Underground Spotlight: Supa Bwe

Monthly Listeners: 293,181 (September 2019)

Associated Acts: Chance The Rapper, Saba, Duffle Bag Buru

My Favorite Project: Finally Dead

My Favorite Tracks: I Hate Being Alive, PROBLEM/FUEL, Thot Goddess, Hating on Me, I Still Can’t Find Happiness, and The World Tournament (Year of the Dog).

Timeline: 2008-present 

Welcome to week two of the Underground Spotlight! For anyone who read week one, thank you! It warmed my heart to see all the feedback I got from y’all and just giving my articles a chance. Before I say who is in the spotlight for week two, I have to do a recap from last week. Larry League roasted the shit out of me. First of all, I am honored and second, they actually took the time to read something that my dumb ass created. Randy also gave me a follow on Twitter so this just gave me motivation to write more of these. So, I would like to thank Larry League for actually making my week. With that being said, let’s move on to week two!!

Who? 

On today’s spotlight, I have chosen Supa Bwe. One of Supa Bwe’s concerts was covered by two of my fellow Burbsenter’s (I think that is the correct terminology), Hunter and Jovan. After reading this, check out the pictures on the website!

 Supa Bwe is a Chicago rapper that is known for having a deep connection with Cole Bennett and Lyrical Lemonade. He has recently dropped a music video on the song “Look” featuring Qari and has repped some Lyrical Lemonade merch on their Instagram page. Musically, he is known for exceptional concert performances, electrifying instrumentals, and a powerful, distinct voice. He has been actively making music since 2008 with the former rap group “Hurt Everybody”, but really started to make waves in the music industry when he dropped his debut solo album “Finally Dead” in 2017. 

Why?

My first experience with Supa Bwe was in 2017 after he dropped his debut solo album. I read in an article that he was an upcoming Chicago rap artist, and after reading a short overview about his music, I gave him a shot. I was NOT disappointed. The first song I had ever heard from this man was “I Hate Being Alive”. The immense build up of this song is incredible. The song starts off with a man sounding as if he is pleading for his life with a horrifying chord that dominates the track. It then continues with Supa yelling vicious vocals that leaves the listener with sheer terror. Now, you are probably thinking, “Why would I want to be terrified while listening to music?” The answer to that question is quite simple: it motivates the shit out of you. His music possesses you with a prodigious amount of energy. His discography makes me want to run through a wall and dismantle everything that has ever caused wrongdoing to my lord and savior Supa. Ok, maybe not that much, but you get what I am saying. One aspect of his music that has always been alluring to me is the vocal discrepancy that Supa portrays. He has possibly one of the most distinct voices in all of hip-hop. He does, what I like to call, “controlled screaming”, which really makes his music a unique mix of heavy metal and rap. He has mentioned that he was a heavy metal lead singer at some point which really adds a different dynamic to his raps. His music is what the whippersnappers these days are calling “hype”, to say the least.

His grimy instrumentals and combination of his demonic flow really show the intensity that is prevalent in all of his tracks. As well as their diversity in his instrumentals, he covers a vast amount of different types of music. He has songs where he will talk about religion like “Entropy”. He has shown aspects of being political in his music. In the song “The World Tournament (Year of the Dog)”, he mentioned that he got the inspiration to write this song after he sold his father weed, which can exploit the corrupt legislation in Illinois and the detrimental hardships of living on the west side of Chicago. As the diversity and uniqueness of Supa’s music is fantastic, nothing is more exceptional than his performances in concert. Oh my goodness. I had the opportunity to see him at Lollapalooza in 2018 and wow, was it a concert. I dabbed the man up in concert and I have yet to wash my right hand. Supa was electric. During his 45 minute set, he jumped all over the stage, sang his heart out, and simply never lost energy. He bounced from song after song and kept the crowd engaged the whole performance, even going into a mosh pit with the crowd and performed “I Hate Being Alive”. His performances were on par with rappers like Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Mac Miller, and Tyler, the Creator and that is NOT an exaggeration. I have been blessed with the opportunity of seeing 75 different rappers in various music festivals and concerts and Supa is easily top tier.  

Supa is the current king of the underground (He even says the line “Gotta get my food taste-test” in the song PROBLEM/FUEL, like how is he not a king?). I believe that Supa is heavily slept on and I think that you all should check him out. If you are into rappers like JPEGMAFIA, $uicideboy$, or Xavier Wulf, you will be very inclined to listen to his music. He really knows how to get you excited and motivated. In the past month, he has released “Look” and “Animal” for his upcoming EP “Jaguar”. The inspiration for this EP was from a trip on acid where he said he saw himself as a “literal super predator” via his Instagram. So I mean, this EP is probably going to be insane. I really recommend y’all listen to my favorite tracks I have listed at the top and check out all of his new singles he dropped! Look out for him on future Cole Bennett music videos or on the Lyrical Lemonade Instagram. Well, that’s all I got. Peace!!