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10
WEDNESDAY
2003 was the year dancehall broke, and though Sean Paul and producer Stephen “Lenky” Marsden garnered most of the acclaim, Jamaican rapper Elephant Man had also crossed over by year’s end. The yellow-haired reggae rapper’s “’Pon De River, ’Pon De Bank” achieved regular video rotation with exuberant dancers (who offered more than standard-issue grinding), Elephant Man’s gruff-voiced salutes, and a gloriously sweet soul-pop chorus. Though “River” is the most memorable number on the artist’s 20-cut Good 2 Go, thanks to the input of the island’s finest knob-twiddlers, there are also a number of other keepers. Programming sci-fi synth bleeps, soca steel drums, and bhangra-style strumming, the beatmakers keep things vibrant even when Elephant Man’s frenetic, amelodic rhyming occasionally gets stuck on autopilot. Elephant Man performs at 10 p.m. at Crossroads, 4103 Baltimore Ave., Bladensburg. $25. (301) 927-1056. (Steve Kiviat)