Launched in 1994, Blue Groove Lounge wasn’t early enough to be Chicago’s first hip-hop series. Before DJ Jesse de la Peña started Blue Groove on Monday nights at Elbo Room, rapper-producer Kingdom Rock was hosting parties at Blue Gargoyle in Hyde Park; DJ and producer P-Lee Fresh ran a north-side hip-hop club called Steps; and MC and promoter Duro Wicks hosted two crucial series, first at Lizard Lounge in Wicker Park and then at Lower Links in Lakeview. De la Peña had even spun hip-hop during his stint as a Smart Bar resident. But no series catalyzed Chicago’s emerging 90s hip-hop scene quite like Blue Groove Lounge.

Winter Block Party 2020: We the People This daylong party features dance workshops and battles, DJ sets, face painting and live mural making, pop-up shops and galleries, and more. The bill for the evening concert, headliner first, is Mental Giants, Cash Era, Ang13, Brittney Carter, the Blue Groove Freestyle (with Alderman Andre Vasquez aka Prime, Anyi Ahlation, Semiratruth, Sam-I-Am, the Third, Meta Mo, Gq tha Teacha, and others), Pumpin’ Pete & DJ Nonstop, Add-2, Encyclopedia Brown, Jesse de la Peña, and hosts Dirty MF & Matt Muse. Sat 2/8, noon (concert at 6 PM), Metro, 3730 N. Clark, free, all-ages

Blue Groove Lounge 25-Year Reunion Featuring DJ Jesse de la Peña, DJ Pumpin’ Pete, and Tone B. Nimble, hosted by Dirty MF. Mon 2/10, 9 PM, Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. West, $12, $10 in advance, 21+

Cast of characters

Ang13 Rapper

Kevin Coval

Jesse de la Peña

Dirty MF

Juice Rapper and freestyler

David “Cap D” Kelly All Natural rapper, chief legal officer (business and basketball) for the Golden State Warriors

Iomos Marad Rapper-drummer, All Natural Inc. affiliate

DJ Nonstop Heavy Hitters collective member, DJ for DMX and 104.3 Jams

Gravity Rapper, EONs member, also goes by “Grav”

“Coolout Chris” Hawkins Rapper-producer for the group Spalaney’s, EONs member, cofounder of the organizations Chicago Hip-Hop Initiative and Urbanized Music, spouse of Amina Norman-Hawkins

“Big Larry” Mondragon Blue Groove Lounge door man, promoter

Amina Norman-Hawkins Cofounder of the organizations Chicago Hip-Hop Initiative and Urbanized Music, spouse of “Coolout Chris” Hawkins

Panik Producer, Molemen cofounder

Pumpin’ Pete

Rhymefest Rapper, actor, executive director for Art of Culture Inc.

Mario Smith Poet, educator, activist, Lumpen Radio personality

Duro Wicks

“Big Larry” Mondragon Jesse had a store called the Yard, and I used to run the store for him, ’cause he was DJing, doing other projects. I remember him kicking the idea: “I want to do this night, I want to do open mikes, have guys battle. We’ll have hip-hop DJs.” Clubs weren’t playing hip-hop.

Jesse de la Peña Nobody was doing a party, especially a hip-hop party, on a Monday night—that’s the only time we could get the venue, ’cause it was a super-slow night.

Gravity If you want to have a drink upstairs, take a break, holla at somebody ’cause you can’t hear shit downstairs, then you can go back to your getaway world down in the basement, where it was fuckin’ jumpin’.

Amina Norman-Hawkins He had the vision for what hip-hop was intended for—building community, young people having their own space, the DJ being the anchor of this platform for artists. He did something at that time that I hadn’t seen anyone else doing.