SUBSTANCE (Chicago) – Barz Of Opera /// UndergroundHipHopBLOG.com

DAT BIZNESS, the name speaks for itself. Raised on the South Eastside of Chicago in the Germano Millgate apartments he has expressed an undying passion for his “hood”. Music has always “boiled” in his blood; he started playing the saxophone at the age of 11.  After conquering the the intuitive stages of instrumentation, he began blessing the microphone at the age of 13, and not long after that he polished rhymes, delivery, and razor sharp punchlines and became a monster lyrically at 21, and now you have Dat Bizness.ILL GORDON, best known for his rough delivery and clever metaphors, he has taken pride in lyrical prowess and always expressed creativity over gimmicks. Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, ILL was musically inclined since the age of 3 when he commenced to play the drums. Labeled as a late bloomer amongst his peers, ILL didn’t start to focus on rap until the age of 18. Out of the trenches, he became known for his fierce raps and keen punchlines.

In 2008 they made the union official and became SUBSTANCE. They hit the ground running releasing their first mix tape “Raw Substance” Hosted by Dj Shaun T. During this time they developed  buzz worthy notoriety through performances through out the Midwest at venues such as The Abbey (Chicago), B.B. Kings (Nashville,Tn), Adrianna’s (Chicago), African Festival of Arts(Chicago), Shadow Lounge (Pittsburgh, Pa) etc.They also received the award of best local hip hop group at the “Midwest Rappers Ball” at the Regal Theater. By 2010, they established a respectable following and then released the now critically acclaimed mixtape “Substance Muzik”. This mixtape received placements on influential blogsites such as Kevinnottingham.com, Chicagonow.com. They also completed three videos off of “Substance Muzik”, “All I Need” , “Cufflinks”, and “Fresh out the Oven” which all can be found on youtube.On July 23rd 2011, they released their “Substance Abuse” mixtape, which is the final installment of their “Substance Series” mixtapes. Its has received placements on influential sites such as Chicityhiphop.net, illisoulife.com, fakeshoredrive.com and Gowherehiphop.com. This mixtape has features and production from Add-2, Gemstones, Thaione Davis, All Purpose Beatz and Reg Vador. They have also completed their first three videos off of “Substance Abuse”, “Str8 Coasting“, “Bravo” and “Barz of Opera” which all can be found on youtube. During this time Substance continued to perform locally and regionally at venues such as “The Mayne Stage” (1st and only Hip Hop group to do so) (Chicago), “The Brass Rail” (Peoria, Illinois), “Cause Sound bar” (Minneapolis, MN), etc. Riding off the success of the “Substance Series” mixtapes, Substance developed a organic momentum that led into 2012. March 2012 Substance received a placement to perform at the Red Gorilla/SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Invited to attend Rhymesayers “Soundset Festival”, and first performance at the ‘A3C Festival”! (Kevinnottigham Underground Express Stage) Substance also released their fourth mixtape “Contra Mixtape” in 2012.

Substance is a breath of fresh air that promotes creativity and good lyrics but most importantly good music. “Upcoming Chicago duo Substance is creating an impressive buzz and making a name for themselves with their hardcore/gritty beats and candid bars. Known for their shrill delivery and striking live show, Substance is one of the latest artists hailing form the windy city that is taking it back to the basics, which will bring you just what their name says—–Substance!”