Ground Up consists of emcees Malakai and Azar and producer Bij Lincoln (a.k.a. Malcolm McDowell, Alex Azar, and Bijan Houshiarnejad, whose brothers are in Yep Roc’s Drink Up Buttercup). The crew started off back in 2008 after meeting as freshman at Temple University, and has been plotting a takeover of hip hop one mixtape at a time ever since. So far the prolific young group has already released six mixtapes, which are all available for free download HERE. Their most recent effort, Up Late, features contributions from legends in the Philly hip hop community, Freeway and Peedi Crakk. Ground Up’s sound can be attributed to their smooth production work, eclectic musical influences, and undeniable talent as beat makers. Their laid-back style beats are complimented fittingly by Malakai and Azar’s poetic wordplay and spoken word type vocal delivery. They’ll be joined by Sela, Wyldlyfe, and Dosage as well as DJ Phsh. The Blockley, 3801 Chestnut St., 9pm, $10, 21+ – Dan Brightcliffe