No other series has done as much to demonstrate the breadth and depth of contemporary Chicago hip-hop as All Smiles. Launched seven years ago by rapper-singer Rich Jones, the intergenerational monthly showcase says goodbye tonight with a lineup that speaks to its long history of bringing together locals from different cliques and eras. Jones began All Smiles as a vehicle for his rap trio, SCC, which is now mostly defunct but makes a rare reunion appearance to open this show....

At least one thing became clear last year during the trial of the so-called NATO Three: the Chicago Police Department spied on citizens exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. We acquired the records from the department through a Freedom of Information Act request made last November. Specifically, we asked for copies of the paperwork required when police open what they call “First Amendment-related investigations,” which are “prompted by or based upon a person’s speech or other expression,” according to department rules....

Last year an independent Chicago rapper who found success while making bold, insightful tracks about black life on the city’s south side appeared onstage at Lollapalooza. I could be describing Chance the Rapper, but I’m actually talking about Elizabeth Harris, better known as Cupcakke. Sure, technically Lolla didn’t list her as one of the festival’s acts, but she showed up for Charli XCX’s performance, and according to Tribune critic Jessi Roti, Cupcakke turned out to be the “set savior....

ARTIST: Dan Grzeca SHOW: Dark Lord Day with Skeletonwitch, Eyehategod, Municipal Waste, Plague Bringer, Barrier, and Lord Mantis at Three Floyds on Sat 4/30 MORE INFO: dangrzeca.com

Al Pereira/WireImage/Getty Images RIP Ornette Coleman Reader staffers share stories that fascinate, alarm, amuse, or inspire us. • About Elizabeth Warren’s idea for debt-free college? —Drew Hunt • How to dude up Pride and Prejudice? (“Jane Austen receives feedback from Tim, a guy in her MFA workshop.”) —Aimee Levitt

Courtesy of Father John Misty’s Facebook page Father John Misty Father John Misty, the nom de troll of Joshua Tillman (formerly of Fleet Foxes), has streamed his new album I Love You, Honeybear a full two weeks ahead of its scheduled release. Sort of. The songwriter announced a “new music platform” called SAP that’s all about hearing music on demand at no cost to either the listener or the artist....

Let’s face it. Smoke from anything—a cigarette, a toasty campfire, the rusty tailpipe of the 36 Broadway bus—isn’t good for your lungs. That’s especially true now that they’re the primary target of a deadly virus. You better just eat it instead. There are a million cannabutter recipes online, many of them flawed and overcomplicated, resulting in green, swampy-tasting over- or underdosed butters, stripped of the full spectrum of the plant’s properties....

Sun-Times Mayor Harold Washington, shown here in 1986, dropped out of DuSable high school, then earned his degree in an unusual way. I’m sure Mayor Emanuel cares about Chicago’s children and wants them to have the best schooling possible. But maybe his interest in the city’s schools would be keener if he had a personal history with them—if he himself was a Chicago public school alum. That, however, hasn’t been true of many Chicago mayors....

Phoenix A. Matthews is a professor of clinical psychology and the Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion in the College of Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a 2019-2020 Public Voices Fellow with the Op-Ed Project. Infographic by Elizabeth Breen The data is clear: bathroom bills are needed to ensure the safety of women; however, it is transwomen who are most in need of legislative protections. For this population, sex-segregated public restrooms are contested spaces and obstacles to simply “peeing in peace....

Over the past few years, trumpeter Will Miller has beavered away on a bedroom jazz project called Resavoir while juggling other gigs, most notably in popular country-soul group Whitney. About a year ago Miller finally brought Resavoir to life, tapping into his network of talented Chicago friends to form a full-fledged band: saxophonist Irvin Pierce, bassist Lane Beckstrom, drummers Peter Manheim and Jeremy Cunningham, and keyboardist-vocalist Akenya Seymour. Some of these collaborators have, like Miller, made their names outside jazz; Beckstrom played in genre-splicing indie band Kids These Days, and Seymour served as bandleader for rapper Noname (that doesn’t even get into guests such as indie-pop wizard Knox Fortune and rapper, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Sen Morimoto)....

