Busdriver vs. Mikah 9 | Grizzly Bear on Morning Becomes Eclectic

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I’ve made a number of mentions of Low End Theory in the past and I’m again compelled, as this week — in the spirit of the club’s now-infamous beat invitationals and on the cusp of their spreading-of-roots with a monthly New York gathering — Daddy Kev’s Los Angeles-based weekly hip-hop extravaganza is set to host its freshman emcee battle/style-off. The competitors? Hardly freshman (but certainly fresh, man, if I can say that without sounding god-awfully cheesy — which I can’t).

Two sons of Leimert Park’s groundbreaking (and only recently [properly] documented) Good Life Cafe open mic and a couple of long-standing torchbearers for Los Angeles’ avant garde music scene, Mikah 9 and Busdriver will be whipping their ever-flexing tongues tomorrow evening in what sounds to be a unique showcase — in not so much a battle per se, but from what I understand, rather a rattling-off of styles and an exhibition of form and technicality, set within an one-up game between two ten-mile-a-minute wits. If that in itself doesn’t just sound like a battle. At any rate, here’s the dealy as provided by LET:

“Verbal Acrobatics: Vocal Styling Exhibition #1 will feature locution kings Busdriver and Mikah 9 going verse-for-verse in an all-out style-a-thon, with instrumentals provided by Low End Theory resident DJs Daddy Kev, Nobody and D-Styles. Nocando will also be on deck as referee.”

To further tease what should truly be a spectacle, I’ve plucked a couple of tracks highlighting each of the gents’ dizzying styles.

Mikah 9: Viles, featuring P.E.A.C.E. / MP3 / $$$

Busdriver: Nagging Nimbus / MP3 / $$$

Plus, a standard — Freestyle Fellowship: 5 O’Clock Follies / MP3 / $$$

. . . . .

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Also readying themselves for a busy Wednesday in LA are Grizzly Bear. The ursidaen Brooklynites are scheduled to tape a performance for CBS’ The Craig Ferguson Show in the afternoon, following an appearance on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic around mid-day (11:15, to be precise). The Ferguson performance is set to air on March 6th.

One would imagine their stay in Los Angeles to be an extended one, as the guys will also be performing next weekend at the splendrous, Gehry-shaped Walt Disney Concert Hall with the LA Philharmonic.

Grizzly Bear: He Hit Me (Crystals cover) / MP3 / $$$