Hieroglyphics

While much of today’s rap music is made for the club, Hieroglyphics showed why their brand of music is best served live and performed in front of a crowd. Hiero may have one of the most loyal fan bases of any hip-hop group. The last time they were in town, on the heels of Casual’s Smash Rockwell album in 2005, they were pressed to find material for an unexpected encore and pinned against their bus after the show for an impromptu autograph session. While it may not have been the same circus atmosphere this time around at the Mod Club, Tajai, Pep Love, Casual and A-Plus cycled through track after track acrobatically with DJs Domino and Charade behind them. Just like Casual three years before, in 2008 it is Opio who has a recently released album, and he offered up a few choice cuts from Vultures Wisdom Vol. 1. Casual, the designated hitter of the team, shied away from his biggest hit, "That’s How It Is” and instead, chose to go with the second single off of 1994’s Fear Itself, "I Didn’t Mean To.” After playing hits such as "That’s When You Lost,” "93 Till Infinity” and then coming back for an encore, Hiero left the stage to boisterous audience that more than got their money’s worth on a $15 ticket. Openers included Tanya Morgan and Knobody, Musab, and an impressive duo from Seattle known as Blue Scholars whose performance went on a little longer than it should have but was notable nonetheless.