This just in, people of color: Your lives aren't worth jack shit. Yes, the police can shoot you down like a goddamn dog—like former SPD officer Ian Birk (aww, did widdle piggy have to quit?) did to John T. Williams—and not even have to worry about catching a case. If you want to thank King County prosecutor Dan Satterberg for failing to bring criminal charges against Birk, e-mail him at dan.satterberg@kingcounty.gov. Of course, he's tied to Washington State law, which requires them to show that killer cops are acting "without malice"—if you would like to tell the legislature to change this, you can start at www.leg.wa.gov. If you're sickened, enraged, and saddened for the millionth time, you're not alone. With that in mind, let it be known. If you actually feel like the police have your back—must be nice to be you.

You really wanna get kids out in the streets? Offer 'em some tickets to Macklemore's three sold-out Showbox at the Market shows, two of which happen this week. Show number one, on Friday, February 25, also features Grieves and Budo, the Physics, and Sol. On Sunday, February 27, Fresh Espresso, Helladope, and Canary Sing ride with Seattle hiphop's rising star, a dude that my fave rap blogger—Noz from Cocaine Blunts—recently described as "underground famous." I'd like to take this moment to remind the fans that I have actually rapped on a song with him before. Count it, bitches.

Or count how many WPM get dealt out at Neumos on Thursday, February 24, where the classic double-time doubleheader of Neema and Chicago's decorated five-star general Twista hit the stage. Man, I wanna listen to Adrenaline Rush like RIGHT NOW. I'd give anything for a radio edit of that album, because trying to edit that shit by hand is not happening. If your rap LoJack won't let you leave Cap Hill, though, or you miss your days of wearing a backpack and pretending to be a tagger, don't sleep on classic Newark rap crew Artifacts (yes, the reunited duo of Tame One and El Da Sensei) at Chop Suey that same night. They rocking with SF Gurp City don TopR, our own Graves33, Foul Mouth Jerk, and Greg & Jerome. Buy a 40, drink on bus. Swag.

Okay, so Waka Flocka Flame. He's gonna be here at the King Cat Theater on Saturday, February 26, god willing (somebody shot at his tour bus the day of this writing). Dude's taken ignorance to a whole new level, and I mean that quite literally—one of his most memorable lines ends in "Fuck school," and his interviews make the Soul Plane script read like Cornel West. Still, what he makes is art, and while it's total thug minstrel, his charisma, Hail-Mary-on-crack beats, psychotically amped "FLOCKA," and cartoon-gun onomatopoeia give his trap­hop a headbanging, anarchic edge. Fans of actual rapping, however, might wanna save their shekels for the Fashawn/Evidence/Curtains show at Nectar on Wednesday, March 2; while the tattoo quotient will be greatly reduced, there's a chance you'll actually be able to hear the performers over the show tracks, always a plus. recommended