When
it comes to hip-hop, I usually let my curiosity — or my ignorance — be my guide. But I didn’t need to suspend my comprehension
as much as I thought I might at Lovin’ Cup Thursday
night for Roc the Town 3.0. It was a non-stop barrage of MCs working it
out over beats emanating from DJ Tim Tones’ turntables.

Artists
like Show Money, Los Monroe, Dungen, JD Riggz, and Moses Rockwell utilize a style that
flies in the face of conventional music. In rock music, the beat is behind the
music. These dudes rap behind the beat, sometimes way behind it. Call it slow-motion
syncopation. It physically feels weird, especially when it manifests into a
foot tap, hip shake, or head bob. It’s fascinating, captivating, and
unavoidable with its subsonic rumble and quake.

The
joint was packed with the converted and convinced who interacted and
participated with the MCs. I’d like to see some genre-busting with this scene
and humbly bring its attitude, innovation, and style to something like the ROC City
Pro Jam and help blow minds up and doors off.

This article appears in Nov 28 – Dec 4, 2012.