Many readers will be aware that something is happening in the Chicago underground music scene. ‘New Chicago’ is the term that’s come to define the diverse musical output that is displacing drill as the region’s dominate sound.

At the forefront of ‘New Chicago’ is Thirteendegrees. Among the first to coin the movement, as well as one of its most engaging contributors, Thirteen is a Southside native whose last twelve months have put him on the national radar.

His aesthetic is the first thing many will notice. 2010s Tumblr, bordered images, iPhone 4 grain. It’s easy to call it nostalgia bait, and many have. But as is always the case when a buzzword critique gains traction, the negativity lacks nuance. Thirteen’s sound, like his look, is anything but copy-and-paste.

“Everything comes from somewhere,” Thirteen has said. We agree. Many contemporary artists who fancy themselves to be referencing nothing at all are in fact just copying whatever is contemporary. Intentionally referencing the past, while it stands out, often involves less imitation that doing some that feels falsely ‘new.’

Thirteen’s originality is obvious when you listen to the music. A superficial familiarity breaks down into a novel sound. Thirteen’s flows are inventive, his inflection unique. The comparison to early Young Thug is apt, but not exhaustive. There’s depth and range in Thirteen’s vocals, and his production brings back a grandeur that we’ve missed in hip hop.

Not to mention the fact that his aesthetic, both visually and sonically, is ever-shifting. His single ‘Palace’ was shot in hi-fi, and its cover announces a new design language for his upcoming album, Black Fridayz. We spoke to Thirteen about the album, his life and times, New Chicago, formative moments, favorite social media platforms, pastimes, and more. Read on.

-

Welcome: What's your story? How did you get into music?

Thirteendegrees: I'm from Chicago, the Southside to be exact. I hooped in college but dropped out cuz the hoop shit wasn't going the way I envisioned it. My passions were fashion and music. First I took the fashion route. I was one of them fit pic archive types back in 2021, 2022.

The reason I got into music is this girl I was talking to from Atlanta. This was like end of 2022. We were talking about the Chicago underground. We were like, who in Chicago is really popping in the underground? We couldn't think of anybody that had a distinct movement going on. When we talked about that, I felt like that was a lane I could put myself in.

Welcome: Where did you play basketball in college?

Thirteendegrees: I went to Moraine Valley Community College. It's in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. Then I went to a school in San Antonio, Texas called Our Lady of the Lake. I played point guard. I still hoop from time to time, getting the cardio in.

Welcome: Since you began making music, the Chicago underground space has become more vibrant. Today, people talk about New Chicago sound. What is New Chicago to you?

Thirteendegrees: Right. Everybody said that now. I remember back, end of 2023, when I was a year or two into making music, me and my guys were thinking: ‘what can we do to shake up the underground space in Chicago?’ We wanted to show people across the world that Chicago is not just a bad city, shooting people, this and that. We got creatives, fashion designers, artists talking about different topics not centered around the drill shit. My homie Don was like, ‘we should call ourselves the “New Chicago.”’ It’s about showing people a whole different light to the city than what TikTok show you, what IG show you.

Welcome: When did you start recording, and at what point did you start to find your sound?

Thirteendegrees: First time I recorded I looked up: ‘how can I record music the easiest way without going to the studio?’ I saw GarageBand and BandLab. GarageBand looked too hard. BandLab looked easy. I was in my car after work, playing around with the autotune. First couple songs I made, it was just straight a cappella, no beat. Then I found a YouTube beat, but I didn’t know how to download it and transfer it to BandLab, so I had to screen record it and put it into BandLab.

That month I was just trying to find myself. I remember the first post I made. It was literally just me screeching in a fucking microphone over a video of me downtown. After that I just kept going, meeting different people into music, asking for advice, studying the game. It led me to this interview right now, always being a sponge, working hard, staying at it.

Welcome: Do you still record on your phone?

Thirteendegrees: Still record off my phone to this day.

Welcome: How does your writing process go? Do you freestyle, punch in, or sit down pen and paper?

