Lyrical Skoolyard continues to be a haven for hip-hop heads in North County. This Thursday, the monthly-ish event series is back, at Boar Cross'n in Carlsbad.
Headlining the show is Rakaa Iriscience, one of the MC's from Dilated Peoples. Dilated Peoples came up in the Los Angeles underground scene in the late '90s and early 2000s, alongside such peers such Jurassic 5. Though Dilated People's 2004 song "This Way" fared well on the music charts, thanks to a guest verse from Kanye West, the group is best known for their hit, "Worst Comes to Worst," which became a universal ode to love, friendship, and loyalty. Rakaa's recent solo debut, Crown of Thorns, faithfully continues the Dilated sound.
A slew of local acts will also perform on Thursday: S.P.A.M. is a North County duo consisting of the rappers Holiq and the prolific Mannyfesto. They released their first collaboration album last year, Less Is More, which you can check out at their Bandcamp page. Brother Nature is another duo that sits somewhere in between the everyman spirituality of Blu and the light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek consciousness of KMD. Tacs is a nimble MC also from North County who, after first listen, seems to take after Atmosphere.
The National City act Old English was originally on the bill Thursday but couldn't make the date after all. Fortunately, Raashan from the Bay Area-based Crown City Rockers was added at the last minute. Crown City Rockers specialize in a soulful and funky brand of hip-hop with unabashedly positive themes. Lead MC Raashan stays close to the same formula in his solo material.
And if this is all going over your head, just come out and hear some good rapping already.
Boar Cross'n
390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad
$10 | Ages 21+
Doors open at 8 p.m.
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.
