SUNDAY

Like a petri dish full of stem cells, the 2000 compilation Solesides Greatest Bumps was all about potential. The college-town collective (from the University of California, Davis, of all places) was maturing into its Quannum Projects stage, and it had recorded roughly a half-decade of tracks that proved indie hiphop had more to offer than just somber moods or sonic confrontation. DJ Shadow was already a star, but the crew’s other flagship acts—Blackalicious (pictured) and Latyrx—were still in the process of self-actualizing. Four years later, Quannum is all growed up, and its brain-stimulating, party-friendly aesthetic is about as airtight as anything in hiphop. The Quannum World Tour appears to be the purest of celebrations: Instead of trotting out one headliner with a bunch of up-and-coming underlings, the label got all the principals on board. Shadow, although still a formidable creative force, is relatively old-hat as a stage act (unless, of course, you’re a total DJ fanboy). The real reason to show up is the convergence of some gifted MCs. Gift of Gab, the mouthpiece of Blackalicious, is all smoothness and confidence. Lyrics Born and Lateef, the yin and yang of Latyrx, are eccentrics with crowd-pleasing hearts. They all can flow with a melody, and none of them rely solely on the cryptic haiku-isms that mark so many underground releases. Joining them will be Joyo Velarde, Quannum’s ace female singer, and relative newcomers Lifesavas and DJ D-Sharp. The show starts at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, April 18, at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $25. (202) 432-7328. (Joe Warminsky)