The voice of Chicago’s East Side, G Herbo, has partnered with Mass Appeal to release a mini-documentary entitled City of Sorrow.
The 17-minute clip is more of a Behind the Music made for YouTube. It includes interviews with G Herbo’s teachers and counselors from his old high school, Hyde Park Academy, and ends with a heartfelt visit to the school on Career Day. Although Herb never actually graduated, he encourages students to work hard and follow their dreams – if a gang banger from the east side could do make it out of the city, they could too.
I personally loved the mini-doc. It highlights Herb’s charisma and heightens what we knew all along – Chicago is a city of sorrow, but that sorrow stimulates a strong hunger for survival. G Herbo is yet another example of how that hunger can lead to special creativity. The storytelling in Humble Beast is unmatched by any Chicago rapper that we’ve seen from this generation.
G Herbo is a product of his environment. However, rather than let Chicago eat him alive, as it does to thousands of kids each year, he makes the most of his talents and somehow works hard enough to out-do anybody who stands in his way. Whether you’re a fan of the music or not (let’s be real, how could you not be?) you have to respect Herb’s work ethic and hustle as an artist. He’s as hungry as it gets.
Watch the documentary and stream Humble Beast.
Soul Culture 