Back on the Hill

he past several months have been a little rough for North Carolina fans of underground hip-hop. A burgeoning scene hinted at explosion last year, with monthly appearances ranging from old school pioneers KRS-1 and Pharcyde to contemporaries that border on mainstream exposure like Jurassic 5 and Talib Kweli. More recently, shows by both established and underground artists have been scarce in the Triangle. Cat's Cradle, the usual venue for most of these appearances, showed signs of lagging with only a couple of shows by The Arsonists and The Coup in the past semester, the latter of which canceled weeks before their performance.

But perhaps it would be hasty to pronounce North Carolina's hip-hop appeal down and out so soon. Last Friday proved that fans of both underground and prominent artists still have an opportunity to engage in some good ole live head-noddin'.

The show opened with Living Legends, a Bay Area group widely respected in tighter hip-hop circles for their thoughtful writing, creative production, and resistance to corporate sell-out. How many MCs have you heard of that can claim national exposure, yet still comb the streets to personally peddle their music? "We buy our own food, ya'll!"

Despite having a large cast of talent to coordinate at once, Living Legends easily managed to entertain through stimulating lyrics, a wonderful palette of jazzy urban music and the rare gift of on-stage poise that needn't resort to getting in your face the whole time to make you feel them.

Confrontational performance tactics are much more the domain of Defari and Tha Liks (formerly The Alkaholiks), the show's headliners. Defari got the crowd hyped with a strong and consistent presence, and then Tha Liks took over to get the whole Cradle hopping. Of course, if you listened to the lyrics as you jumped to the solid, bass-laden beats, you might have noticed that the group's message rarely strayed from glorifying the timeless practice of getting all f**ked up. This is not to totally discount Tha Liks; their accessibility strengthens their appeal, making them a good introduction to hip-hop newcomers.

Those who missed Friday's show can look forward to this Saturday's appearance by the some-time pronounced godfather of hip-hop, KRS-1. Given the recent trend in scheduling, this is a rare one-two punch for the Cradle to deliver right now. If two straight weekends of solid performances aren't enough to satisfy the long-starved beat junkies in the area, then perhaps it's time to move to Philly. Me, I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope that Chapel Hill continues to deliver on quality acts.