Pivot Gang

Pivot Gang is a hip hop collective of independent rappers based out the west side of Chicago. The group originated from the historically troubled streets of the Austin neighborhood around the time of 2012. The four founders consist of brothers Saba (born Tahj Malik Chandler) and Joseph Chilliams (AKA Jerrel Chandler), their cousin John Walt (Walter Long), and their high school friend MFn Melo (AKA Logan Yutters).^[1] Other artists who commonly collaborate with the group include Lucki Eck$, Martin $ky, Noname, and DJ Damnage, along with others.

History

Saba is the most well-known rapper in the group, being featured on Chance the Rapper's song "Everybody's Something", and is known as the front-man of Pivot Gang. All of the gang's music can be downloaded for free online, which is one of the main effects of the growing independent music movement happening in present-day Chicago. Most of the music made by the group has a diverse sound, ranging from smooth soulful samples to more aggressive, rapid drill beats. MFn Melo explains in an interview with the Chicagoist, "a lot of the Pivot shit has that smooth kind of chord tradition that's influenced by New York soul, but it will just go harder. I'll put some drill drums over it. Some of my music has that same creative process, but a lot of it goes into a soulful, hip-hop-y route".^[2] The group has put out multiple mixtapes, including most recently "ComfortZone" by Saba and "GetHappy 2.0" by John Walt.

Members

• Saba
• Joseph Chilliams
• MFn Melo
• SqueakPIVOT
• Dam Dam
• Frsh Waters
• daedaePIVOT
• Daoud
• John Walt (deceased)^[3]

References