The soundtrack during Cars at Lincoln Common had us feeling nostalgic for our Southern Italy, Fiat Panda trip over the winter. With some added 90’s tracks for good measure, but let’s talk about what’s current.

Our playlists are purposefully eclectic—engineered to keep your neurons lit. From hip-hop to blissful dream pop. From crate-digging groove to neo-psychedelia. From ‘90s Britpop to modern genre-shifting sonic exploration. Chicago five-piece, Mansa (@whois.mansa), fall into the latter slot. Soul-dripping R&B vocals, soaring gospel choruses, and keyboard rips straight from the Funkadelic Mothership. That’s all packed into “SHINE,” track 38, the final one on Lowend Records: 010.

Dig into the rest of the Chicago five-piece’s oeuvre and you’ll find thick alt-rock bass fuzz, agile hip-hop lyricism, and staccato modern jazz rhythms—all that’s packed into just one song, too. Mansa are a cosmic cornucopia of groove. Mansa won’t be pinned down. Mansa are heating up. Follow them as the heat rises.

Master list of all playlists.

Kevin Criollo, AKA @nytclass, may be the 27 year old behind the decks on the Chicago DJ scene, but he’s been immersed in music since his early childhood days playing classical piano at @peoplesmusicschool. Kevin’s taste developed haphazardly over the years—earworms on the radio in his parents’ car, exploring his dad’s CD collection, catching bangers at parties. As a teenager, an obsession with hip-hop evolved into a singular curiosity in sampling and production. The doors blew open for Kevin during the pandemic lockdowns: With the purchase of two iconic samplers (@ensoniqcorpus ASR-10, @akai_pro MPC 2000), he shifted gears from admiration to creation.  

“I spent countless hours learning how to chop samples, make beats, and build my ear,” Kevin says. “All of that—piano, production, crate-digging, hip-hop—naturally evolved into DJing in 2023, where everything I’d absorbed for years finally came together.”

NYTCLASS’ guest spot on Lowend Records 009 is a comprehensive  sonic casserole, where J Dilla melts with the Bee Gees and System of a Down (we let that one slide), and Wes Montgomery drips into The Game.

Lowend's Goodwood Soundtrack: Brit Pop, Mod, Ska, British Invasion, Punk, and Glam.

With a 2024 season of vibes, capped off with travel. We’re always looking ahead, but grateful to everyone who joined us this year. New experiences coming in 2025.

June is it. We’re keeping it light with our selections as we go into our third year of events at Lincoln Common. We’re driving the Ruchlos Rallye, windows down, face full of road . And we’re hosting Hagerty Drivers Club Days in Fulton Market at Midwest Performance Cars. Let car season begin.

Driving a 992 in the Austrian Alps to start 2024. Sideways winter action and the return of the Lowend-Garage Party. It’s all here in playlist 005, with a hat tip to Wayne Kramer and gravel Michigan roads.

Year one of the Lowend Records playlists comes to an end with the some selections we made for the West Coast triumph that was Checkeditout Monterey.

We’ve been hard at it contributing creative for Checkeditout, and that includes curating the tracks for the #Check23 Crew Party. Hit the button below for playlist 003, hand-tailored for the Chicago summer driving season.