With a youthful sense of intensity drawn straight from a soul-injected center, The Bul Bey strikes forth, converting listeners with a composed confident tenacity. Tapping into a tireless energy, Bey delivers authentic, smooth rhymes that echo where he’s from, while suggesting where he wants to go. That down-to-earth, daily sincerity, further molded by widespread ambition, creates a relentless follow-the-leader vibe that’s a mix of grime, celebration and ambition. With new material on the way, he hits Johnny Brenda’s this evening, slotted after local emcee Has-Lo, whom may have a new EP on the horizon this summer. They set the table for Detroit native Black Milk, who, with Nate Turner, develops an all-consuming, soulful brand of hip hop. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 8pm, $15, 21+ – Michael Colavita
