“Romen Rok is one of the purest artists I’ve ever met,” Beats said, “but if it was up to him, rappers wouldn’t need to release albums, they’d just say their piece on the street.”
Rok sounds as if he’s getting down to business; while “Poo Poo In the Pamper” and the hialrioius “White Chicks” (both at myspace.com/romenrahlo) won’t make the album, Rok fed me a few lines of new material: “Hey yo, free yayo! Nah, Free Tibet/Free the minds of the youth, they obsessed with gettin’ respect/It’s like young bucks are too hard for their seat belts/They’d rather look real when they crash through the windshield.”
Rok has temporarily pulled the plug on his live schedule as he wraps up his disc, but you can catch him and his crew spinning hip-hop downtown at Blake’s Tavern every Saturday, where he occasionally rocks the mic.
“When people go out at night they want to be entertained and feel happy,” Rok said. “I’m not scared to look ridiculous and make people laugh because I know I’m no joke and when it comes down to it — in the end, I’ll bite your face off.”
Off the couch
Jerky’s Bar presents a thorough electro lineup on Saturday starring DIPLO (who remixed MIA’s “Paper Planes”), with BIG DIGITS and MAKEUPBREAKUP opening. Call 401.621.2244 for more info. Seattle’s SUPERSUCKERS are celebrating 20 years in the rock and ruckus business, and what better place than the Living Room to host their brand of balls-out rock, with none other than veteran Providence punks THE SLEAZIES opening the show on Saturday, September 13. Call 401.521.5200. Slater Park is home to the annual STONE SOUP FOLK FESTIVAL this Saturday and Sunday starting at 1 pm as part of the Pawtucket Arts Festival (pawtucketarts festival.org). BARNACLE, STINGY BRIMM, and fiddler RANI ARBO AND DAISY MAYHEM fill the Saturday lineup, while Sunday sees THE LOW ANTHEM, JIM’S BIG EGO, and NORTHERN LIGHTS. Admission is free. Call 401.724.5200. On Wednesday, September 17, the Newport Blues Café hosts THE SKINNY MILLIONAIRES. The hometown folk-rock ensemble signed with 75 or Less Records, and a great song like “Rare Bird” deserves attention. Dial 401.841.5510. And on Tuesday, September 16, the insanely entertaining SASQUATCH AND THE SICK-A-BILLYS stop by Club Hell. Call 401.351.1977 for info.