Thirteendegrees: Before I record, I have to write. I don’t listen to a beat and then write a song on it. I usually listen to an artist I’m into at that moment, and they say a word that catches my attention. Then I write from there. Or I think about experiences I had and write it down. I write till I’m tired or feel like it’s good enough to record. When I record, I use some of what I wrote, but I also freestyle so it don’t put me in a box. I want some type of substance when I’m rapping. I don’t want to just say like ‘fucking this bitch’, I want substance, but also freedom. If I catch a flow, I catch a flow.

Welcome: Who are you listening to right now?

Thirteendegrees: I’ve been listening to a lot of old Drake — Take Care, Thank Me Later Drake. I’ve been listening to MIA, Santigold, Rylo Rodriguez. And for the new guys, Fakemink, Feng, Lil2Posh. That’s really about it right now.

Welcome: I'd be curious to hear how you define your own sound. I see ‘luxury trap’ in your bio. How would you describe it to someone who's never heard your music?

Thirteendegrees: It gives you a strike of–I hate to say the buzzword–but that strike of nostalgia, but then it also sounds fresh and unique. You’ve probably heard this drum or 808 or melody, but the bars, flows, and added instruments that intertwine with that sound gives you a weird feeling. Like, it made me feel one way, but it can make me feel this other way too. Or it sounds like this, but it sounds like some new shit.

Welcome: You’re right that Nostalgia has become this buzzword people apply to everything. Why do you think people are so obsessed with this idea of nostalgia right now? Why does everyone want to put you and other artists like Fang, like Mink, in the nostalgia box?

Thirteendegrees: I just feel like as generations of music come up, it’s always a box people try to put the new guys in the underground in. Like 2021 underground scene: “Oh, they just copying off Playboi Carti.” In 2022: “Oh, he trying to sound like Lone.” Every year, it’s always certain names, topics, words that are trendy. So they just slap that on without trying to digest the music, listen to the lyrics, the beats. There’s always going to be a trendy hate word or trendy word to try to put an artist down.

Welcome: And just because people aren’t referencing the 2010s doesn’t mean they’re doing something original. They’re just referencing a song that came out this year. An older reference stands out more, but maybe it isn’t less original. People are always using something.

Thirteendegrees: We in the internet age where everything’s available. There’s still shit that can be done, but everything comes from the past or an idea from the past. Like we think about all the innovative artists we know, the Uzis, the Cartis, the Leans, but when you dial it down, everything they do comes from something in the past, with a splash of their own swag. I don’t know why fans, kids, supporters don’t keep that in mind. Shit just gets trendy, and they just say what everybody saying. I try to block that out.

Welcome: Tell us about your visual aesthetic on Instagram. How did you arrive at that style?

Thirteendegrees: I started taking pics on my iPhone 4 in like 2023. This was peak Opium, everybody dressing all black, boots, fit pics. I always loved the 2010s. I grew up in that time. Artists I listened to, the swag. I used to be on Tumblr even before swag, always scrolling. I found my iPhone 4 in storage and I’m just playing with it. I was just taking fit pics on there. Then it just turned to this whole thing I’m doing. It’s me. It’s not just, "Oh, I need an image to hop on to get attention." The music I make, the music I listen to, I actually enjoy it. I’m actually outside doing shit. It’s not something to just hop on and hope I blow up from it.

Welcome: What were you into in the 2010s?

Thirteendegrees: Just being a kid, enjoying life. Everything was over the top. With hip-hop–artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Lil Wayne–they made hip-hop but it was touching pop audiences. It was touching the whole world. It was this big extravagant thing. Every artist back then had their own image. We knew what Drake was going to dress like. We knew what Nicki Minaj was going to dress like. We knew what Lil Wayne was going to dress like. Every artist had to have their own swag. You couldn’t bite on the next person and go up. It wasn’t like that, cuz the internet wasn’t as available. That’s one thing I try to grasp with my image and my music. But I was just being a kid. Just being free and fun. That’s how I try to view life, my music, what I’m trying to portray: fun, energetic, not thinking too much. Life right now kind of too serious.

Welcome: You mentioned you were on Tumblr in those days. What was that like?

Thirteendegrees: Yeah, I was definitely on Tumblr, but I was on a whole different side. Strictly ghetto hip-hop: Chief Keef, Waka Flocka, 2 Chainz. I was just on that, cuz I’m from Chicago and shit. I was kind of “weird,” but my environment was just straight hood shit. I wasn’t hood myself. I got some hood in me, but I was just on straight drill, drill this, drill that. That’s all I was listening to.

