December 2- 8, 2004

musicpicks

Last Emperor

Hip-hop

Pop star-size fame has never been a goal for West Philly's Last Emperor. He was spitting words laced with a conscious vibe long before it became the cool thing to do. (And that's hardly the most direct route to mainstream appeal.) But thanks to a string of bad luck with labels—Aftermath gave him poor promotion and Rawkus went belly-up --he's only recently gotten a fighting chance. Political activist label Raptivism first approached Last Emp about a side project, and their relationship formed and blossomed into a full-length in 2003, Music, Magic, Myth, which included collaboration with Too Poetic before the Gravediggaz member succumbed to colon cancer. As he prepares to release his next project, due out early 2005, Last Emp remains on the low, and lets his lyrics sell the music.

Fri., Dec. 3, 9 p.m., $12, with 420, OffWhyte, Meaty Ogre, K-the-I???, Adam 12, Digs Darklighter and Illit, Ulana's, 205 Bainbridge St., 215-922-4152.

—Deesha Dyer