ROUNDUP: Hip Hop Shows in August

August 2nd: Apathy @ Club Metronome. One of the best rappers alive touches down on Main Street tonight so, you know, go see that. 9 pm. $10 adv / $15 door. 18+

August 4th: Bowling for BP @ Champlain Lanes. A special charity edition of the Mics & Strikes series to benefit the Ryan Morin Memorial Scholarship. 8 pm. $15 gets you two hours of bowling and dope rap. All ages.

Also August 4th: The Khaosity Experience @ Sweet Melissas. An evening of hip hop in Montpelier with Drive, Trono of Self Portrait crew, and JMC Ent. 8:30 pm. $5. All Ages.

August 11th: Chris Webby @ Higher Ground. Suburban rap sensation Chris Webby has parlayed mixtape success into multiple national tours now and will probably never stop. Also on the bill: Bizarre of D12, because of course he would be. 9 pm. $18 adv/$22 door. All Ages.

August 17th: 3rd Thursday @ The Monkey House. Yet another big score for the Anthill Collective family, this month's lineup brings some outside talent to Winooski. Sets from Ben Schorr, Stay on Mars and Maine's furball fast-rap legend Eyenine, who puts on a hell of a show. Local metal rap act HatePH34R will be making an appearance, too. 9 pm. 21+ $3 // 18+ $8

August 19th: Dellarious Summer Jam @ Cloud 9 Bar and Grille. Sure, this is in New Hampshire on Hampton Beach, but the lineup is heavy on Vermont: Bar None The Best, Jarv, Jibba the Gent and the entire Street Religion massive doing a group set. This should be a fairly bananas event. 9 pm. $5 adv/$10 door. 21+

August 24th: Chyse & DJ Ross @ Social Club & Lounge. If you're not familiar with Chyse, fix that. He'll be headlining at Social Club & Lounge alongside DJ Ross. Khaosity, Jibba the Gent and Kastaway will also be performing. 9 pm. $5. 21+

August 26th: A-Dog Day 2017 @ Waterfront, Nectars, Club Metronome. It's hard to believe this is already the fourth A-Dog Day celebration. It's also hard to believe it's only the fourth one. This has become the most important event of the year, a pilgrimage, a holy day. The Friends for A-Dog Foundation not only puts on a world-class party, they're a community asset year round.

What a party, though. They're not kidding when they call it "a city-wide celebration," but make sure you're upstairs at Club Metronome when The Beatnuts go on.

VIDEO: Jarv - "Roast Beef"

Fresh flows from Jarv, this time another one of those viral video contest affairs. Producer Kato -- full legal name Kato On The Track -- is running a competition to see who can body this beat the best. Safe to say Jarv is a top 10 contender, based off this blistering performance.

NSMC5 is short for No Sucka MCs 5, and the contest is apparently still going: details here for those of you interested.

This kind of spotlight is perfectly tailored to Jarv's show-stopping sensibilities -- win or lose, he's picking up new fans in the process.

Chittenden county critters can catch Jarv on Friday, August 4th at the Bowling for BP tribute at Champlain Lanes. He'll be rocking with Maiden Voyage alongside the Cultural Chemistry crew. A great night for a great cause, bud. Be there.

B.P.M. - A Tribute to Ryan Morin

There's going to be an absurd amount of talent packed into Club Metronome tonight to honor the life (and music!) of DJ BP, aka Ryan Morin. Barely an exaggeration to say that everyone is on the bill this evening. No exaggeration to say it will be one of the most memorable shows of the year.

If anyone reading this is unfamiliar, this Dan Bolles piece on his passing is excellent. And true.

To top it off, all proceeds go to charity. Be there.

Remembering DJ BP

As many of you know the music community took a big hit with the sudden loss of Ryan Morin aka DJ BP. Ryan was a past member of The Lynguistic Civilians a long time collaborator with The Aztext and member of the group UnKommon while also serving a DJ for a multitude of occasions around the state. DJ BP had an immense love for music. Not only making it but being a true fan indulging in the inner workings of a song taking appreciation for the most subtle things that most don't pick up on. He had an incredible spirit and positive energy that many were able to encounter through years of performing live around Vermont and beyond. His group UnKommon with his longtime friend and collaborator Kin, recently released their new project titled Back In The Building. Take some time to listen to this album and pay tribute to DJ BP. The Vermont Hip Hop community will sorely miss his presence.

Aug 30th: A-Dog Day Celebration

This weekend is going to be huge. Skate Jams on Church Street, two stages of music at Arts Riot, and very nearly too many acts to actually list.

A-Dog Day is a serious milestone for Vermont Hip Hop -- not this dinky little blog, but the actual scene itself: you and me and everyone we know. (Most of whom are on the bill at Arts Riot.)

This is a celebration of an inspiring human being who left this Earth more than a little bit too soon, and also an opportunity to take stock of the culture he helped grow here. If you're not familiar with A-Dog and his legacy, start here: an excellent Seven Days memorial gathered from his friends, co-conspirators and protégés.

Also: big ups to the homie Miro Weinberger for making this possible.

July 29th: WRITE BROTHERS PARTY at Nectars

Learic and Dante DaVinci have created something monumentally heavy with their "Write Brothers" project. We've already documented some of the nationwide buzz they've been getting just off the first two singles. Tuesday night at Nectars will be your chance to hear the entire project get debuted at one of Vermont's finest establishments, the legendary Nectars on Main Street Burlington.

DJ Fattie B will be in the house showcasing his increasingly awesome remix/mashup work, and Wombaticus Rex will be kicking off the Rap with special guest Godforbid. We'll be doing the new EP "Fear of Death and the Need for Reproduction" straight through.

It should probably be mentioned that this show is completely free.

C'mon down.

March 20th: Brain Gang presents The Hip Hop Hullabaloo, Club Metronome

The Brain Gang crew is bringing a heck of a show to Burlington this week. Founded in Springfield, VT, the posse has been growing steadily ever since, so producing and promoting shows is a logical progression. (The "explanation" on Metronome's website indicates they might need to hire a copywriter at some point, though.) Brain Gang is bigger than the 802, boasting members in New Hampshire and North Carolina, but the bill this Thursday will feature familiar faces. According to the 7 Days listings, the lineup goes a little something like The Aztext, Bless the Child, FixHate, Crows, Mad Dog, DJ BP and host Emcee-T.

Best of all, this show is completely fucking free. See you at the bar.

Throwback: "I Make Records" - The Aztext

The Aztext are at work on a fourth album. Learic is also doing a side project called The Write Brothers and has been busy doing (crazy good) solo sets with DJ BP around Burlington and New England. On a beautiful Sunday like this, though, we can't imagine a better blast from the past than their single "I Make Records."