Nuanced Chicago rapper Qari drops a rare solo releaseLeor Galilon July 12, 2021 at 5:00 pm

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For close to a decade, Chicago rapper Qari Delaney has been rattling off vivid, impressionistic lyrics with a level of nuance that suggests he’s privy to life lessons few others know. He broke through in the local scene in 2012 as part of Supreme Regime and solidified his stature after cofounding the trio Hurt Everybody in 2014.

Qari continued collaborating with Hurt Everybody producer Devin Smith, aka Mulatto Beats, after the trio broke up in 2016 (though they’ve since reunited). He also struck up a working partnership with rapper-producer GreenSllime, and their 2019 release, Operation Hennessy, is one of the best local hip-hop projects from the past few years.

Though he’s spent the great majority of his career in groups and collaborations, Qari also has solo tracks in his expanding catalog. At the end of June, he self-released the brief EP IGOTPROBLEMS, which emphasizes his soulful melodicism. He’s displayed it before–his bittersweet performance on Sen Morimoto’s 2020 track “Taste Like It Smells” has wrung a tear or two from my eyes–but never so consistently. IGOTPROBLEMS showcases Qari’s alluringly textured voice and brawny bars, and on the soothing “SOLO,” he sandwiches rapid rapped verses between half-sung hooks delivered with a gentle caress. v

The Listener is a weekly sampling of music Reader staffers love. Absolutely anything goes, and you can reach us at [email protected].

Nuanced Chicago rapper Qari drops a rare solo releaseLeor Galilon July 12, 2021 at 5:00 pm Read More »

Why it’s big news when a Black girl wins the Scripps National Spelling BeeShalini Shankaron July 12, 2021 at 6:20 pm

Editor’s note: When Zaila Avant-garde, 14, won the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee on July 8, 2021, she became the first Black American to win in the competition’s history. Shalini Shankar of Northwestern University, a scholar of spelling bees, breaks down the importance of this historical moment.

Why is it news that an African American won this championship?

It’s significant because not so long ago, Black children would have faced a lot of obstacles just to compete in this spelling bee.

In fact, Black children were routinely sidelined from participating on the national stage until well after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Even after schools were ordered to racially integrate in the late 1950s, spelling bees were largely all-white affairs, thanks to regional organizers who routinely found ways to keep interested Black children from advancing in the contest.

Avant-garde’s victory is also significant because, like with any sport, people love to celebrate new records. This one is especially welcome because with the exception of Jamaican Jody-Anne Maxwell’s win in 1998, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has never had a Black winner.

This can be attributed to decades of disadvantage in which Black schools had far fewer resources to help support and train students for activities like spelling bees. It may seem surprising, but specialized brain sports like the bee — and so many other kid contests today — require a great deal of expertise, such as spelling coaches.

What does it take to be a spelling bee champ?

Becoming a spelling bee champion requires several stars to align. First and foremost, one needs a love of the English language, especially philology — that’s the historical development of language — and etymology — the study of word origins and roots. Winners need an ability to build vast knowledge in these areas and summon it on demand in a competitive setting. Without this interest, the task of studying thousands of words per day, as elite spellers do, would be onerous at best.

Equally important, as I learned when researching my book “Beeline: What Spelling Bees Reveal about Generation Z’s New Path to Success,” is the parental support an aspirational speller receives in terms of day-to-day studying, expert coaching and access to commercial word lists and resources, such as those designed by coaching companies. The Scripps National Spelling Bee also distributes word lists. However, champions have told me that these are not extensive enough to address the increasing difficulty of the bee.

Zaila Avant-garde’s father realized her aptitude for spelling when she was around 10, which is relatively late for a contest in which eligibility ends after eighth grade, when most spellers are 14. Spellers I studied started competing as early as 6 or 7, making them far more comfortable with the format of the contest by age 10. Still, Zaila made astounding progress from her third-round elimination in 2019 which I witnessed in National Harbor, Maryland, when she misspelled the word “vagaries,” to winning it all in 2021.

That kind of transformation suggests a tremendous work ethic, extraordinary aptitude and a whole lot of parental investment and support.

What will it take to see more bee champs from diverse backgrounds in the future?

