Big Krit Live From The Underground Zip

The projects have played backdrop to many of rap's greatest fairy tales. Jay-Z slung his way through Marcy Houses, Prodigy survived LeFrak City, Ol' Dirty Bastard characterized the Whitman Houses as a zoo and Nas used Queensbridge Houses as cover art to illustrate his struggle. But while images of the projects, and those who live in them, often get boiled down to one dimension, the distinct ethnic enclave born from these worlds is rarely highlighted.

Big Krit Live From The Underground Zip

Chicago-born MC Open Mike Eagle does just that as he brings The Robert Taylor Homes to life for his 2017 album Brick Body Kids Still Daydream. The Robert Taylor Homes were demolished in 2007, but once stood as the nation's largest public housing project. Mike grew up in those projects by way of relatives who lived there. For the rapper, the Homes held experiences and stories that helped shape his identity. From the pragmatic and powerful "Brick Body Complex" to the listless "(How Could Anybody) Feel at Home" and the sorrowful "My Auntie's Building," Mike spits from an array of different perspectives, almost as if he's living in a memory of the place he grew up.