Most of you know flowsfordays is based out of Chicago, although we cover artists from around the world. I was a young adult when I directly experienced it becoming the most prosperious city for hip hop. Chief Keef, King Louie, Lil Durk, and more were the most prominent, until Vic Mensa, Chance the Rapper, and yes, Mick Jenkins came into the picture. Mick did his own thing, never following trends, and staying true to his artform.

My good friend and artist manager Barry always sends me fire from his client Izzy Strange, a dope MC that I post often. When I saw Izzy and Mick Jenkins recent collab, Halfway Crooks, I hit that SoundCloud link immediately. Izzy grabs the first verse, often sounding psychotic in his delivery and frustration of others complaining about life. Mick serves as the direct contrast – calm to the point of drowsiness, but with complete focus on his dizzying lyrics and direct delivery. Izzy even linked up with Chicago producer Nate Fox for the eerie, mid 90’s instrumental.

Halfway Crooks is the second single from Izzy Strange’s forthcoming mixtape Izzy Duz It, set to drop this Halloween.