Kool Keith, the enigmatic iconic cult MC, goes by many monikers (Black Elvis, Matthew, Dr. Octagon, etc.). The common theme throughout all of his work is abstract "crazy;" a preoccupation with sex, space and the bizarre. These concepts manifest themselves through an almost psychedelic prism of trip-hop beats and often hilarious lyrics. Even during his days with Ultramagnetic MC's, there was something a bit off about Keith's eccentric rap verses and his odd manner of flow. But hey? True genius is rarely understood.

Keith will be in Buffalo tonight performing a rare club appearance that has many hip-hop heads and superfans excited. It's not often you get a chance to see hip-hop of this magnitude hit our city, and for that I'm appreciative. Duke's is the place. 10pm is the time. Get there early to catch support from DJ Lopro, DJ BRSKNRG, Frigid Giant and Natural Ingredients.

  He said it on his 2004 studio album, A Long Hot Summer, and we'll say it again: "Ain't nothin' like hip hop music. That's why we choose it. The world just can't refuse it." Let that be the chant that ignites warm weather memories amongst your comrades and sends feel-good vibrations through your entire body, as legendary hip hop revolutionary Masta Ace takes you back to the hypnotic beats and classic street corner music of the underground NYC scene of the early 1990s tonight at Duke's.

Brooklyn born and bred, the NYC-based MC got his start in the business as a member of the acclaimed '80s hip hop collective the Juice Crew, whose roster boasts underground hip hop sensations Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Craig G, and Biz Markie. In 1990, his debut album, Take a Look Around, produced two sizzling standout singles, the cooly confident and rock sampled "Music Man" and the cheeky and playfully constructed "Me & The Biz." From there, Masta Ace went on to produce his 1995 release, Sittin' on Chrome, which was met by tremendous commercial success as it made its way to the Top 20 list on Billboard's R&B/hip hop album chart. Emerging from the 1990s as an influential scene stealer, the emcee directed all of his momentum into his 2001 lyrical masterwork, arguably one of his most widely celebrated projects, Disposable Arts, which is most notable for its inventive storyline album concept. Finally, 2012 saw the release of MA DOOM: Son of Yvonne, an album through which he intimately speaks to his mother after her passing.

The 46-year-old Brooklyn emcee is currently on a Canadian tour, and according to Duke's entertainment director JJ Alfieri, the favorite local Buffalo bar is his only US stop. "The tours (old school hip hop artists) do now and the performances they do now especially at clubs like Duke's really revolve around reconnecting with their fans," JJ said, who remembers lively and typical summer strolls down Hertel Avenue and hearing the Masta Ace cult hit "Born to Roll" blasting from cars with their tops rolled back. "We're lucky to get these guys in here." But with such an impressive discography under his belt, who's to say there's really a "Finally" on the timeline of such an accomplished hip hop veteran and man on the move? There's not really. With a constant itch to create, Masta Ace's hustle is unstoppable, and last night he stopped by the recording studio at Nickel City Records in Downtown Buffalo, the brainchild of sought-out, college-aged producer Jamie Catania and director of music Jake Sabers, to produce a special track with some young bucks from the underground, Natural Ingredients. In-studio guests included Prime Example, Koolie High, and Charlie the Butcher (all pictured above with Masta Ace, right.) A passing of the torch so to speak? Quite possibly. Masta Ace will be joined tonight by fellow eMC crew members Wordsworth, Stricklin, hip hop group Natural Ingredients, DJ LoPro and Charlie the Butcher. The show starts at 10 pm. Tickets are $10 at the door. See you there.

Photo by J.K. Media  

It's a trap goin' ham weekend here in the 716 as we prepare for Infringement to wrap up the festivities on Sunday night. Lots of cool stuff going down if you want to dance, in and out of the city limits. I am of course referring to the Bass Mountain music festival, which technically isn't in Buffalo, but is put together by the true crew. For a wrap-up of what to check out read below.
thursday 8/2
9p
$7/21+
DUKE'S BOHEMIAN GROVE BAR
253 allen st. Buffalo, NY
The hottest type of EDM on the block right now is the Trap stylings. The marriage of Hip-Hop beats with EDM to form the reinvention of Trap music has swept up everyone and everything that is cool. Some have even blamed me for this union, but that's simply not true. You can thank T.I.,Three6Mafia, Nas, and every Indie loving hipster who decided to morph those beats into their own. Well what does this have to do with Toronto artists KEYS N KRATES playing tonight at Duke's? Well not much other than that their doing a great job of picking up the trend with some of the releases on their Soundcloud page. But Keys and Krates are way more than that. Please don't allow me to pigeon hole these versatile artists who explore all over the map of Dance music styles and pride themselves on performing live. They often remix songs in real-time live. Definitely worth the $7 to check out these phenomenal talents. What's more? A LOW PRIME CUT SENSATION will be opening. That's CUTLER, LOPRO, OPTIMUS PRIME, and CAMACIAN SENSATION as a quartet DJ group mixing on 6 decks and 4 mixers. This party is primed to pop off. Check it out.
friday 8/3
8/3-8/5
$30-40/21+
CLOUD 9 CAMPGROUND
9547 stady road West Valley, NY
The days have finally arrived for those psyched to go to this intimate Bass centric music festival in West Valley at the C9C. Anticipation has been mounting since it was announced that DIESELBOY would be the headliner for this special occasion. There are definitely some stipulations that go along with the camping so please make sure to visit their event page to iron out those details, HERE. Also there you can find the full schedule for what is a great regional lineup! Some highlights include a 10 minute 4:20 set by BIG BASHA on Friday evening, Rochester's PAPI CHULO that same night, and HOOGS ushering in DIESELBOY on Saturday. The emphasis for the weekend is vibes. Thanks to LokiDNB, Frosty Tone, Petsheads, and Cloud 9 Campground for facilitating these festivities. Stay safe, everyone going.
saturday 8/4
12p-4a
Free/21+
BUFFALO TAP HOUSE
85 w. chippewa st. Buffalo, NY
If going the country thing ain't your bag, but hair gel is...head over to the Buffalo Tap House on Friday for an all-day House and Club music event called Shades of Summer. Twelve different acts will perform on the patio from noon on. And the best part is that there's no cover for all this great music! Check out the Facebook event page HERE for a schedule of the performances. But with this crew you pretty much know what your gonna get: tight mixing, professional acting and sounding DJs from your fair city. Get sloppy, but NO REQUESTS, thank you.
Until next week. Much Love.

Did you grow up with classic funk and soul? well head on down to the Blue Monk tonight and get your old-school groove on. Spinning records tonight are DJ LoPro and DJ Cutler, and it's said to be all be classic vinyl from their own collections. If it's good enough for Ghostface Killah, it's good enough for you. Alright, that's a bit of a stretch... but I couldn't resist linking a Nardwuar video, I have a problem and I'm sorry.

If old school funk and soul isn't your sort of thing, The Blue Monk is really proud of their expansive and ever-changing beer collection. I'm sure you'll have fun sampling each and every one of them, just don't do it all in one night.

Blue Collar Funk starts at around 10PM and goes to 2AM. The Blue Monk is located  at 727 Elmwood near Breckenridge.