Where in the hell did the hip-hop go?

Well, if you hadn&Rsquo;t noticed, it left for a while. R. Kelly had sex with it. Q-Tip put a silly hat on it then gave it to Nelly, who almost bored it to death. Flavor Flav gave it a disease, then he gave hip-hop to Fiddy, who finally shot and killed it. Then R. Kelly had sex with it again.

But hip-hop, love it or hate it, is back, alive and well. We know, some say it’s always been here, that it’s part of our culture and it will never … zzzzzzzzzz … oh, huh? Sorry.

Now that the Sacramento scene is starting to jump off again and clubs are finally starting to realize that hip-hop isn&Rsquo;t all about guns and drugs and that there’s more anger looming at a city council meeting, it’s time to put all this academic pontification and categorical bullshit aside and start the goddamn party.

It’s what our friend Miss Ashleigh, host of L!fe at The Distillery, has been saying all along. Her Thursday event has featured live hip-hop every week for the last year, with showcased artists and sometimes “even a little spoken word by yours truly,” she says.

One of the best parts, however, is watching the deejays do their thing. They’re not “start the song, stop the song, repeat” deejays, either. DJ Epik is a veteran who’s a beast on the ones and twos, and DJ Supe can cut glass with his decks. I don&Rsquo;t even know what that means.

“The venue is always full of emcees, producers, artists, groupies, scenesters and anything else you can think of, but it stays real eclectic and comfortable,” says Miss Ashleigh, who acts as the “face of the venue.” And what a face it is.

Righteous Movement, Doey Rock, Neighborhood Watch, Cali O, Crush and Pete B. have all been there, and so could you, if you just get off your ass this Thursday night.

“We’re a family trying to bring every aspect of our lives to you,” says Miss Ashleigh. “So get your life together and come through, homie!”