If you're looking for a fairly mind-blowing hip-hop experience tonight, check out the Bus Stop at El Dorado in downtown SD, where you'll get to see DJ Exile. LA producer Exile hit it big after releasing the critically acclaimed Below the Heavens collaboration with rapper Blu in 2007. Since then, he's gone on to produce two more excellent full-lengths with Fashawn (Boy Meets World) and SD's own Blame One (Days Chasing Days). He's currently working on yet another project, entitled Dag Savage, with Johaz of Deep Rooted fame.
Of course, very little of that matters because, as a stand-alone performer, Exile is amazing. On top of spinning a DJ set -- probably full of soulful underground cuts from J Dilla and other like-minded artists -- Ex will be rocking one of his famous live MPC sets. For anyone in the dark on MPC's, drum machines and other technical music wizardry, imagine someone playing music from something resembling a souped-up Street Fighter II arcade cabinet. You'll be able to hear samples chopped, sliced and diced into progressively smaller bits and reconstructed on the spot into new, funky synthesizer beats. You can watch a sample of him at work above.
The Bus Stop is a new series going down at El Dorado Bar the first and third Wednesday of each month. Check out details on the show below:
- The Bus Stop with DJ Exile
- Wednesday, May 4
- Free before 10:30 p.m.; $5 after
- El Dorado Bar. 2900 India St.
Quan Vu Quan Vu is the founder and editor of local music blog SD Raps.com. He has also written about local and national hip-hop acts for San Diego CityBeat and the San Diego Reader. You can nerd out on rap trivia by following him on Twitter or e-mailing him directly.