“For me hardcore has always been more of an adjective than a noun. Doing something to the utmost extreme.” Whether Rivera boasts about his label or not, it’s developed significant reach and influence, evident in its catalog of progressive underground-hardcore releases—including the demo from trans trailblazers G.L.O.S.S. and a Minutemen-influenced funk-punk LP from Seattle band Big Crux. Joining that catalog soon will be a behemoth two-tape compilation that features 90 minutes of music from 45 bands and a pair of zines, each with its own centerfold....

Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, September 28, 2016. Recent college grad and health coach killed riding her bike in Roscoe Village Anastasia Kondrasheva, 23, had recently graduated from Loyola University Chicago and was working as a health coach with the goal of eventually earning a medical degree. She was riding her bike near the intersection of Damen and Addison Monday when she was hit by a flatbed truck and killed....

Songs From the North Tonight at 6 PM South Korean-born, Massachusetts-based filmmaker Soon-Mi Yoo will introduce her documentary feature Songs From the North at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The movie represents an attempt to understand North Korean society on human terms, which alone makes it a must-see. In the West our understanding of the subject is informed primarily by North Korean propaganda and reports from outside news organizations, neither of which presents a clear picture of everyday life in that country....

Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place. In 1969 the Lovelites enjoyed their first hit with “How Can I Tell My Mom and Dad (That I’ve Been Bad).” Written by Patti Hamilton with producer and former Chi-Lites member Clarence Johnson, this downer ditty came out on Lock Records, cofounded by Johnson....

On Halloween a few years back, a train ride killed my vibe before I could even get to the party. To be clear, this isn’t about so-called political correctness. Rather, it’s about understanding how some costume choices promote harmful stereotypes, belittle the traditions of marginalized ethnic groups, or send the message that it’s fine to accessorize with other cultures “for fun” when the originators face everyday discrimination for just being themselves....

Q: First let me say that I think you give excellent advice, even if it is a bit pedestrian at times. I have a small problem: Last fall, my penis bent up and to the left at an almost 90-degree angle. I know from Google that this is not an unusual problem. And at 59, I am thankful that things are working as well as they are. But I fly gliders, and the relief system is a “Texas catheter” with a drain line to outside the glider....

While typically a time of year associated with relaxation and any number of festive activities, the holiday season in Chicago will look different this year due to COVID-19. “One of the main things we are considering is really trying to keep that Christkindlmarket family together [and] keep the feel of the market going,” she says. “And not sort of exclude those vendors that wouldn’t be able to come over, because they’re really something that is the heart of the market....

A Chicago Police Department document from 1989 that outlines (in absurd fashion) how to identify teens involved in ritualistic crime went viral on Twitter on Sunday. Not quite. The “satanic panic” was a very real case of mass hysteria that peaked in the 80s. Law enforcement played no small part in it. Hoooooooly crap guys. My sister is an art teacher in FLA, and she found this AMAZING document in her supply closet pic....

At 19, Chicago R&B singer and Zero Fatigue member Ravyn Lenae has proven herself a master at crafting odes to love. That’s partially because she’s open about the peculiar perplexities of being enamored with someone. On “Sticky,” the lead single from February’s Crush ­(Atlantic/Three Twenty Three), she sings about the cognitive dissonance brought on by loving an idealized version of a partner whose actions are out of sync with her expectations....

Last year, Chicago rapper Receo Gibson dropped a mixtape, a compilation of singles, and an EP, but he couldn’t shake the feeling he’d lost the thread. Now 26, he’d been rapping since age 18, and he’d built a promising career under the name Sage, the 64th Wonder. In 2016 local multimedia outlet 119 Productions put Sage’s “Purple Scope,” recorded with Pivot Gang cofounder MFn Melo, on Countdown 2 Midnight, a compilation that also features some of the biggest names in contemporary Chicago hip-hop—including Noname, Mick Jenkins, Saba, and King Louie....