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Sharp Dressed Man, Rock Bottom to perform on Friday; hip-hop rules Saturday with legends, area talent
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
POSTED: 12:32 a.m. EDT, Sep 04, 2008
All my old(er)-school hip-hop heads say ''Ho-oh!''
This weekend is the closer for Akron's 2008 Lock 3 Live concert season. It begins with beards and Texas Boogie and ends with a human beatbox and hip-hop bang.
On Friday, WONE's Rock the Lock series closes with Rock Bottom, a local party/cover band that will be playing its final gig ever. The evening's headliner is another tribute band called Sharp Dressed Man, a tribute to ZZ Top. Members are from Austin, Texas, and they've got beards, sharp suits and a supercool drum kit with lighted ZZ Top logos on the kick-drum heads, so you know they're serious about their Southern fried boogie woogie.
On Saturday, the season's final concert will be the first Akron Hip-Hop Showcase. Designed to be a family affair that bridges the generation gap between older hip-hop heads tired of gangsta cliches, odes to strippers and lists of material possessions and younger rap fans who may not know there are alternatives to the aforementioned.
The concert has an early start time of 3 p.m. and will feature a mix of area talent, up-and-comers and a couple of bona fide legends.
Among the local cats featured will be Cleveland's Poetic Republic, a six-man crew whose lyrics and beats recall the smooth jazz-inflected grooves of the mid-'90s era from groups such as Black Star, Slum Village and the Roots. The group — Rembrandt, Ahp Qwes, DJ Ceven, Asante, Angelo and Frank Soul — is nominated for a 2008 Ohio hip-hop award for best group.
They don't bother much with champagne popping or ho hopping (hey, that rhymes!) instead rhyming about their lyrical skills, underdogs of the world and love (as opposed to lust).
Also from the local talent pool is Akron's own poet/rapper/producer Ace Boogie. I've seen him perform several times and he never disappoints, always bringing a lot of energy, positive vibes and usually some live musicians.
Boogie is a blue-collar rapper bringing some social consciousness to his lyrics as well as a basic desire to rock the party.
Also from Akron is Random X & Cap C, a duo that deftly works the old braggadocio style of street-corner battle rappers.
Straight outta D.C. comes the Low Budget collective featuring Kev Brown, Kenn Starr and producer Oddisee, who is connected to turntable legend DJ Jazzy Jeff's A Touch of Jazz production company that helped launch Jill Scott.
Also from the nation's capital is rapper/educator Asheru, who provides the theme for the animated series The Boondocks and is a co-founder of the Hip Hop Educational Literacy Program (H.E.L.P), which uses hip-hop in schools to help make reading interesting and culturally relevant for at-risk youth.
In addition to the Saturday gig, Asheru — aka Gabriel Benn — will be giving a teacher's symposium along with Hip-Hop Showcase sponsors Keepers of the Art Inc. from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Gardner Student Center at the University of Akron. Benn will present a H.E.L.P. curriculum and stress culturally relevant education. The symposium is open to all social workers and area teachers.
The afternoon's headliners are hip-hop legends Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick, who both as a team and as solo artists have given hip-hop several of its established classics including The Show, La-Di-Da-Di, Keep Risin' to the Top, Mona Lisa and the heavily imitated cautionary tale Children's Story.
Fresh, whose beatboxing skills (along with the deceased Buff ''The Human Beatbox'' of the Fatboys) are still a template for all that followed (yeah, Justin Timberlake, too) is the self proclaimed ''Greatest Entertainer.'' He brings that old-school, party-rocking vibe with lots of audience call and response and participation. Expect to throw your hands in the air and wave them like you just don't care.
Holding down the grooves between acts will be Cleveland's world traveling DJ Mick Boogie and Akron B-Boy veterans Illstyle Rockers, which will offer back breaking and acrobatic break dancing.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
All my old(er)-school hip-hop heads say ''Ho-oh!''
This weekend is the closer for Akron's 2008 Lock 3 Live concert season. It begins with beards and Texas Boogie and ends with a human beatbox and hip-hop bang.
On Friday, WONE's Rock the Lock series closes with Rock Bottom, a local party/cover band that will be playing its final gig ever. The evening's headliner is another tribute band called Sharp Dressed Man, a tribute to ZZ Top. Members are from Austin, Texas, and they've got beards, sharp suits and a supercool drum kit with lighted ZZ Top logos on the kick-drum heads, so you know they're serious about their Southern fried boogie woogie.
On Saturday, the season's final concert will be the first Akron Hip-Hop Showcase. Designed to be a family affair that bridges the generation gap between older hip-hop heads tired of gangsta cliches, odes to strippers and lists of material possessions and younger rap fans who may not know there are alternatives to the aforementioned.
The concert has an early start time of 3 p.m. and will feature a mix of area talent, up-and-comers and a couple of bona fide legends.
Among the local cats featured will be Cleveland's Poetic Republic, a six-man crew whose lyrics and beats recall the smooth jazz-inflected grooves of the mid-'90s era from groups such as Black Star, Slum Village and the Roots. The group — Rembrandt, Ahp Qwes, DJ Ceven, Asante, Angelo and Frank Soul — is nominated for a 2008 Ohio hip-hop award for best group.
They don't bother much with champagne popping or ho hopping (hey, that rhymes!) instead rhyming about their lyrical skills, underdogs of the world and love (as opposed to lust).
Also from the local talent pool is Akron's own poet/rapper/producer Ace Boogie. I've seen him perform several times and he never disappoints, always bringing a lot of energy, positive vibes and usually some live musicians.
Boogie is a blue-collar rapper bringing some social consciousness to his lyrics as well as a basic desire to rock the party.
Also from Akron is Random X & Cap C, a duo that deftly works the old braggadocio style of street-corner battle rappers.
Straight outta D.C. comes the Low Budget collective featuring Kev Brown, Kenn Starr and producer Oddisee, who is connected to turntable legend DJ Jazzy Jeff's A Touch of Jazz production company that helped launch Jill Scott.
Also from the nation's capital is rapper/educator Asheru, who provides the theme for the animated series The Boondocks and is a co-founder of the Hip Hop Educational Literacy Program (H.E.L.P), which uses hip-hop in schools to help make reading interesting and culturally relevant for at-risk youth.
In addition to the Saturday gig, Asheru — aka Gabriel Benn — will be giving a teacher's symposium along with Hip-Hop Showcase sponsors Keepers of the Art Inc. from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Gardner Student Center at the University of Akron. Benn will present a H.E.L.P. curriculum and stress culturally relevant education. The symposium is open to all social workers and area teachers.
The afternoon's headliners are hip-hop legends Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick, who both as a team and as solo artists have given hip-hop several of its established classics including The Show, La-Di-Da-Di, Keep Risin' to the Top, Mona Lisa and the heavily imitated cautionary tale Children's Story.
Fresh, whose beatboxing skills (along with the deceased Buff ''The Human Beatbox'' of the Fatboys) are still a template for all that followed (yeah, Justin Timberlake, too) is the self proclaimed ''Greatest Entertainer.'' He brings that old-school, party-rocking vibe with lots of audience call and response and participation. Expect to throw your hands in the air and wave them like you just don't care.
Holding down the grooves between acts will be Cleveland's world traveling DJ Mick Boogie and Akron B-Boy veterans Illstyle Rockers, which will offer back breaking and acrobatic break dancing.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
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