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Last week in this very column we discussed the geographical idiosyncrasies of the hip-hop world, specifically the influx of dope-ass rhymes emanating from the Bay Area. But this week, we're spinning the globe a bit to the right to take a look at the Midwest, which has long had a bustling indie hip-hop scene going down.
On Monday night, Kansas City's Mac Lethal brings his high-minded (albeit sometimes foulmouthed) version of rap music to the Domino Room along with a list of up-and-comers on his opening slate. Mac Lethal, like many Midwest hip-hoppers, is on the Rhymesayers label - a Minneapolis-based company best known as the home of indie super-duo Atmosphere. It's hard these days to say that any music, rap included, has the sort of regionalized "sound" that once existed (Remember the whole East Coast vs. West Coast thing? Those groups actually did sound different) but there is certainly an identity associated with a band's home, and that does come through in the lyrics.
Last week, 92.7FM DJ Jay Carlson gave us a taste of a trio called Soulcrate Music, one of the openers for Mac Lethal, that come from Carlson's hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. And if you want to talk about regionalizing one's music, these guys do it well with their single "Rap Music From the Middle of Nowhere." Hey, at least they're honest.
Mac Lethal, Grieves, Sadistik, Soulcrate Music
8pm doors, 9pm show. Monday, November 24. Domino Room 51 NW Greenwood Ave. $10/advanced, $12/door. All ages.
