Little Brother: Favorites of the Okayplayer set, Little Brother are often chided for their retro-grade neo–Native Tongues nostalgia and occasionally shrill antimainstream stance, but Phonte and Big Pooh remain one of the finest new duos to emerge in the 2000s, and two of hip-hop’s most skilled live performers.
Murs: By the time he turned 30 this year, Mid-City, L.A.–raised Murs’ resume already read like a map of the underground, with stints in the Living Legends, Def Jux and three collaborations with 9th Wonder. While it raised eyebrows when the other Nick Carter signed with Warner Brothers and released a hyphy-tinged first single, “Dreadlocks,” Murs’ sets are always kinetic.
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Kid Sister: Will her
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Pining for the golden age: Chicago's Cool Kids
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Kidz in the Hall: For their sophomore album, The In Crowd,Duck Down Records’ latest signees Kidz in the Hall ditched the Ivy League rap shtick in favor of Golden Age revivalism, or so-called “hipster rap,” as some of their detractors have alleged. Lead single “Drivin’ Down the Block” bragged about their “Low End Theory” tape, nicking Masta Ace’s “Born to Roll” in the process. Meanwhile, its remix EP spawned three of the year’s best songs, including an El-P version and a West Coast G-Funk edition. Wale: Consider Wale the platonic ideal between the Rawkus/Okayplayer school and the swag and aesthetic splendor shining from the decade’s most influential album, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint. It’s reductive to ascribe labels to the Nigerian-descended, D.C.-raised Wale; he’s versatile enough to rhyme over everything from Camp Lo to go-go beats to Justice. His Seinfeld-themed The Mixtape About Nothing not only ranks as the year’s finest, it single-handedly raises the bar for the mixtape subgenre.
The Wu Coming Through
Method Man and Redman, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah: One third of the Wu, plus honorary member Reggie Noble (Redman): Look for both pairings to skew heavily toward their unfuckwithable ’90s catalog, capable of redeeming a dozen awful FOX sitcoms. Look for a potential guest appearance from Rock the Bells co-host B Real, who will presumably be in the area to partake in the inevitable blunt fest that transpires whenever Meth and Red are in the same area code.
Electro-Funk Breakdown
Afrika Bambaataa (DJ Set): The founding father of electro hip-hop. A DJ set from Afrika Bambaataa can quash myopic cries from anyone decrying the younger generation’s predilection for lean jeans and even leaner electro-funk. Bambaataa is that rare living legend in an era when the term has become increasingly meaningless.
Kid Sister/Flosstradamus: Chicago dance-rap and DJ sets for the Vice/Cobrasnake kids. If they show up.
The Cool Kids: With their 808 fetishization, Follow the Leader fashion sense and claims of being “the new black Beastie Boys,” the precocious Chicago duo of Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish pine for a Golden Age they encountered through Soulseek folders and Flickr albums. Unfairly saddled with the “hipster rap” label, the Cool Kids remain true to their alias, with an upbeat stage presence and basement-ready party raps.
Spank Rock: 2 Live Crew–aping, Baltimore-club-influenced electro-rap, loved by kids in American Apparel everywhere. What happens when headbands and backpacks collide?
