Heavyweight Dub Champion: Make contact (high)

Homegrown California dub and reggae has a bad rep for stoking crusty types who chant incoherent “down with Babylon” screeds and wake-and-bake too much. But don’t hold that against Heavyweight Dub Champion. With Rise of the Champion Nation, San Francisco producers Resurrector and Patch have crafted a decent response to their Jamaican counterparts, and play supple, bass-heavy tracks that sound realer than the United Kingdom’s mechanized dubstep. Although Champion Nation wears out its welcome over the course of an hour and 10 minutes, it manages to include a few keepers, including the ragamuffin “Arrival,” with a maxed-out KRS-One; and “Babylon Beast,” with A.P.O.S.T.L.E. and Wu-Tang affiliate Killah Priest. If you brave the elements—OK, probably just a breezy evening—to check out Heavyweight Dub Champion at Beatnik Studios, just ignore those aforementioned hippies and enjoy the contact high.