Astonish joins the veteran hip-hop collective, the Molemen, as their youngest burgeoning emcee. Originally from Humboldt Park but now residing in Old Irving/Jefferson Park, Astonish embodies Chicago’s capacity to produce a street-smart lyricist with enough intelligent swagger to hold his own in the midst of both the thugs and the backpackers. Having been reared in a diverse musical environment, Astonish gained a unique eclectic auditory experience that has helped him develop his balanced approach to music. Between the old-school soul records of his grandparents’ era, his father’s penchant for NWA, and his own musical delving with everything from Usher to Nas to Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Astonish’s rhymes convey a multitude of topics that reflects this musical heritage. After gaining a street buzz as a younger teen, Astonish felt that he needed to restrain himself from putting out tracks without a proper network behind him to ensure that his first album wasn’t lost in a flood of underground releases and never heard. By biding his time, he was able to cultivate his craft and eventually gain the ear of the Moles, quickly earning their acceptance with his sincerity and the quality of his delivery. With nearly six years of devoted rhyming under his belt, Astonish is in a solid position to quickly establish himself as one of Chicago hip-hop’s newly tiered breakthrough artists. One of his songs, “Broken Dreams”, focuses on his strong impulse to take advantage of the opportunities p