Fel Sweetenberg

Hip-hop

It's easy to figure out why Fel Sweetenberg's pounding beats and melodic samples fit so nicely with his words -- he's the MC and the producer. That's why last year's Lost Dreams, Wasted Talent EP grooves with a synergy you don't find on the classically overproduced "collaborative effort." So whether it's the twinkling xylophone magic on "Lust" or the sneaky recutting of "Stairway to Heaven" on the sarcastic "Dear Dad" interlude, the music does its job: to serve as a backdrop for Fel's meticulous rhymes. Sweet first put Camden on the hip-hop map with Da Nuthouse -- Remember the earnest "A Luv Supreme"? -- and still knows how to speak from the heart without coming off soft. Also on the bill for this local hip-hop showcase at The Khyber are Reef the Lost Cauze and perennial City Paper favorite Kenneth Masters.

Fri., May 28, 9 p.m., $8, with Reef the Lost Cauze, Kenneth Masters and Electric City, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888.

—Patrick Rapa

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