HOT 97’s Peter Rosenberg knows how to put together a good show. The lineup he brought out to SOB’s for the latest Who’s Next underground hip hop showcase had the best of both worlds: a bunch of raw underground talent followed by a special appearance by the classic New York hardcore hip hop duo Mobb Deep.

The show opened with Authentic, a solo MC up from Maryland, with DJ Wanita on the ones and twos. There were about 150 people in the crowd, and the place was darkly lit, but for some rotating colored stage lights. Authentic’s set was all old school East Coast style—spare beats and the occasional piano or horn sample underneath rhymes of solid lyrical substance. Authentic delivered with confidence and did his best to get people going, but it was still early. He garnered some decent applause, and no doubt got a lot of respect when he told us, “We drove a long way for y’all, for hip hop.” Four hours up from Maryland—respect, no doubt.

The next performers, Kev Brown and Kaimbr of the hip hop collective Low Budget, had kept Authentic company on the ride. They were up from Maryland too, and had a similar East Coast style, with tight lyrics dominating their beats. “I’m doin’ this for people who like to listen / to real music cause it seems like it’s missin’.” Their delivery was less clear than Authentic’s, and a lot of their words came through muffled and incomprehensible. But the stuff that got through tended to hit hard; Kev and Kaimbr were the only guys in the night’s lineup that made open political references (“Get Bush out this motherfucker”). At this point, a few dozen more people had shown up, and the crowd was starting to get into it.

Up next was another solo MC, Skyzoo from Brooklyn, with the legendary DJ Premier taking over the tables for a couple of tracks. Sky’s backing was not as spare as the first two acts—his beats were accompanied by heavier sampling and more hooks, but the words were still the focus, just like the classic New York rap he drew on: “Explore rap, and tell me Sky ain’t all that.” Physically, his delivery was the most striking of the night. Sky had an intense, aggressive stage presence, making lots of quick, jerky movements as he laid down his rhymes. He got a lot of applause from the now 200-strong crowd, and he ended his set with shout outs to both Kanye and 50 for their big sales numbers over the previous week...