Thurs., March 28, Ab-Soul

Don't worry if you forgot where you heard Ab-Soul's name before. Spare the Google search and just know that he's in the Los Angeles-based hip-hop collective Black Hippy with Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q. He's released two solo albums, a couple mixtapes and is featured on tons of other Black Hippy releases. Are these references still too obscure? Well, his underground hip-hop cred extends to appearances on mixtapes and albums with Talib Kweli, Macklemore and Childish Gambino. Anyway, Ab-Soul, who's only 26, suffers from a rare skin disorder called Stevens-Johnson syndrome, which may explain why his lyrical material is about overcoming struggle and what some might call “conscious.” 1417 R Street, www.facebook.com/absoulmusic.