Their Cards on the Table in “Trim” Video
Lil Zay Osama Shares Video for Heartfelt “Have You Ever” from Trench Baby 3
Lil Zay Osama & Fredo Bang Star in “Set Up” Video from Trench Baby 3
Lil Zay Osama Explores Duality of Chicago Life in ‘Trench Baby 3’ Mixtape
Lil Zay Osama Teams With Lil Durk for Gritty Single “F*ck My Cousin Pt. II”
Press Photos
