El-P/Dizzee Rascal/Busdriver

Fri., May 9, 8:30 p.m., $15, all ages, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.

by John Vettese

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Published: May 6, 2008

hip-hop

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I don't know who came up with the God-awful terminology "backpacker hip-hop," but they could stand to get a smackdown or some. Generally speaking, it's a tastemaker buzz-phrase denoting "rap music that white indie kids listen to." It's marketed as such, sold as such and toured as such, but it's a frustrating distinction. Either subtextual racism is carried within (as in, "it's safe for you to listen to these MCs, granola boy") or, conversely, it's an artistic pejorative, lowering the music's esteem in the eyes of those who might identify as hip-hop fans first and foremost. Why set these acts off like that? How is that fair? This weekend's fantastic triple-bill at the First Unitarian is a case study: Busdriver's ambidextrous tongue can rap circles around your head every bit as nimbly as Andre 3000; Dizzee Rascal shares Slick Rick's blend of an acerbic bite and winning wit; and El-P's (pictured) menacing stories told over cold, calculated backings are icy as anything RZA has done. Screw the qualifiers. It's all hip-hop, one and the same, and should all be treated equally.

Fri., May 9, 8:30 p.m., $15, all ages, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.

 

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