The against-all-odds success story featured in the 2006 fictional film “Akeelah and the Bee” underscores how vital the role of adult support and resources are to success. Now we have Zaila and the bee, which will hopefully attract a new generation of Black talent.

An actual win — versus fictionalized win — should serve as real inspiration to younger people, because until now aspiring Black children had no trailblazer. I believe Zaila will be very inspirational, like Venus and Serena Williams have been to a new generation of Black women tennis champions.

What’s especially interesting about Zaila’s path to the bee was that her father observed how fantastic her skills were when they watched the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee together. This raw talent got her to the national contest but kept her far from the final rounds — until she and her father learned about commercial word lists.

In her post-win interview, she noted using commercial word lists from a company called “Spell-Pundit,” created by former elite spellers, which according to them allowed her to study 13,000 words per day. This is the kind of edge that one needs to win a bee today, and it is fantastic that she was able to acquire these products to aid in her successful preparation. Ensuring that others with raw talent like hers have access to paid coaching resources is vital to continued diversity in this field.

Shalini Shankar is a professor of anthropology and Asian American studies at Northwestern University.

This article originally was published on The Conversation.

Send letters to [email protected].

Why it’s big news when a Black girl wins the Scripps National Spelling BeeShalini Shankaron July 12, 2021 at 6:20 pm Read More »

15-year-old girl shot and seriously wounded while riding in car in EnglewoodMohammad Samraon July 12, 2021 at 5:56 pm

A 15-year-old girl was shot and seriously wounded while riding in a car in Englewood on the South Side Monday morning.

The car was headed west in the 6900 block of South Halsted Street when shots were fired around 11:20 a.m., Chicago police said.

The girl was hit in the upper leg and was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition, police said.

The car struck another car before coming to a stop, police said. No one was in custody.

15-year-old girl shot and seriously wounded while riding in car in EnglewoodMohammad Samraon July 12, 2021 at 5:56 pm Read More »

Shohei Ohtani will be AL’s All-Star Game starting pitcherRonald Blum | Associated Presson July 12, 2021 at 6:23 pm

DENVER — Shohei Ohtani will be the American League’s starting pitcher in Tuesday’s night’s All-Star Game and will bat leadoff, too, as the designated hitter in another landmark for the two-way Japanese sensation.

A 27-year-old in his fourth major league season with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani is the first two-way starter in the history of the All-Star Game, which began in 1933.

“I was actually not expecting to be chosen as a pitcher at all,” Ohtani said Monday through a translator. “It’s a huge honor and I’m going to try my best.”

Ohtani has generated huge buzz across baseball for his exploits at the plate and on the mound. He leads the majors with 33 home runs and is 4-1 with a 3.49 ERA in 13 starts.

“This is what the fans want to see,” said AL manager Kevin Cash of Tampa Bay.

The AL’s starting lineup for the showcase at Coors Field was announced Monday. The National League lineup announcement was to follow.

Ohtani was elected to start at DH by fans and was voted to the AL pitching staff by fellow players. He’s hitting .279 with 70 RBIs, trailing only Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (73) and Boston’s Rafael Devers (72).

On the mound, Ohtani has struck out 87 and walked 35 in 67 innings. His fastball averages 93.8 mph, essentially the same as the 93.7 mph exit velocity of balls off his bat, tops among qualified major league batters.

Ohtani is the most accomplished two-way player since Babe Ruth, who last pitched regularly in 1919. Fans were to see him in action starting Monday night in the Home Run Derby.

Ohtani will become the second Japanese pitcher to start an All-Star Game after Hideo Nomo in 1995 and the third Asian. Hyun Jin Ryu of South Korea started in 2019.

A rules change this year for the All-Star Game will allow Ohtani, listed as a DH, to be treated as two individual players and remain as a hitter when he is removed as a pitcher.

“I begged Major League Baseball to tweak the rule,” Cash said.

The All-Star Game returns this year after the cancellation of the 2020 event at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles due to the coronavirus pandemic, which delayed Opening Day until July 23.

This year’s game was scheduled for Atlanta’s Truist Park, but baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred Manfred announced April 2 that the event would be moved because of Georgia’s new election law, which critics say will suppress voting in communities of color.