Welcome: What’s your favorite social media?

Thirteendegrees: Tumblr still. It’s a refresher, just something I can chill at. Twitter is chaotic. I tweet one thing and it’s three, four hate comments under it. Instagram, everybody trying to have the best post, best video. People trying to be the biggest star, have everything curated. Tumblr, you don’t need that. You just post a pic. People don’t care about numbers, algorithms. We just vibe, look at cool pics. It’s a whole little community, and I really fuck with that.

Welcome: What do you think the internet’s impact is on underground music right now, for you and for your peers?

Thirteendegrees: The internet…I won’t say it gives everybody a chance, but kind of. You don’t know what’s going to blow up. In my experience, expectations for underground artists are low right now. It’s more image-based than music-based. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of talented artists, but if the image is crazy or followable, people will try to digest the music even if they don’t fuck with it. That’s really the impact. And music doesn’t have to be overly serious. Doesn’t have to be mixed and mastered by the best, or radio-type beats. You can add so many different instruments, different genres. It breaks that stigma, especially in hip-hop.

Welcome: What about on the fashion side? You curate very good outfits. How do you approach fashion these days?

Thirteendegrees: I just like what I like. I don’t try to follow trends or see what’s hot. What I wear is what I wear, outside the camera, on camera. That’s how I approach it. Whatever I’m comfortable with, whatever I feel fly in, I’ma pop out. Whether I’m recording, taking a pic, or chilling with friends.

Welcome: Your recent music video for ‘Palace’ was high def instead of iPhone 4. How’d you make that call?

Thirteendegrees: Just to differentiate the eras. Clique City Vol. 2, Clique City was graphics, low-quality, shit you’d see back in the day. That was the direction: fun, simple. But Black Fridayz is luxurious, above and beyond. Want to show we getting mature with the swag, video concepts, where we shoot, the cameras we use. I got different bags in me. I can show different sides, not just one. Creative direction was me, my videographer Cole Grazen (he shot and edited it), and my homie X. The song’s called ‘Palace,’ so we found a place that looked like a damn palace. We curated the girls, told them what to wear, and rocked out from there.

Welcome: Do you have a plan to continue to evolve your aesthetic and image over time?

Thirteendegrees: Oh yeah, definitely. With this whole Black Fridayz shit, since I kind of blew up with Problem Solving, people kind of expecting that. So I want to have a little shift, but keep it familiar with the audience I built. I want to show people different sides to me, not just one thing. I’m preparing them for the years to come. Black Fridayz is the perfect way to show that.

Welcome: What’s a fact about you that people wouldn’t expect?

Thirteendegrees: I do yoga every day. 15 minutes every morning.

Welcome: What’s your most prized possession?

Thirteendegrees: My Givenchy Rottweiler t-shirt. That’s the staple of the whole 2010 saga. That shirt’s so fucking iconic. So many people wore it.

Welcome: What’s a normal day in the life look like?

Thirteendegrees: I do yoga, meditate, probably go record, take a walk, get my mind right. Then wherever the day takes me. If I got a shoot, I go. If I want to shop, I do that. At night, whatever. But the morning routine I have to do or I’ll crash out.

Welcome: Are you into any other kind of media? Film, books?

Thirteendegrees: I’m like a little kid. I watch a bunch of YouTube. Video game mysteries, video game reviews, people hunting, going out in the wilderness and living there for a week, eating whatever. That’s what I be watching.

Welcome: What’s one worry you have about the future?

Thirteendegrees: AI. How powerful it can be. I’m already noticing jobs could get taken. I feel like over the years there might barely be any jobs left. Reminds me of Wall-E. People just sitting on an aircraft with a screen in front of them, getting fat, not even knowing what’s going on. They eating and consuming whatever’s on screen. I feel like the world getting to that spot. We got a chance to change it, but that’s one worry I do have.

Welcome: What’s next for Thirteendegrees?

Thirteendegrees: Black Fridayz coming out. I got shows lined up. That’s my main focus.

-