When Chicago artist Mike DFG put on his mask for the first time, he knew it was time to start digging deeper into his artistic identity. The 21-year-old rapper has only been pursuing music professionally for around two years, but earlier this month made his Lollapalooza performance debut on the John Walt Foundation’s Chicago’s Got Next Stage. He’s also the founder of his own local imprint (Bigger Than the City, or BTTC) and a part of a local music collective (Social Introverts).

Mike sat down with Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez to discuss his experience at the festival and some of his upcoming performances.

This interview originally aired on Vocalo Radio 91.1 FM during Nudia in the Afternoons on Tuesday, Aug. 12. It was hosted and produced by Nudia Hernandez. It was edited and mixed by Morgan Ciocca, with production support from Talia Lopresti. Keep up with us @vocalo on Instagram and @vocalo.radio on TikTok.