Story by Ian Keller
Earlier this year, hip-hop artist and Chicago native R.A.P. Ferreira returned to the city to perform songs from his latest record, the First Fist to Make Contact When We Dap. Ferreira, alongside Randal B and Semiratruth performed at the checkerboard-floored and wood-accented Subterranean in Wicker Park, an excellent backdrop to the evening of abstract hip-hop to follow. The venue is three floors, entrance on the first floor, stage on the second floor, and a balcony area on the third floor. This allowed the small space of the venue to fit a large amount of people and gives everyone a good view.
The night began with a spectacular and immersive DJ performance by Randal B, full of tape loops and repeated mantras that got the crowd in a trance-like state. Alongside the mesmerizing lights of various colors cascading upon Randal and his DJ setup, the music was a perfect precursor to the second opening act, Semiratruth. Their beats / rap performance was highlighted by songs from their album “I Got Bandz For The Moonlandin’,” with songs like “We OFF! Bop” and “MY GAWD!”
Between sets, I got to speaking to other people around me, who were similarly excited to see R.A.P. Ferreira perform. Ferreira has been making music under a variety of pseudonyms for over a decade, starting his career as Milo, and eventually using a stylization of his own name, Rory Allen Phillip Ferreira. His brand of spoken-word, abstract hip-hop has carved himself a path to independent success, with which he has formed his very own label, Ruby Yacht, as well as founded his own record store in Nashville.
When Ferreira finally took the stage, the crowd became much quieter, and we eagerly awaited the opening to the set. In a bold move, Ferreira mostly strayed away from his decade plus long discography, and performed mostly from his latest album, which had only released days before this performance. However, this proved to be an excellent decision, as Ferreira gave us impassioned and captivating performances of new and inventive songs of his. Songs like “47 rockets taped to my chair (for dr. refaat alareer)” echoed through the audience and reverberated through our heads all night. “Bang, bang! Goes the blacksmith’s hammer again! Bang, bang!” In between cuts from the latest record, however, he did sprinkle a few fan favorites from his record Purple Moonlight Pages, like “CYCLES” and “LEAVING HELL.”
R.A.P. Ferreira is one of the most exciting and inventive artists in the independent music scene, and one who exemplifies how artists can realize their true creative visions in an independent sphere. Ferreira has carved a lane entirely of his own, and will continue to make waves across the music industry for quite some time. Ferreira will be back on tour across the western United States in support of the latest album, the First Fist to Make Contact When We Dap in early April.