Excel High School students celebrate the end of their design course with a fashion show of their creations. Excel High School students recently wrapped up the FIRST STEP COURSE, a pioneering initiative aimed at empowering inner-city youth in Chicago to excel academically, express their creativity, and address mental health challenges. Shaun Redwell and Trenell Adams, also known as fashion designer Teezy, spent 10 weeks teaching selective students at Excel the essence of fashion design. Redwell and Adams taught the students how to customize their own shoes and create an outfit to go with it. Tr ..read more

Rick Ross rocks Drake merch as he performs a diss track. / Photo: Christopher “Lock” Lockridge Rick Ross performed in Chicago this past weekend and Chicago is siding with Ross over Drake. For everyone whose been under a rock, the rap scene has been dissing each other left and right with one main target being Drake. This past month Drake has been dissed by The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, Future, Kendrick Lamar, Metro Boomin, Kanye West, and last but not least, Ross. This past weekend Ross released a diss track to Drake after Drake allegedly diss Ross in his new song. Ross then responded by releasing on ..read more

Actor Jonathan Majors exits the courtroom with girlfriend Megan Good. After being cancelled, will society & Hollywood take the same mercy on him that the court did? *Trigger Warning: this story contains information about sexual assault. Viewer discretion  is advised.  Jonathan Majors, commonly known for his roles in “Creed III” and Marvel’s “Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania,” was recently sentenced to a year-long domestic violence intervention program in addition to continuing therapy for his mental health, according to Yahoo!  The actor was previously found guilty of assau ..read more

Partnership Activation Specialist Josh Walls visited the True Star headquarters to talk to participants in person and virtually about working with the Chicago Bears and the importance of networking. / Zoom photo Chicago Bears Partnership Activation Specialist Josh Walls recently visited the True Star headquarters to talk about his role with the organization, how he got there, and how young people can find a way to get involved in their chosen field. Walls has always been in the sports industry, and that’s been his goal for his entire life. “I’ve kinda always wanted to be in sports,” Walls told ..read more

  Drake comes out swinging on diss track “Push Ups”. Legendary rap beefs are definitely back. Honestly, this just might be the track we’ve been waiting on from Drizzy. It’s no surprise that Metro Boomin and Future’s new collaboration album WE DON’T TRUST YOU would spark the fuel of a fire, but they definitely just started something that Drake has decided to finish. Fresh off the numerous diss tracks that Metro Boomin, Future, Rick Ross, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd have teamed up against Drake, he came out the gate swinging with his latest response diss track titled “Push Ups”. Is this ..read more

Hirsch High School students gather for the 10th Annual Teen Town Hall Meeting led by Founder and Project Director of Sacred Ground Ministries, Mary Long. / Photos by Trig When you think of a typical town hall meeting what comes to mind? Well, when it came to the Sacred Ground Ministries Annual Teen Town Hall Meeting, the words informative, support, and community are just a few that could be used. Taking place at Hirsch High School, this was the 10th Annual Teen Town Hall Meeting, led by Founder and Project Director of Sacred Ground Ministries, Mary Long. Sacred Ground Ministries is an anti-vio ..read more

Southpaw shares a moment with little league players during Jackie Robinson Day at Guaranteed Rate Field on the city’s Southside. Monday, April 15 was Jackie Robinson Day across Major League Baseball, celebrating the life and legacy of the first African-American to play in the major leagues. In 1947, Robinson took the field as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn wearing #42 on his jersey. Now 77 years later, on the Southside of Chicago, the White Sox and Royals faced off in a divisional matchup, all wearing that same #42 on their backs. The festivities began before the ..read more

Tyler the Creator set the stage for the Coachella 2024 performances. / Getty Coachella was nothing short of a once-in-a-lifetime experience, from Jhene Aiko cleansing the crowd’s energy with a sound bath to Deftones coming back in full force. Crashing through a faux “broken down” trailer in a park ranger uniform, Tyler the Creator set the stage for Coachella 2024. Fans who hadn’t got the chance to be there are experiencing some serious ‘FOMO – Fear of Missing Out’. Known for his jokes and banter between songs to keep fans engaged, Tyler’s stage presence and artist appearances like Childish Gam ..read more

Angel Reese proudly shows off a Chicago Sky jersey along with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert during the 2024 WNBA draft. Reese (No. 7) and Kamilla Cardoso (No. 3), aka the “Big 2,” are the Chicago Sky’s newest rookies. The 2024 WNBA Draft met the expectations of many and brought a few surprises. The night began with Iowa Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark receiving the No.1 overall pick for the Indiana Fever. In an interview with NBC, Clark expressed her anticipation for joining the league, stating, “I think more than anything, I’m just really excited.” Clark, who has broken records for the m ..read more

Are you really ready to be in a relationship or just doing it because it’s what’s expected of you? Ahhhhh, those thrilling moments of crushes — butterflies in the stomach, and the exhilarating feeling of being in love. But hold your horses, before you try to get into a relationship just because everyone else seems to be doing it, let’s take a moment to discuss peer pressure and the importance of timing. In most cases when you’re hanging out with your friends, the topic of relationships is bound to pop up. Before you know it, you’re feeling the pressure to find someone to date, simply because i ..read more