People Under the Stairs - Chicago, IL

People Under The Stairs are definitely some of the hardest working artists in hip hop today. LA natives Thes One and Double K filled the shoes of every aspect of hip hop live on stage; MC-ing, mixing, beatboxing, sampling, producing, and rocking the crowd. The catch was, they did it all LIVE.

That's right...they not only had the entire room jumping to their bass heavy, mid to high tempo beats, but they also managed to more or less mix the tracks at the same time. Incorporating a live drum machine, sampler, turntables, and two microphones, PUTS produced a live and completely unique hip hop experience (unlike any show I had ever seen) live and direct for all the Chicago party people.

It was the night of the first major snow this winter, a snow that neither Californian Thes One or Double K had ever experienced. "We ain't never seen nothing like this, much respect to you all who came," Thes One said between tracks. In a rock venue that sounded surprisingly great for hip hop, there was quite a crowd for a Thursday night buried in snow. After the show, my friend Aaron and I couldn't even find the car at first; it was completely re-covered. Honestly, I am just glad we found a spot in time to see the opening act, local hip-hoppers Bad News Jones.

A Chicago group consisting of three MC's and a live jazz quartet (bass, keys, sax, drums), Bad News Jones rocked an opening set of very stylish and precise jazz beats matched with lyrical dynamics and slick performance chemistry. The group's versatility was also remarkable.

"What is Chicago famous for?" MC James Occhipinti asked. "Blues, wind, and house music. House Music!" The group then launched into my favorite track of the set which was sort of a jumpy, house-infused jazz song with quick rhymes.

After Bad News, a tight DJ set was spun by DJ Pickel and the MTM crew, featuring music spanning all eras of hip hop as well as soul and funk. All I could really think about during this set was where I could buy a mixtape of the songs being played. I asked a hip hop head "Hey man, who is the DJ playing right now?" He gave me a disappointed look and said very, very sternly: "KRS-One," then looked away. I felt like an idiot.

After a solid set that was just over an hour long, original Nacrobat and Chicagoan Pugzlee Atomz rocked the mic for a short but engaging performance. For one MC, he certainly carried "gravitas," something that "Colbert Report" anchor Stephen Colbert and the hip hop could respect.

Like I mentioned above, PUTS rocked damn hard. People were bouncing around like jumping beans on a hot frying pan, especially to their best song (and my personal favorite) "San Francisco Knights." Their new album Stepfather should definitely be hot, their show definitely was. In the words of Double K, "That's right young writer, got a hint for all you biters, time to bless another track, we getting' rid of the wack."