DECEMBER 10

When a group of Nyahbinghi Rastafari broke with their tradition and left Jamaica in 1990 to “set the record straight” about their religious practice, their pilgrimage brought them to D.C. They counseled the Rasta community here and lectured the rest of us about the difference between observant Rastas and the bad bwai who merely happen to wear dreads; the elders also recorded Rastafari Elders, a collection of Nyahbinghi chants, drumbeats, and reasoning for the D.C.-based RAS label. Eventually, the group left Babylon and returned to Kingston, but one, Ras Pidow, stayed behind. Pidow recorded his solo Modern Antique for RAS last year, and because he was backed by the Roots Radics, that album resembles the dub poetry of Mutabaruka and Prince Far I rather than traditional Nyahbinghi music. Still, Pidow’s message remains the same, his vision inviolable. He makes a rare public appearance Friday at 9 p.m. at Sweet Mango Cafe, 3701 New Hampshire Ave. NW. $5. (202) 291-5623. (Alona Wartofsky)