Mad Professor widens dub's diaspora

It's a known element of hip-hop culture that gangstas don't dance, they boogie; otherwise, the guns might fall out of their pants. But expect no gun-totin' thuggery at "Gangsta Boogie," only a solid amount of local talent for a decent cover charge, including the tough 'n' sassy female rap crew Rhapsodistas and the Sole Vibe, a hip-hop collective that explores a more chilled-out and soul-based sound. DJ Doc Fu mans the decks at this polite throwdown on Saturday, Jan. 20, at Elbo Room at 10 p.m. Admission is $7; call 552-7788 or visit www.elbo.com for more info. — Tamara Palmer

Mad Professor.

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More About

• Tamara Palmer
• Lee Scratch Perry
• Darren Keast
• Naomi Long Madgett
• Hip-Hop and Rap

Purveyor of the underground dubstep sound, U.K. DJ/producer N-Type creates and curates a danceable beat that manages to pack the fierce grooves of bass-heavy genres like dancehall and drum 'n' bass into a slowed-down and mellowed-out package. The result feels robotic yet spacey — almost woozy. N-Type executes his spontaneous mixes online every Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. PST (www.rinse.fm), but it'll be more fun to catch him doing his thing in person with local DJs at "Pioneers of Dubstep V2" on Saturday, Jan. 20, at Club Six at 9 p.m. Admission is $10-15; call 863-1221 or visit www.clubsix1.com for more info. — T.P.

For years, the Mad Professor has been the only anchor keeping Lee Scratch Perry's live shows from falling into complete Romper Room absurdity. The Prof's dutifully manned the mixing boards, the seat of honor in a dub reggae outfit. Hailing from England, Mad Professor has quietly built an enormous catalog of computer-assisted music on his Ariwa imprint that rivals any of those of his better known Jamaican counterparts. Lately he's been giving the reverb washout to numerous big names outside the Caribbean diaspora, turning out remixes for the Beastie Boys, Jamiroquai, Massive Attack, and even Sade and Rancid. He also takes a dynamic, engaging approach to live dub, which can be as contradictory and fun to watch as improv civil engineering. Dub Mission presents Mad Professor and the Ariwa Sound System, with Pan Africanist and DJ Sep on Sunday, Jan. 21, at Elbo Room at 9 p.m. Admission is $18-25; call 552-7788 or visit www.elbo.com for more info. — Darren Keast