The Beat Goes Off: Those super-stoked about Friday’s Legends of Hip-Hop show at the Koger Center … well, get un-stoked. The concert — scheduled to include performances from old-school urban-music royalty Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Force MD’s and Nice and Smooth as well as local hip-hoppers Preach and The Elements — has been stricken from the Koger Center calendar.

This is the second time the show’s been struck from the books: Initially scheduled for June 28, the show was moved to October in late June. The concert was additionally intended to commemorate DJ Prince Ice’s 20 years of spinning hip-hop on South Carolina’s airwaves; Prince Ice, though, seems to be in the dark about the possible cancellation.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Prince Ice says. “I haven’t heard from [concert promoters 2010 Entertainment] since August. I don’t know what happened to them.”
2010 Entertainment did not respond to inquiries before Free Times went to press.

With such old-school luminaries as Slick Rick and Big Daddy Kane on board, the concert would have been a perfect pairing with Prince Ice’s anniversary, recalling the salad years of hip-hop radio. With little contact from the promoters, though, Prince Ice has moved on.
“I just felt the need to separate myself from something that might not happen,” he says. “I’ve been going back and forth with it because everyone was really supportive.”

Still, Prince Ice says he “couldn’t not do something” to celebrate his vigintennial; he’s now hosting an “old-school party” on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Midlands Celebration at Midtown at Forest Acres. Doors will open at 9 p.m., and Prince Ice himself will be manning the mixing booth. Tune in next week, true believers, for more information.
 

Shekeese tha Beast

The Beat Goes On: Those super-bummed about the cancellation of Legends of Hip-Hop should now get super-un-bummed, as their weekend hip-hop fix can be obtained at the New Brookland Tavern on Saturday, when Shekeese tha Beast hosts yet another installment of the classic Non-Stop Hip-Hop Live! Beat Street Beat Battle. Multiple Metro producers enter but only one producers leaves — well, with the championship belt, anyway — in this boom-bap kumite; past winners include local hip-hop heavyweights Midi Marc and Mike S. Local emcees Piazo and Primo Starr are this beat battle’s featured live performers. Doors open at 9 p.m., and admission is $5. (Or $7 if your fake ID isn’t fooling the doorman.) Call 791-4413 or visit newbrooklandtavern.com (or myspace.com/beatstreetbeatbattle) for more information.

Quick Hits: Any Carolina student who’s taken MUSC140 — that’s Jazz and American Popular Music, dontcha know — has been taught by John Valerio and has seen that, yes, the man can play a mean jazz piano. For those who haven’t taken that class, Valerio will school the crowd at The Blue Martini on Thursday. Call 256-2442 for more information. Elsewhere: Disk jockeys Chris Wenner, Green Street and Kev Kev spin at The White Mule’s Bang! Party on Thursday; famed singer-songwriter Janis Ian plays the Newberry Opera House on Friday (see Eight Days for more); and Saturday finds Drink Small at Utopia, Charlie McIver at The Watershed, The Papa String Band and The Packway Handle Band at The White Mule and As Sick as Us releasing a record at Headliners. 


The Playlist is a discussion of life, the universe and every-thing — but mostly music. Let us know what you think: Email music@free-times.com. Read the new Playlist blog on our homepage.