Philly rapper Freeway at Chop Suey on Saturday: gruff, powerful, in control. Prodigious beard. His set was a pleasure to behold, with thick, thumping, meaty beats over which his growl sounded just right. Such sparkly bling, too! Our only complaints are that he cut off "It's Over" way too early and there were a couple too many a capellas, but the man can keep filthily perfect time and impresses regardless of the beat behind him.......

BOMBS BURSTING, ETC: Happy Independence Day! Grill up some zucchini, down a beer or three, and enjoy your day off. Ivars is doing their exploding chemicals thing after sunset, so if you're into that, sedate your dogs/chickens/goldfish and enjoy the 23 minute show over Elliott Bay. Or wherever: check here and here for your options. 10 p.m. // Your Roof // Free(dom) GANGSTA RAP—SERIOUSLY: Get your gangsta self to Chop Suey on Saturday for Crooked......

Common Market released Black Patch War in early May, but it's taken Seattlest awhile to get fully on board with the album. You too are forgiven for sleeping on it this long, but further snoozing is not recommended. Ra Scion has posted the lyrics to three of the seven songs from the album over at his blog, six minutes to sunrise, with footnotes and everything, and it makes for a riveting read if you're so......

An enthusiastic crowd of youngsters showed up at Nam's album release party at the Vera Project this weekend to appreciate energetic performances from The Physics, Bambu, super-talented super-group Good Medicine, and Nam himself. Though The Stranger billed this night as a Good Medicine show, every artist on the bill pointed the glory towards Nam and his "de-boo" album, Exhale. The album is as earnest, lovable and hard-working as Nam himself and plays well live,......

?uestlove and Black Thought of The Roots completely rocked it last night at Neumos. The DJ's set was fully loaded with hiphop and funk classics, aimed straight at the heart of the crowd's collective groove, and Black Thought's aggressive, wild voice is a pleasure to experience live. How could you not dance? One guy was so excited he was jumping up and down. (Not hopping, not bouncing. Jumping!) All in all, a night of dancing,......

Last Friday we were at Shorecrest High School after-hours for "Coffeehouse," an open-mic put on by the school's literary journal Tattoo. It was our second time around, so we had a better idea of what to expect: the cafeteria was packed to the rafters. Seriously, Friday night and this is what the kids of today are up to? Near the end of intermission we were looking over the art gallery in the hall when this......

"King Cobra's hiphop hymen has been broken!" declared Gatsby of Cancer Rising last night. It's true: The Physics were the first hiphop group ever to grace the newish stage in the rock-n'-roll-ified nightclub, and Cancer Rising made it extra official in a mixed line-up featuring the metal-rock, electric guitar-wielding Emeralds as well as Portland's indie rockers Caves. The night was "magical," as Caves singer Jacob Carey deemed it. Welcome, King Cobra, to Seattlest's short list......

OPERATION BRIGHT PINK FLAMINGO: If you were at Myrtle Edwards Park last weekend, you may have noticed a city-approved flock of plastic flamingos hanging out on the lawns. Lest you prematurely begin the spiral into "WTF, can't we just have normal public art," let us inform you that the flamingos were only visiting to remind everyone that real Chilean flamingos are available as of tomorrow to gawk at over in the Woodland Park Zoo.......

Photo of One Be Lo by Kyle Johnson. One Be Lo, a nationally acclaimed independent hiphop artist hailing from Pontiac, Michigan, is fond of our city. "In Seattle, I get an epiphany every day," he says, recounting his insights gleaned from dining with local Vietnamese families and browsing through the shelves of the Emerald City’s bookstores. The emcee leans in closer. "Seattle’s giving me my second wind." An avid learner and frequent public speaker,......

HUGE AMOUNTS OF CHEESE: The Cheese Festival is upon us! This is one of our top three favorite events of the year (#2: our birthday, #3: Christmas). Several reasons: a city block full of cheese, friendly vendors, wholesale prices on bottles in the wine garden (don't buy the red wine that says "bacon" three times in its description, we made that mistake last year), and (it bears repeating) a city block full of cheese. 10......

DJ Rare Groove spins for the crowd before Atmosphere's set. Slug's tidy ponytail gleams, silhouetted against changing red, green and aqua lights. He moves his body like he's got something to clarify. "Oh, you know this one too?" he asks the deliriously excited crowd, and of course the answer is yes. In Seattle, Atmosphere's emcee Slug--dark, emotionally tortured, pensive Lothario Slug--is a god. We seem to prefer our rockstars on the brooding but safe......

Nas--NAS, people--is playing Showbox SoDo this Friday, and there are three possible reasons why tickets are still available. (1) No one knows he's coming (an unintentionally secret show?); (2) Word's gotten sufficiently around about Nas' weak live performance (but still... Nas!); or (3) Everyone's blown their ticket budgets on hipster-friendly Atmosphere, playing Tuesday at the same venue (for $20 less a ticket). Needless to say, Atmosphere and Nas don't really bring out the same crowd.......

Late summer festival/extravaganza Bumbershoot announced another hiphop headliner today. Ludacris, the one and only, has been added to the line-up! The other three rap-alicious big names thus far are Brother Ali, whose recent show at Neumos was nigh unto a spiritual experience for Seattlest, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, and Kid Sister out of Chicago. Unless, of course, you count Beck as a rapper. (We don't.) Says Seattle hiphop artist Grynch to Seattlest on the line-up:......

Last weekend, two men were shot at an afterparty for a book-signing of an unauthorized account of Dr. Dre and West Coast hiphop down in Tukwila. One of the men died from multiple gunshot wounds and was identified to the press late last night as a 24-year-old from Renton named Deon T. Guidry. We've been following the story via the P-I, wincing at the familiar knee-jerk comments (Socially Inept writes, "People tend to get......

We've been listening to UGK's "One Day" at ten minute intervals since we woke up this morning. Yes. It IS that good, and Bun B's larger-than-life (yet dancing dangerously close to humble) performance at Neumos on Friday night was equally satisfying. Into gangsta rap and the club scene? Frequent mentions of certain lady-parts, an ostentatious tour bus dominating 10th and Pike, and the flashy, dressed-up crowd would have sated your appetite. But there was......

This year's chance to get your Houston gangsta rap on with Bun B—the living half of utterly bomb '90s gangsta duo UGK—is tonight at Neumo's. Why we want to go: radio darling Bun B's releasing II Trill on April 29, and we definitely want to hear the new material. He's got a track record of collaborating with mainstream rap's hottest new artists (2005's Trill featured such names as the late Pimp C, Jay-Z, and Scarface),......

We usually stay pretty hog-tied to the folk and roots music world, but a year or so ago, we found ourselves volunteering to cover a show at Neumo's featuring Common Market and The Coup. Hot damn! That was a good show. The Coup is back in town tonight for a set at Nectar in Fremont. Think of a mix between Public Enemy and Prince. Check it: 9 PM // Nectar Lounge // $12......