You Need to Know: Chicago Teen Rapper Katie Got Bandz
Every Tuesday, You Need To Know spotlights a rising artist that we know will blow up big. Listen now. Thank us later. This week: Chicago rapper Katie Got Bandz.
Chicago's teenage "drill" rap scene, which finds the city's teenagers making lo-fi Waka Flocka Flame-style street rap, has gotten a ton of attention lately, kicked off by a 2,400-word Gawker piece on Chief Keef, the 16-year-old rapper who was famous in Chicago high schools before the outside world recognized his unstoppable hooks and irresistibly confrontational/creepy atmosphere.
Kanye West recently remixed Chief Keef, and Keef posted a photo of himself wearing Waka Flocka Flame's chain. Young Chicago spitters like [recent Def Jam affiliate] Lil Durk, King Louie, Lil Reese, and Young Chop are also getting looks from bigger artists and labels too. But what about the ladies?
Enter Katie Got Bandz, née Kiara Johnson, an 18-year-old rapper from Bronzeville, a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. "I Need a Hitta," which dropped last October, has been Katie's biggest hit so far and captures the lo-fi energy and indelible catchiness of the best of Chicago drill.
Katie Got Bandz, "I Need A Hitta"
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