The problem with collectives is there’s always a weak link. For every RZA and Ghostface Killah there’s a U-God and Masta Killa. But the hip-hop group Doomtree avoids this conundrum: While P.O.S. is the group’s star, nobody dives for the fast-forward when Dessa, Sims, Cecil Otter, or Mike Mictlan steps to the mic. Doomtree’s punk-infused hip-hop peaked on the first track of 2011’s No Kings LP, evoking last year’s Wugazi mash-ups by Otter and Swiss Andy. While the music is eclectic compared to mainstream hip-hop, that approach doesn’t reign: No Kings is actually full of in-the-pocket bangers, and the MCs showcase personal lyrics with an egalitarian sharing of the workload. It’s a true commitment to the collective ideal—which is probably much easier to achieve if you don’t have to cut U-God in on a verse. 8 p.m. at Rock & Roll Hotel with F. Stokes and Educated Consumers. $15. (Christopher Porter)
FILM
Europhiles are in luck: Tonight both the Goethe-Institut and Alliançe Francaise are hosting a couple promising film events. At Goethe, it’s a showing of Black Box Germany, the 2001 documentary about the very different lives (and deaths) of a bank executive and a radical leftist during Germany’s tumultuous 1970s and 1980s (6:30 p.m., $7). At Alliance Francaise, the short-film series Les Lutins du Court-Métrage kicks off with three shorts, including Olivier Babinet’s C’est Plutot Genre Johny Walker (6:30 p.m., $8; call to make a reservation).
BOOKS
What do you know about the Farm Bill? Author Daniel Imhoff says it’s one of the most critical pieces of legislation for our agricultural system—-it sets budgets and procedures for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and directly impacts millions of U.S. citizens. The bill is passed every five years, and we’re on the eve of a new one this year. Tonight, Imhoff discusses and signs his book Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to a Food and Farm Bill at Busboys & Poets on 14th Street NW at 6:30 p.m. Free.
Down the street, Blackbyrd will play host to a special after-party for Baratunde Thurston‘s How to Be Black book event at the National Press Club. (You can also attend the NPC event by RSVPing here.) 9 p.m.