Midterms are nearly over, and with their completion come the congratulations of the A.S. Council. This Friday, all card-carrying UCSD students are invited to celebrate in typical Triton fashion: by going to see bands that we vaguely remember from junior high in concert. Don’t complain. It’s free.
The same event that brought groups such as Crash Test Dummies and Save Ferris last year brings Young M.C., Tha Liks (formerly known as the Alkoholics) and Voice of Reason to the Price Center Plaza Friday at 7 p.m.
Nowadays the words “”bust a move”” probably remind the majority of our readers of the hit Neo-Geo video game, but not too long ago Young M.C. sat atop the hip-hop Billboard charts for a good long while with this dance mix favorite.
We’ve all heard “”Bust a Move”” and we’ve all busted a move to it. Unfortunately, Young M.C.’s career disappeared along with his genre of friendly rap with the introduction of gangsta’ rap in the early 1990s.
Don’t doubt Young’s talent, however. He coauthored other great hits from the late 1980s such as Tone Loc’s “”Wild Thang”” and “”Funky Cold Medina,”” a favorite of everyone who knows what a medina is.
He released a greatest hits album in 1998 and is still touring and doing small shows. Young M.C. shows considerable commitment to his hip-hop career, considering he has a University of Southern California economics degree.
One wonders what UCSD could possibly be paying him that he couldn’t be making at most desk jobs. The answer: not much. Young M.C. has been keepin’ it real since before that phrase was coined.
Tha Liks bring a newer twist on hip-hop culture to the lineup. Their Web site describes their music as “”the flavor and aroma of an extraordinary cognac coupled with the draw from a fine Cuban cigar.””
Said less fruitfully, they combine the worlds of hard hip-hop and alternative music and are well-respected by those who participate in the hip-hop subculture.
If your idea of participating in hip-hop subculture is listening to Puff Daddy’s album all the way through, then maybe you haven’t heard of them. Tha Liks’ most recent album, “”The X.O. Experience,”” is reportedly softer than previous releases and has a few radio-friendly tracks.
Starting off the night with a little local flavor is Voice of Reason, who placed runner-up in last year’s battle of the bands at the Sun God Festival. (I guess whoever won the battle of the bands last year was unavailable.) Described as a hip-hop funk hybrid, Voice of Reason might be the best reason to come to the concert.
Between the has-beens, the never-weres and the could-bes, Friday should be an interesting evening. Come out and bust a move.
