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By Sarah Tomlinson, Globe Correspondent, 2/26/2004
Fans of hip-hop and fly happenings: Whether you're into decadent dance music, serious beats with a serious message, or MC-style mic domination, you have your choice of all-ages shows this weekend.
The funny, irreverent, and super-stylish FannyPack crew promises a wild house party vibe at its first-ever Boston show at the Matrix tomorrow night. The naughty Brooklyn-based quintet, featuring three pint-sized female rappers backed by two veteran club DJs, stormed the airwaves this past summer with their hilarious, schoolyard fashion taunt, "Cameltoe." They've since backed up their novelty song with a fresh, cocky album of old-school beats and little-sister-style rhymes. Sounding like the love child of Salt 'n' Pepper and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, FannyPack earns street cred with its pop culture in-jokes while gleefully pushing the boundaries of taboo.
But don't take the cultural tip too seriously. Just listen to the hilarious bits of in-studio banter that pepper the debut album, "So Stylistic." "People always tend to think we must be into all this really obscure, cool, weird hip-hop stuff," says DJ Matt. "But my general rule of thumb is that I only listen to rappers that can beat me up."
The same cheeky humor infuses their live show. "It's like your friends you've known your whole life are up there doing a song," says DJ Matt Goias. "And that's what's cool about it. Because the girls in our group, I found them on the street basically, so they're not like these seasoned performers with the little Janet Jackson headset things on."
A full-on dance craze is likely to overtake the room when the girls rhyme and shimmy their way through numbers devoted to all the things that make them glad, like "clothes, shopping, music, boys, flowers, beaches, mom, and dad," as they rap on "Things." They even promise to coax the wallflowers in the crowd to shake it by drawing boys and girls from the crowd into a raucous dance contest. So saucy. So silly. So FannyPack. FannyPack plays the Matrix, downstairs from the Roxy, 279 Tremont St., Boston, tomorrow. Doors at 6:30 p.m., $13, all ages, 617-931-2000.Rap the vote For those who like their hip-hop infused with some serious political rants, the "Party and Politics (Not your average Party Politics)" event promises rhymes and rhetoric at the Middle East Downstairs Sunday night. The evening's highlight is a performance by De La Soul, who originated smart, groovy hip-hop layered with psychedelic samples and playful humor. The show will give fans of the intelligent, peace-loving MCs a chance to get amped up for the third installment of their comeback trilogy, "Art Official Intelligence," which is due out later this year.
The show is among a handful of nationwide events currently being organized under the umbrella of the Music for America organization, which aims to involve 1 million new progressive voters in the 2004 election by infusing live shows with education on issues of importance to the group. Volunteers will register voters and provide literature on issues young music fans care about, from education to consolidation of the media.
Kicking off the festivities will be San Francisco trip-hop quartet Zonk, who blend Portishead-style vocals and jazzy horns over an easy beat. And check out the precocious 18-year-old producer, 4th Pyramid, who lays down instrumental jams over slow, slinky beats.
De La Soul plays the Middle East Downstairs, 472 Mass. Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Feb. 29. Doors at 8 p.m., $25, 18+, 617-931-2000.