Changes and sonic cinema

Completely lit: When local rapper and KHHM 103.5 radio personality Soosh*e performed “#CTIL” (translation: “come through it’s lit”), it arrived like an afterthought to the evening. “Take out your phone and text the person that bailed on you tonight,” he said prior to the song this past Sunday at Sol Collective. “Text them: #CTIL.” If only he’d taken the stage earlier, those thirsty hopefuls that responded wouldn’t have had to watch from the front window of Sol Collective as rapper after rapper blessed the stage with inspired performances to a sold-out room. This was #Transition2016.

Now in its fifth year, Transition celebrates Sacramento hip-hop as viewed through the mind of local producer and event founder Ru AreYou. Transition arrives as an invitation to take one last look back, but ultimately move ahead. Performances by DLRN, Stevie Nader, Soosh*e and Chuuwee did just that.

Set staples neared retirement as unreleased material was tested. Chuuwee burned quick and relentless, treating the stage like he wanted to carve an impression into the floor from his back-and-forth pacing. Mostly performing from his 2015 record, The South Sac Mack, Chuuwee’s delivery and stamina are never at odds but instead display an athletic prowess on the mic. Soosh*e kept his hand on the pulse all night with “#CTIL” and later premiered his new single “This Gon’ Be My Year.” The new work was cut short from a power outage, but once power was restored, the second run through took it to a higher level. An early set by JustKristofer introduced an unsung energy in the scene, at least on my radar. The torch was passed from set to set with few faults, putting the pressure on lone out-of-towner Duckwrth.

There is another Duckworth. By that I mean there is Compton’s heir born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, and then there is Duckwrth hailing from south central Los Angeles but currently living in San Francisco. The two share more than a namesake. Each does not fit the archetype of their origin. In Duckwrth’s case it’s his hesher-chic and dreadlocks, his rap style juxtaposing project-window-witness raps with interstellar visions. Duckwrth’s eccentricities amalgamated the evening. He pushed the street perspectives that Chuuwee kicks, then switched gears into raps of hovercrafts and hoverboards.

No looking back on 2015 for rap in Sacramento. The headlines of shootings outside rap shows and the cyclical—and always racial—pushback of scrutinizing an entire scene for the acts of individuals made events like Transition scarce. A line of black youth outside Sol Collective on a Sunday night at 7 p.m. led to no police lights lit outside the venue. No shots fired. In fact, no mean-mugging or misunderstandings, and no egos. If how you start a new year is an indication of the months to come, Sacramento is on its good start. Lit for 2016.

—Blake Gillespie

Cinematic: There’s something very special about live music, and there’s something very special about going to the movies. For the first time, the Mondavi Center is uniting the two art forms into what will likely be a very special Film + Music series.

It kicks off Friday, January 15, with a screening of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 silent film La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc, which is generally considered a masterpiece. British a cappella group the Orlando Consort will provide the soundtrack, a selection of songs from the time of Joan of Arc’s life.

Three more events follow, and each is radically unique. There’s a 1920s horror flick (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) paired with an organist (Cameron Carpenter); a French cartoon (The Triplets of Belleville) paired with hot jazz (Benoît Charest’s Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville); and a beloved science fiction movie (E.T.) paired with a grand orchestra (the San Francisco Symphony). The series concludes in March and ticket prices vary as much as the film genres. On some nights, general admission starts at $20. For the grand E.T. finale, regular tickets cost $85. More at www.mondaviarts.org.

—Janelle Bitker