Hollywood Holt

Nigel Holt doesn't want you to pay for his music. At least, not yet: "if people don't know who the fuck you are, you have a lot of nerve being like 'Check out my music, AND buy it.'"

Influenced by old school rap with his totally '80s flow and his spare, bass heavy beats, Hollywood Holt raised his profile the new school way: mixtapes and MySpace. His tongue-in-cheek lyrics about girls, parties and skateboards are helping make Chicago an epicenter for left-of-center hip hop with artists like The Cool Kids, Kid Sister and Kid Cudi. According to the twentysomething: "the gangsta shit is old, the ballin' shit is old, all that shit is old."

Purveyor of all things "cool," Kanye West appears to agree. West co-signed for the twentysomething by posting Holt's video, Hollywood, on his popular blog.

The founder of the Murder Crew – the "first black-founded moped gang in the country" – Holt and producer Million $ Mano flipped Rich Boy's Throw Some D's to create Throw a Kit, a memorable ode to their nerd wheels. His mixtape, Holt Goes to Hollywood , features more good-humored verses over beats from underground artists like Feist, Mic Terror and MY!GAY!HUSBAND!. On the strength of his mixtape and high-energy live shows, Holt has rolled through Lollapalooza and the CMJ's Music Marathon, sharing the stage with acts like Lupe Fiasco and Dizzee Rascal.

Confident and sarcastic, Hollywood Holt is currently working on his debut album: "It's going to be the best album of all time, ever."

See: myspace.com/holtgoestohollywood