"Go See A Show!" Your Guide To Live Music This Week

Friday, January 6

Phonte & 9th Wonder at Key Club I often meet people who tell me they "used to" like hip-hop in the glory days of De La, Tribe, Souls of Mischief and early Common, as if it's valid to compare those timeless classics to Soulja Boy and draw a conclusion about an entire era. And while I also lament that groovy, introspective hip-hop is no longer as commercially viable as it once perhaps was, I can't possibly close the door on a whole genre when groups like People Under The Stairs and (until recently) Little Brother are still very much carrying the torch for thinking, feeling hip-hop music. Unfortunately, Little Brother is no longer recording as a unit, but the departure of Big Pooh hasn't stopped rapper Phonte and producer 9th Wonder from carrying on recording their Foreign Exchange side project and touring with the same spirit and joyful intensity that sustained the group from day one. I'll be here, and you should be too. [Tickets & Info] ALSO: NOFX @ Ventura Theatre [photo via]