Chicago has become a haven for finding talented hip hop artists. From Kanye and Common to Da Brat and Twista down to Lupe Fiasco, Chi town is really holding it down in terms of producing quality artists from the mainstream to the underground. Enter emcee Racecar and producer/DJ K-Kruz – together known as Modill. This duo enters the game with little to no fan fare, with their debut album, Midnight Green, but sometimes less hype is better because there are absolutely no expectations.

    And without those harrowing expectations, Midnight Green becomes a pleasant surprise from Modill. With K-Kruz delivering some solid production and Racecar serving up a delicious platter of insightful lyricism, Midnight Green becomes a solid listen. Although they do not tread much new ground, Modill is able to piece together some soulful work. Joints such as the cleverly crafted “Music” and “High Energy” come together beautifully. With K-Kruz stamping each track with a significant sound and Racecar vibing at a reasonable pace, Modill delivers a certain energy that many albums lack today.

   Much of Chi-town’s underground comes to the aid of Modill and assist in the fulfilling experience. Diverse drops by and gives us another dosage of his criminally underrated style on both “Change Form!” and “The Next Single”, while Thaione Davis falls through to add to the chemistry on joints like “Get It Together” and “Salvation.” Even Dave from De La Soul pops in on “Vacant Rhymes’” snapping snares to add to the effect.

    Even though the album isn’t groundbreaking, Midnight Green will delightfully fill the ears of those who yearn for some energetic hip hop. Sure most of the tracks clock in unfairly at under three minutes (which is either “too damn short” or “just not enough”), but this can be considered of things to come from Modill. Chicago may be known for Kanye and Common, but Modill is yet another instance that proves that there is so much more to Chicago than meets the eyes and ears of the radio.