Do you miss the cutting edge days of hip-hop music? Are you looking for refreshing, genre-bending musical artists? Do you think the local music scene consists solely of punk bands and really bad “spoken word” hipsters?

Local jazz/hip-hop band Beam turns conventional hip-hop music on its head at their monthly gigs at the Pittsburgh Deli Company. From 10pm to midnight the first Friday of every month, at PDC in Shadyside, this 5 piece ensemble will blow your mind.

Drummer David Throckmorton (aka Throck Ock) pounds out the classic breakbeats, uptempo jungle beats, spacey jazz rhythms, and funky rock n roll stylings and directs the free flowing improv between all five band members: bass player, “space bass” effects generator, dart-spittin MC, and champion DJ Supa C.

These guys are amazing. They play a variety of composed hip-hop tunes and freeform improvisational psychedelic hip-hop that goes all over the map. Akil Esoon’s rhymes range from narrative gangsta fables to insightful political commentaries to playful party freestyles. Supa C’s DJing, scratching, cutting, and beat juggling skills perfectly compliment the funky rhythm section. As soon as Akil finishes spittin an ill verse, Supa C will start cutting up some classic ’90s vocals. Steve “Lantronics” Landay, orchestrator of the “space bass” rig, adds psychedelic soundscapes that give an extra layer to the music, rarely found in hip-hop.

These guys are definately at THE TOP of the local music scene, producing sounds and styles you can’t hear anywhere else. It’s a hip-hop revolution right before your very eyes.

It’s too bad PDC is such an “alterna-coffeeshop-crowd” and nobody dances! But they have fine beer selections, to be sure….