Real Ones: A Project FILO Podcast

Entertaining Atlanta rapper Vayda recently stopped in Chicago while opening for Veeze on his "Ganger" tour. We caught up with her outside the venue to talk about her whirlwind 2023, that time when Doechii commented on one of her TikToks, the realest song she's ever made, paranoia and more. Click HERE to listen to Vayda's new album 'Forrest Gump' Keep Up with Real Ones Web...

We sat down with writer, A&R, photojournalist and activist Isiah Veney, aka Thought Poet. for an insightful conversation about the state of Chicago music, why he's stuck around in the city this long, learning to "positively take up space," his criteria for working with artists, and more. KEEP UP WITH THOUGHT POET: http://instagram.com/thoughtpoet77 https://twitter.com/thought_po...

Ten days before she took off for sunny Los Angeles, we sat down with singer-songwriter Ebony Loren about her favorite memories of living in Chicago, being a voice major during online school, languages she wants to learn and more. KEEP UP WITH EBONY LOREN: https://twitter.com/ebonylorenmusic http://instagram.com/ebonyloren http://tiktok.com/@ebonylorenmusic KEEP UP WITH REAL ONES: http://twitter.co...

Right before the release of his EP 'Hasta La Dorada' we caught up with LA-based, Chicago-raised Latin indie artist Danny Schiller to chat about how the project came together, his past as a soccer player, who he would most want to tour with, his philosophy when it comes to making music and much more. KEEP UP WITH DANNY: TWITTER | INSTA | TIKTOK KEEP UP WITH REAL ONES: TWITTER | INSTA | TI...

Rising pop-punk musician SAIAH joins Ben on Season 2, Episode 10 of Real Ones, recorded right before the release of their single "radio.fm." Topics include how they were first drawn to punk rock music, recording "Cheater" with Tom The Mail Man, touring with RIZ LA VIE & Guardin, getting booked for their first festival opening for Beach Fossils, preparing to move to Los Ange...

This convo with Juwan Elcock of BLK ODYSSY happened back in January. He's since opened for Cordae on a US tour,  dropped the deluxe version of debut album BLK VINTAGE featuring Baby Rose, Mereba & Benny the Butcher, and announced his first-ever headlining tour. Things are going up. Keep up with the latest BLK ODYSSY news here / the BLK REVOLUTION TOUR COMES TO CHICAGO AUGUST 27 at SLEEPIN...

We get the chance to sit down with Your Stepdad about his strong month of April, how he's built buzz on TikTok, why every huge underground rapper is so young, and much more. Keep up with Stepdad: Instagram @deflynotdoowop TikTok @yoursteppops NEW PLAYLIST additions (courtesy of CXR's Collin Donovan): Kendrick Lamar - Mother I Sober Dende - Round Trip to Atlanta Noah - Revelations Kehlani...

Ben sits with Chicago's Nina Tech to talk about their latest single/video combo "Love Show," influences from the 80s, favorite places in Chicago, the foundations of drill and more! Keep up with Nina: Instagram @ninatechxx Twitter & TikTok @ninawthetech NEW PLAYLIST additions: Sports Boyfriend - Crying in July grouptherapy. - Pink Papers Groupthink - Guilty Pleasure Pink Siifu, V...

In an interview conducted last December, Ben chats with Chicago-area musician Worry Club about why he prefers working on music alone. how a ridiculous TikTok idea almost turned into a record deal and more. Since our convo, the Club has collaborated with lead singer Chase Walsh's favorite band The Maine,  went to SXSW as an official artist and played a show in Norman, Oklahoma of all places. ...

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS Ben is joined by guest interviewer Brandon Washington to speak with prolific Chicago MC and creative femdot. about his biggest accomplishment, his first experiences rapping over 20 years ago, his love for J Dilla and more. Follow femdot: IG & Twitter @femdotdotcom Keep up with Delacreme Scholars: Twitter @DelaScholars, IG: @delacremescholars NEW PLAYLIST additions Omni...

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS Ben interviews three of Chicago's most exciting young talents: Senite, an R&B singer and poet who's already been making waves in the city; KAI, a neo-soul rapper with his own poetry club; and Menace4Hire, a rapper, poet and fashion designer. The three became fast friends and all worked together on KAI's EP Steve's Demo. Listen to find out how they m...

 SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS Ben interviews Chattanooga rapper, YGTUT,  where he explained how he knows Biggie Smalls' son, revealing more of his true self on his upcoming project, touring & working with Isaiah Rashad, and more. Follow YGTUT on Instagram @tuthouse & Twitter @YGTUT NEW PLAYLIST additions: Sunny Days - Sir Trevor James, Kira Janel MONOLITH - Masongo Ogora, woolmangrundy Lo...

