November 13-19, 2003

musicpicks

Fel Sweetenberg

Hip-hop

On Fel Sweetenberg’s interlude, "Dear Dad," the letter writer, an aspiring MC, explains to his father that "nowadays people don’t want you to sing good, they want you to sing sloppy and have a good beat to your songs, so that’s the angle I’m going to shoot for; that’s where the money is." There’s a situational irony here, because the interlude is on Sweetenberg’s self-produced Lost Dreams, Wasted Talent EP (Break Bread Projects), a recording that sounds about 180 degrees from the above-mentioned angle. Sweetenberg, who hails from Camden, N.J., is known for his work with Nuthouse, the well-regarded indie hip-hop trio with early millennium releases on Good Vibes and Bobbito Garcia’s Fondle ’Em Records. On his own, Sweetenberg’s clean, precise rhymes and earnest paeans to the creative process and the female form suggest that the solo talent on Lost Dreams is not, in fact, wasted. Sweetenberg will be appearing on Saturday at a Silk City showcase that also features Louis Logic, Brycon & Equal, Kenneth Masters & DJ Cramski and Upgrade Project.

Sat., Nov. 15, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., $7-$10, Silk City, Fifth and Spring Garden sts., 215-592-8838.

—Elisa Ludwig

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