Four days later, Manfred said this year’s game would be played at Coors Field, which held its only previous All-Star Game in 1998.

Because of last year’s cancellation, Dodger Stadium will host the All-Stars in 2022.

Shohei Ohtani will be AL’s All-Star Game starting pitcherRonald Blum | Associated Presson July 12, 2021 at 6:23 pm Read More »

Shohei Ohtani not best choice to start for AL in All-Star Game, White Sox’ Lance Lynn saysDaryl Van Schouwenon July 12, 2021 at 6:29 pm

BALTIMORE — Shohei Ohtani is emerging as the face of Major League Baseball in 2021, and he’ll be a focal point of All-Star Week in Denver.

The Angels’ two-way phenom leads the major leagues with 33 home runs, many of them of the prodigious third- and fourth-deck variety, and Monday he was named the starting pitcher for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game As players often like to say, that’s cool.

But White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn is one AL All-Star who isn’t warming up to the idea.

“I mean, half the innings as anybody else, to start the game is probably not the best [choice] among the players,” Lynn told the Sun-Times. “There are quite a few people who’ve had better first halves, for sure.”

Ohtani, voted in as a DH and selected by the players as a pitcher — the first player named an All-Star as both position player and pitcher — is 4-1 with a 3.49 ERA in 13 starts over 67 innings. Lynn is 9-3 with a 1.99 ERA in 16 starts over 90 2/3 innings, and Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon is 7-3 with a 2.31 ERA over 89 2/3 innings. Lynn’s ERA and 214 ERA+ lead the AL.

So will Rodon.

“Oh, yeah. Of course I would,” Rodon said. “Wouldn’t you?”

“Whatever happens, happens. Hopefully it’s me or Lance. We’ll see.”

Lynn, 34, was an All-Star in 2012. Ohtani has pitched more than half the innings of the other starter candidates, but Lynn’s point is well taken. Ohtani is averaging five innings per start. His pizzazz, however, lies in being a very good pitcher and leading the majors in homers and slugging percentage.

“He’s hitting home runs and he’s doing the Home Run Derby,” Lynn said, “but MLB obviously wants to do their thing and it is a game that means nothing now. So whatever makes the fans happy.”

Lynn and Rodon haven’t been given any indication about who might start.

“You don’t know,” Lynn said. “When you think you’ve figured it out, MLB does something different. We’ll have to wait and see on that one.”

Lynn also said he would rather wear a White Sox uniform than the team uniforms players are wearing this year. In half a season, he has made a connection to the South Side, and he would rather show the Sox’ -colors in Denver.

“Most definitely. When you’re looking at the team you play for, and you’re able to represent them with the jersey, I feel like it would be a cooler feeling if you were wearing the natural jersey you wear during the year,” he said. “I don’t even know what that is.”

Lynn, Rodon, closer Liam Hendriks and shortstop Tim Anderson will represent the Sox. Lynn would like to see four of them lined up for pregame introductions in Sox colors. Unless one of them is the starter warming up in the bullpen, of course.

“It’s cool to have an All-Star jersey, but that’s what the Home Run Derby and workout day is for,” he said.

In any event, “It should be fun,” Lynn said. “My kids are older, so you can have more fun. When you’re young, it’s hectic. When you’ve been around a little bit, you can enjoy it more.”

“It’s an honor and something you dream of as a kid,” Rodon said. “It’s nice to finally achieve that.”

Shohei Ohtani not best choice to start for AL in All-Star Game, White Sox’ Lance Lynn saysDaryl Van Schouwenon July 12, 2021 at 6:29 pm Read More »

Five Things: The Surprising History of CosmeticsLynette Smithon July 12, 2021 at 6:25 pm

1

Makeup rigged the Chicago judicial system. “In the 1920s, a string of women killers arrested for murder … were housed together at Cook County Jail … where they discovered that the city’s court system favored white women who used makeup to look wealthy and beautiful,” writes Rae Nudson in All Made Up: The Power and Pitfalls of Beauty Culture, From Cleopatra to Kim Kardashian (out July 13). One was Sabella Nitti (above left), an Italian immigrant accused of killing her husband. Called a “dumb, crouching, animal-like peasant” by the Chicago Daily Tribune, she was demonized — until her attorney gave her a makeover. With meticulously plucked eyebrows, defined lips, and a bob, Nitti came to embody the modern American woman, and her charges were eventually dropped. Sound familiar? She and her companions on “Murderess Row” inspired the musical Chicago.

