Carry me home find the taco truck throw the "W" up... come with the fat tip so they double you up... kinda trouble you want?
If you caught the recent Ace Rock/Cage show at the Showbox, you also might've peeped Barfly doing his thing. "Fliz" is getting ready to drop his new record I've Been Worse on Mr. Dibbs's Self Core Records, and Barfly explains of the upcoming release, "My album has all the same content of any rap record. Pimping? Check. Gun talk? Check. Coke raps? Check. Doing bids? Check. The only difference is I ain't glorifying shit. This shit seems romantic to a teenager, but when you hit your late 20s and all your friends are dead or doing life in the joint and you can't find work because you're a two-strike felon, when your entire social experience has been defined by dealing with shady, fucked-up people, you wind up having trouble finding people to relate with, have difficulties trusting people, and generally spend your days looking over your shoulder waiting for your past to catch up with you... That don't sound very ideal."
If you pick up the paper early, Barfly's Ol-D co-d's Grayskul are gonna be performing at the War Room Wednesday, June 22. Oughta be a good space to see 'em perform in—and BTW, if you can track down their tour-only The Wand & The Gun release, I'd definitely recommend it, as these guys seem to just get better over time.
The following evening, June 23, check Neumo's for an evening with Byrdie (who just completed a video for "Wanted," featuring Reggie Watts), ably assisted by Funkdaddy Records' Livio and Young Thyn, as well as Avocado Baby and DJ B Mello. Livio is well known in the scene for his popular My Life Vol. 1 LP that featured a barrage of guest MCs, including D-12 and N.O.R.E., as well as his mix tape Underground Legend. Avocado Baby is a local rapper who last year released his debut The Natural. Going for a slightly gangstafied R&B/rap motif, the slickly produced stuff present on Avocado's disc is a little awkward at times, but overall dude shows some promise on the mic.
Keep ya ears peeled for "Do Ya Thing," the new single from NW vet E-Dawg featuring B2K's Raz B; it's some breezy summertime type stuff and bound to sound good to ya on a sunny day, god willing. You just might hear the track if you peep DJ Earthquake's "Off Da Richter Scale" online hiphop show, which has been goin down for many moons now, prominently featuring local artists and rocking all flavors of hiphop. Check it out at www.live365.com/stations/quake551 and get your fix.
On June 29, you're not gonna wanna miss the Power Bill, a new monthly at the War Room presented by the Pharmacy and Tall Homie. If you ain't know, the giant in question is none other than Vitamin D, who's slyly "putting the hood back in hiphop." (Hmmm... hasn't he heard that real hiphop is about suburban angst?) The last edition of this club night featured an incredible set from OG's H-Bomb, Maneack Be, and Vita himself. ■