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Music

Premiere: "No Look" by Smoko Ono, Feat. Rockie Fresh, Saba, and Jarred AG

Vic Mensa's bandmate pulls together some of Chicago's most dexterous rappers.

Chicago producer Smoko Ono is the kind of guy you know about even if you don't exactly know about him: He's played as a member of Vic Mensa's touring band, and he produced Vic's single "Feel That." He's worked with all kinds of artists throughout Chicago and the artsier fringes of the hip-hop world in general. And now he's finally putting together a full-length project of his own, Slackin N Mackin, due in late January. With features from Vic Mensa, Denzel Curry, and many other standout young rappers from Chicago and elsewhere, it has the potential to be a pretty exciting compilation.

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Today, Noisey is premiering Slackin N Mackin's "No Look," which features verses from Chicago MMG torchbearer Rockie Fresh, West Side phenom Saba, and Smoko's brother, Jarred AG. All three come through with a couple moments of tight wordplay and flows that head all over the place. Witness exhibit A of how much the lyrical corners of Chicago rap are playing with cadences as much as they can. But the real attraction here, appropriately, is Smoko's laid-back, bouncy beat, with live horns from Will Miller of the O'Mys. Smoko says: "I wanted this track to incorporate an element of Chicago sound featuring a live jazz style fused with hip-hop and juke music." Success? Success. Check it out below:

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