As musical and cultural boundaries bend and blend, there was bound to be a Hasidic Jew singing rasta music. Matisyahu (born Matthew Miller) weaves traditional Jewish spirituality with mighty, uplifting reggae grooves. He is touring for his third album simply called Light, where conscious lyrics, funky riddims, ragamuffin, dancehall, roots reggae and soaring rock riffs collide in this, well, a cross-cultural blend. With Moon Taxi. The Fillmore Charlotte. (Samir Shukla)

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Those animated maniacs in Dethklok play The Fillmore tonight (with Mastodon along for the ride). Here’s just a taste of the insanity that lies ahead:

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Hell yeah. Tell ‘em senator.

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We miss you bro:

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We checked out last week’s Everything Doesn’t Suck Party in NoDa and came back with this nifty-ass report:

— Mike McCray

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Live Review: Mos Def + Jay Electronica
Amos’ South End, 9 p.m.
August 12, 2009

The Deal: Hip-hop’s favorite MC-turned-leading- (more like supporting-) man, Mos Def, comes back through the Queen City with lots of new music and Jay Electronica riding shotgun.

The Good: What a difference a year makes for Jay Electronica. Last year he put on an awkward performance when he opened for Talib Kweli and Nas, but this time, he flashed a welcome confidence and humongous stage presence while performing tracks that were new to most of the crowd who weren’t big fans before. Electronica did everything from read some local rappers flyer to the audience, to jumping in the thick of it to personalize one song to an audience member who wasn’t a believer in his skills …

… and forever changing the way you think of the Price is Right theme:

Mos Def was Mos Def, displaying the total package as a hip-hop artist, being able to switch from spitting, to singing, to even jumping on drums for a few times:

Although a lot of the show was new material from The Ecstatic …

… he made sure longtime fans weren’t left out, running through his classics and even some Black Star tracks. Mos also did his part to remember Michael Jackson, sporting the loafers and semi-high water pants, biting some dance moves and even covering “Billie Jean” in his nearly 2 hours on stage. Thank God the opening acts kept it brief.

The Bad: The “intermission” was a killer and the crowd did everything from boo to chanting Mos Def’s name in the near-hour-long gap in between Jay Electronica finishing and him coming on. Electronica going acapella on a lot of tracks went from adding emphasis to just being overdone and the multiple grassy knoll references were a head scratcher. Mos Def’s stage show was far from seamless. First he and the light guy couldn’t get on the same page at all, stopping multiple times to plead for the lights to be turned on, off or another color. Then there was confusion between him and his 2 DJs a few times about how things should go. Mos also let his frustration with a few intoxicated fans requests get to him multiple times rather than just ignoring screams for “Mathematics” and other hit songs. In the latter part of the show, “Mighty Mos” began to lose his mighty voice, stopping short on some notes.

The Verdict: Good show, not great. Jay Electronica proved he’s far more than just Erykah Badu’s baby father and actually one of the nicest MCs I’ve ever heard that can tour without ever dropping an album or single. Mos Def just pulled more tools out of his belt, showing that while he may still be a little rusty from the time off, he’s still a great performer.

— Mike McCray

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Hip-hop legend — and damned good actor — Mos Def pays Charlotte a visit this Wednesday, Aug. 12, for a performance at Amos’ Southend. So, have your ass in the house.

Here’s a little clip of the man in action, doing a song called “Umi Says”:

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Hip-hop superstar Consequence — who happens to be an artist on Kanye West’s GOOD record label — will be making an appearance at Pop Life tonight. So you need to bring your ass.

The event is free, starts at 6 p.m. and is going down at Apostrophe Lounge (1440 S. Tryon).

And in case you’ve never heard of the cat, check out this videos of him in action:

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Ripped straight from our popular regular crime column “The Blotter” — written every week by Ryan Pitkin — we bring you an in-the-flesh adaptation of the Threat of the Week. Enjoy:

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