Melissa Lane

After the 8-year-old from Bed-Stuy dropped his yellow Mickey Mouse transistor radio to commandeer the turntables away from his Uncle Mike, history sailed forth. Ali Shaheed Muhammad later hooked up with rappers Q-Tip and Phife and formed a little group named A Tribe Called Quest. Indelibly influencing hip-hop with five albums of melodic, jazzy beats, Muhammad bounced onto Lucy Pearl to do the same on a different scale. With a fusion of funk, rock, R&B and hip-hop, he managed to quietly restate the game in new musical terms. Now, on "Shaheedullah & Stereotypes," his latest project, he not only sets out to elasticize the sometimes stubbornly static shape of hip-hop, he also picks up the mic. His new album encompasses influences from Basement Jaxx to Radiohead to Issa Bagayogo. Explaining the title's Muslim assertion, he explains that he is "seeking the Gardens of Heaven and can't get there leaving a legacy of B.S. in [his] music." Amongst the already stellar lineup accompanying him, DJ Language is known to kick hip-hop, house, acid jazz, soul, disco, broken beat and electro all in one smooth sigh.

With Evil Dee, the Twilite Tone and Tone B Nimble at Sonotheque, 1444 West Chicago, (312)226-7600, on August 24 at 8pm. Free with rsvp at scion.com/metro

(2005-08-16)

Also by Melissa Lane

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