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS Chicago-based rapper, singer and producer Semiratruth stops by the studio to discuss the meanings behind a few tracks on their most recent project I Got Bandz For the Moonlandin' , how New York has helped shape their sound, the shortcomings of streaming services and more. Follow Semira on Instagram and Twitter: @semiratruth NEW PLAYLIST additions courtesy of Reina Dan...

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS Rising Harlem-based musician and poet Mamadou. discusses the metaphors on his debut project To Stitch A Rose , his unique process for finding creative inspiration, who he's been listening to lately and more. Follow Mamadou. on Instagram and Twitter: @mamadouofficiall NEW PLAYLIST additions:  SENSE OF URGENCY - 4200Kory Collar - Worry Club All Gas, No Brakes - WADE08 B...

GET READY FOR SEASON 2 OF THE REAL ONES PODCAST. 12 EPISODES. 2 PER MONTH FROM JANUARY-JUNE 2022. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO JOINED US FOR SEASON 1 Catch up on everything from S1 here at our Linktree. song: What I Want - Qari, greenSLLIME Support the show

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS After our first interview was lost to a faulty hard drive, it was great to sit down again with rising Chicago rapper SONNY. We chat about how he capitalized off of the success of hit song ”KILL BILL,” his relationship to Chicago, how some of his recent music videos came together and more. Follow SONNY on Instagram and Twitter: @hatesonny NEW PLAYLIST additions:  GHOST - De...

Founder of The Ghetto Flower Michael Tayo stops by SoundSpace Studios to discuss the skills that helped him create TGF, how the platform has expanded since its inception in 2017, the branding strategy and more. SEASON 1 PLAYLIST additions: AFV - TC Superstar, Zero to 60 - Aaron Stephens, The Lesson - Mélat, GHOST RIDE - BLK ODYSSY, Black Girl Payday - Riders Against the Storm SUPPORT: Austin Cinem...

Chicago-area artist heartgaze stops by SoundSpace to discuss transitioning from making English songs to adding Spanish, how it felt to play the final show at the Aux, collaborating with Elijah Who and much more! SUPPORT: Jane's Due Process is helping Texans get access to birth control and abortions and Chicago-based travelling cypher group Voices of Prophecy needs to replace their stolen equi...

Chicago-area producer Evan Dawkins stops by the studio to chat about his latest single "By Your Side," rapping on stage with GoldLink at Lollapalooza, the importance of Discord and much more! Evan is also our guest playlist curator for this episode. Playlist selections are here CALLING ALL EMERGING ARTISTS: Get a show under your belt ASAP at the Lumber Studios Gallery series. Have an ide...

Ben talks with hip-hop collective L.O.V.E Culture of Duval County, Florida over Zoom about the hometown homages of their most recent album 1827 N Pearl, the different sides of the Jacksonville music scene and how they complement each other in the collective. Che Forreign, the lone female MC of the group, was unable to attend. Make sure to send some money over to Forever Calcasieu and Imagine Water...

Ben chats with Chicago artist/creative NombreKari to chat about his debut mixtape "Children Play with Fire," updates on Fourtune House, playing a seated & distanced show at Thalia Hall and more! Make sure to send some money over to BlckRising & Pull Up the City for their community garden project in West Garfield as well as the GoFundMe for SqueakPIVOT's funeral expenses. Cli...

In the first full-length episode recorded at Real Ones' new home at SoundSpace Studios, Ben sits down with Chicago singer Alex Banin to chat about her new EP "Did I Imagine?," convincing her parents to take her music career seriously, what makes for successful outreach over DMs and more! Make sure to grab your tickets for Girls Night Out v.2 at KNVS HQ and check out these resources...

Ben sits down with prodxVZN at Classick Studios to discuss working alongside Monte Booker,  his passion for corridos ,  saying good riddance to his job at O'Hare and more. Make sure to tap in with Delacreme Scholars and go to Sterling Hayes' show to see some local underground legends! Click here for events/causes and songs mentioned in this episode. Theme music by Evan Dawkins. Sponsored...

--SPECIAL PROMO EPISODE-- Ben sits down with Wicker Park Fest headliner Ric Wilson for a brief chat about what to expect for his performance, what drew him to making bold fashion choices and his first-ever job at WPF. Listen all the way to the end for a surprise. Visit the WPF  Linktree for more details! Support the show

--SPECIAL PROMO EPISODE-- Ben is joined by TheGr8Thinkaz to preview the 17th Annual Wicker Park Fest. Happening July 23-25 in the heart of Wicker. $10 suggested donation at the door for entry. Visit their Linktree for more details! Support the show