2

Cosmetics helped Empress Wu of China take the throne. A merchant’s daughter who became a concubine to Emperor Taizong, Wu “cultivated her image by wearing lavish cosmetics to indicate her rising status,” writes Nudson. At Taizong’s deathbed, Wu began a flirtation with his son Gaozong, who later made her empress. Upon his death in 683, Wu became the only woman in China’s history to rule the country.

3

Black beauty salons were hubs for political organizing. These parlors provided safe spaces where African American women could convene and talk about the politics of the day. Take Lucille Green Randolph, whose New York City salon, which catered to the Black elite, distributed — and helped finance — her husband’s socialist newspaper, the Messenger.

4

Despite legend, suffragettes likely did not sport red lipstick. “Makeup myths are everywhere,” Nudson writes, including this one about how advocates of women’s voting rights signaled their rebellion. In reality, they needed to appear respectable to be taken seriously, and during the early 1900s, cosmetics were taboo in upper-class society.

5

Theatrical makeup protected Hong Kong protesters from surveillance. In 2019, to make themselves unrecognizable, pro-democracy demonstrators painted their faces like the Joker’s: white base, an overdrawn smile, blue eye shadow, and a red nose.

Five Things: The Surprising History of CosmeticsLynette Smithon July 12, 2021 at 6:25 pm Read More »

Summer 2021: When Chicago festivals, events have returned, been rescheduledJohn Silveron July 12, 2021 at 5:39 pm

Improving coronavirus numbers have made more summer events possible. Here’s the latest updates on this year’s changing entertainment landscape.

John Silver

Updated

Jul 12, 2021, 12:39pm CDT

Summer 2021: When Chicago festivals, events have returned, been rescheduledJohn Silveron July 12, 2021 at 5:39 pm Read More »

Chicago Cubs: 1 pitch is key for their first-round draft pickVincent Pariseon July 12, 2021 at 5:00 pm

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: A Chicago Cubs hat in the dugout during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on June 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) — WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 27: A Chicago Cubs hat in the dugout during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on June 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

The Chicago Cubs made a very good selection last night in Jordan Wicks out of Kansas State. He is a left-handed pitcher that has a plus command which is something that the Cubs need to build on. They have been lousy at developing pitching over their last 10 years and that caused their potential dynasty to turn into a one-off. Now, they will begin working on Wicks and getting him to the level we all know he can get to.

The Chicago Cubs need to make sure that Jordan Wicks has everything he needs to succeed.

Wicks is known out of college for one special feature. He so clearly has the best changeup in the entire draft class. It is a great pitch to be the best at for a lot of reasons. For one, he doesn’t have to develop it as much as he does his fastball and breaking pitch. Most pitchers have those two a little more ready and have the changeup to work on.

That doesn’t apply to Wicks. It is going to allow him to move along through the Chicago Cubs system very quickly. He could be in AA by as early as next season. Who knows, he could even be in AAA by the end of the year with the hopes of starting 2023 with the Cubs. That would be amazing for them in terms of the retool they are trying to do on the fly.

Out of every player taken in the first round last night, Wicks might be the first to actually make it not a Major League roster. He might not have as high of a ceiling on the mound as someone like Jack Leiter or Kumar Rocker but he could step into the big leagues much sooner. That changeup is a big reason why.

When you look towards the other side of town, you will see multiple studs on the Chicago White Sox using the changeup to their advantage. Lucas Giolito used it to go from one of the worst starters in the American League to one of the best in short order. That is an extreme advantage that Wicks will be working with as he continues in his development.

As mentioned before, the Cubs were awful with pitcher drafting/developing over their good years. That is a big reason they are about to rebuild instead of entering the second phase of their championship window. Adbert Alzolay is looking like a promising young pitcher and they can only hope that Wicks joins him atop the rotation one day. His big changeup will be a big key for him.

Chicago Cubs: 1 pitch is key for their first-round draft pickVincent Pariseon July 12, 2021 at 5:00 pm Read More »