Are your ready for a weekend of beats, rhymes, and mayhem? Dust off your flyest kicks and your Cazale shades, because it’s summertime, and there’s rap in the air. New York boom-bap demigod El-P (video below), who recently released his 5th solo studio album on Fat Possum Records, “Cancer 4 Cure,” will rock Irving Plaza this Friday the 13th. If post-apocalyptic jazz-rap is not exactly your bent, then you can skip over to the Mercury Lounge for a heavy dose of Funky with Brooklyn’s dance-rap outfit Deathrow Tull and funk-damentalist Bernie Worrell (P-Funk, Talking Heads). Saturday you can revisit your roots at the 8th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest. You’ll see a diverse array of new and old-school artists including Maya Azucena, Freeway, and the mighty Busta Rhymes. Later Saturday night, test your mettle as east village gem NUBLU hosts the bombastic Underground Horns in what will surely be a sweat-drenched carnival of hip-gyration and swagger. After a rejuvenating Sunday afternoon BloodyMary-soaked brunch, saunter over to Brooklyn Bowl at 6pm where Queens legend Pharaohe Monch (pictured) will be rocking alongside Olamide and J Ross Parrelli as part of a fundraiser for MORE THAN ME, a local non-profit which builds schools for orphans in war-torn Liberia. Monday, unfortunately, you might have to go back to work. -=brokeMC

The brainchild of Brooklyn based programmer Bonnie Baxter, Shadowbox offers dark electronica reminiscent of some wonderfully grieving and rather damaged 4AD records of the late 80s/early 90s – This Mortal Coil in particular. Matt Kliegman’s video of the song "AM" (see below) visually translates Bonnie’s troubled tune by focusing its attention on a mysterious man, who looks like what could be the child born from a genetic experiment mixing the DNAs of Neo from "The Matrix" and Alex from "A Clockwork Orange" – the type of guy you may not want to meet when you are alone in a subway station: kind of scary, but very cinematic! Shadowbox will release the EP Haunted by Colors on July 24.

Boston based dream-poppers Dirty Dishes have released a 5-track album “The Most Tarnished Birds” in both physical and download format, and can be gotten directly from their bandcamp. Consisting of five single word song titles, “Gaze” opens with sparse instrumentation, focusing momentarily on Jenny Tuite’s expressive voice, before exploding into a powerful wall of guitars and layered dreamy vocals. “Bloom” follows a similarly structured introductory pattern, before alternating between sweet female vocals and frenetic musical interludes reminiscent of Sonic Youth, although Collen’s voice leans more towards the smoother textures of Kim Deal, rather than Ms. Gordon’s husky rasp. “Break” exhibits more complex rhythms via syncopated drumming against an open note guitar pattern, while “Blur” channels the pure sonic guitar force of My Bloody Valentine, with vocals not nearly as murky. The band will be playing The Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA on August 5, and Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn the following night. – Dave Cromwell

Boasting an impressive stint of Monday night performances since 2005, the Jim Campilongo Electric Trio continues shredding through heavy country guitar riffs nearly every Monday at The Living Room, in the heart of the Lower East Side. Campilongo, who has performed with Cake, Bright Eyes, Gillian Welch, and slew of others, is also on the road with Norah Jones this summer, both opening for the singer and appearing at festivals with her. Jones and Campilongo are also bandmates in the country and blues group The Little Willies, releasing a cover album earlier this year featuring songs from Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton, among others. After a few international shows, the Jim Campilongo Electric Trio will return to their instrumental sets at the Living Room on July 20. – Devon Antonetti

Austin’s epic psych rockers The Saint James Society just released this outstanding video of their single "Ballad of the White Horse," from their February self-titled release. This majestic, sexy, powerfully evocative song suddenly makes the idea of getting lost in the desert – with guns – more appealing than it’s ever been (as long as gorgeous members of the opposite sex will join the party). Kudos to Katelin Arizmendi, who directed the video.

From a band who usually sticks to rocking out amid rakes of guitar fireworks and endless drum solos (like in their previous records ‘The Fiery Works’), new single ‘Writing Utensils’ from Brooklyn based A Great Big Pile Of Leaves reads with a sense of either relief, or possibly foreboding… depending on how you interpret its softly churning melodic lines, and gently washy vocals, interrupted eventually by an ominous ending that may be hinting at greater madness to come.

Could this portend a new range for the band? Are they really softies at heart, or sinister and ready to pounce? We’ll have to wait until they release their ‘Making Moves’ 7” slated for July 24th to find out. in the meantime, don’t miss their show at The Knitting Factory on July 13. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

I’m always impressed when I hear musicians take electronic elements, traditionally the materials of dance music, in a more challenging direction. With Teengirl Fantasy’s new track ‘End’ (streaming below) you get something closer to mood than movement. Like Eno, this is sculpture in time, rather than space. Nick Weiss and Logan Takahashi have distilled their elements to a simple texture, and the result is arguably one of their most compelling journeys yet. Coming off their strong 2010 debut ‘7AM,’ their latest record ‘Tracer,’ (True Panther Sounds) promises to delivery an even more symphonically complex experience… oh, and I hear Panda Bear’s got a track on it too. So stay tuned, with Teengirl Fantasy, a physical experience doesn’t always have to mean four-on-floor.

Watch for details on their August 23rd New York album release coming soon, and pick up ‘Tracer’ when it drops August 21st. – Mike Levine

This week we catch up with drummer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Watkins of Dollar Fox. He talks about the distinct honor of Dollar Fox being named The Deli’s artist of the month, pottery, and, well, you’ll have to find out. Catch the beat right here!

On The Beat is a weekly interview brought to you by drummer Sergio Moreno (of Hillary Watts Riot and Alacartoona), and features some of the many talented drummers in the Kansas City area.

Brooklyn-based Cinema Cinema, featuring cousins Ev Gold (vocals/guitar) and Paul Claro (drums), cut together raucous, fast-paced, muscular punk with noise and math rock influences. The two-piece released their sophomore full-length record “Manic Children and Slow Aggression” on July 10. Between ever changing tempos, attacking drum beats, aggressive guitar shredding and pervading feedback, Gold and Claro’s explosive music never seems to take a breath. The duo dances with a penchant for punk and pushes through the thirteen tracks with fervor and intensity. Cinema Cinema will be honoring their new release at St. Vitus in Brooklyn on July 13 before undertaking East Coast dates with legendary Black Flag founder/guitarist Greg Ginn. – Meijin Bruttomesso

This Saturday, Kansas City favorites American Catastrophe will be playing their final show at recordBar. The band has been going strong for about 11 years, with an impressive resume. Its first and only album Excerpts from the Broken Bone Choir received positive reviews from reputable sources like Pitchfork and Paste, and the album debuted on the CMJ charts. The band’s signature dark Americana sound summons acts like Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Tom Waits, Bauhaus, and Swans, with a tinge of hard-hitting folk. Saturday’s show promises to be an exciting one, featuring songs from the band’s entire catalog.

American Catastrophe will be joined by The Latenight Callers and Omaha’s drakes hotel. This show will likely sell out, so get your tickets at the link here.

$7 cover
9:00 p.m. Doors
10:00 p.m. drakes hotel
10:45 p.m. The Latenight Callers
11:30 p.m. American Catastrophe