The Milwaukee Hip Hop scene is thriving more than ever these days. Artists like Myaap, J.P., 414bigfrank, and Chicken P have been making Milwaukee one of the most exciting rising Hip Hop hubs in the country. So many people are enthralled by the music coming out of Milwaukee, and the hype seems to be growing every day. This new era of the Milwaukee music scene has been developing for quite a while, though. There are a few artists who laid the seeds for the recognition Milwaukee is getting today, as they popped off a number of years ago and helped put the city on the Hip Hop map. Two of the most important artists in Milwaukee in that regard are Wave Chapelle and Ishdarr. Both of them got their careers going in the early 2010s, and both have then seen a good amount of viral success back in the blog era of Rap. Wave Chapelle and Ishdarr helped catapult Milwaukee music into what it is today. Although they have had a ton of success and have tried their best to expand their careers in every way they can, they never turned their back on where they are from and have always made sure to show Milwaukee love. As I have stated on this blog many times(as I have covered him quite a bit recently; go read some of my other write-ups on him after this if you have not yet), Wave Chapelle has been extremely prolific in his releases over the last couple of years. In 2021, Wave released a single every week, culminating in 52 total songs organized into EPs by the months they came out. In 2022, Wave released quite a few stand-alone singles, as well as an album called Winner’s Circle with Cody Ray. Wave Chapelle kept up his prolific output in 2023, not only releasing a few more singles but also dropping an album called Can’t Stop Won’t Stop with Menebeats(This was one of my favorite Milwaukee projects from 2023. Read about it and some other great Milwaukee projects in my post about the best Milwaukee projects from last year). Wave started off sort of slowly(for him), having only released one single this year before this called ‘Balance.’ Ishdarr, after staying relatively quiet for years, has been ramping up his output recently. After being sporadic with his releases for years, Ishdarr dropped a few very good singles in 2022. In 2023, Ishdarr dropped his first solo project in 4 years, Rested. He finished out 2023 with a couple more one-off singles, and put out his first track of 2024, ‘Four The City’ Freestyle, about a month ago. These two awesome Milwaukee rappers have now joined forces once again(as they have made a ton of music together in the past) on a new single called ‘Never Fold,’ which I wanted to briefly highlight below. Please let me know in the comments how you feel about this new single from Wave Chapelle and Ishdarr, and also comment the names of any other Independent or Milwaukee artists you think I should check out!

‘Never Fold’ is a brief but impactful banger with an uplifting yet intense feeling. This is the kind of song to put on any workout or turn-up playlist because it is bound to pump up whoever hears it. The melody for this one is bright and soothing; it is provided by a sweet and sunny synth loop that is very intricate yet smooth. The beat for ‘Never Fold’ hits so hard. The bass on this one absolutely pounds, and the eccentric tempo of the snares and hi-hats makes the track feel larger than life. As cool as the instrumental for ‘Never Fold,’ the rap performances from Wave Chapelle and Ishdarr are even better. Wave raps with an audacious tone and rapid, in-your-face flow. His delivery gives this song a level of emphasis that really makes it pop. Ishdarr keeps the same larger-than-life that Wave Chapelle raps with, albeit with a slightly smoother and floatier style and flow. I enjoy the sing-songy tone that he raps with on this one, as it contrasts Wave’s more gruff delivery so nicely. This contrast is especially evident in the hook on ‘Never Fold,’ which is such an earworm. On ‘Never Fold,’ Wave Chapelle and Ishdarr are rapping about how they are more on top of their game than ever, and assert that they have never stopped grinding and have never lost their passion. ‘Never Fold’ is a super fun banger from two of Milwaukee’s best. I hope these two make more music together again soon because their chemistry is palpable and they never miss.