Declared “Chicago’s weirdest musician” last year by Vice, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya not only brings to the table a diverse skill set — drummer, bassist, rapper, beatmaker, videographer — but also an inclination toward mashing these disciplines together into new forms. On his 2017 album Drool, Ogbonnaya brings this intrepid, so-crazy-it-just-might-work sensibility to DIY hip-hop. An ear-tickling amalgam of trap music and math rock, downtempo pop and video game music, with pitch-shifted, Bone Thugs-style vocal acrobatics, Drool is equal parts playfulness and braggadocio, boasting one certified banger (“Let Go of My Ego”) and a dozen more tracks that consistently keep the listener guessing. Who knows what to expect from this musical shapeshifter when he hits Music City, but one can count on it being as entertaining as it is far-out. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN
Note: Get a stamp from seeing Ed Schrader's Music Beat at Fond Object downtown, get discounted admission to Nnadmi Ogbonnaya.
