It's Saturday night, and you want to hear the boom bap beat and lyrical gymnastics of some quality hip-hop. You could try out one of the myriad club nights downtown, but chances are, you'll hear the same commercial dreck on the dancefloor that's pumping out of the speakers of half the cars cruising up and down Las Olas. For something a little different, check out RiseUp at Lush (3074 NE 33rd Ave., Fort Lauderdale). Dafenix Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving music and art education in Broward County middle and high schools, has been hosting its get-together in the space formerly known as the Bulldog Lounge since the middle of June. Expect to hear tracks ranging from A Tribe Called Quest to the Breakestra to Grandmaster Flash, with a range of conscious urban poets thrown in for good measure. The club's ambience is ultramodern, über hip, but the crowd is trucker hat chic, and the menu features beer specials and $500 bottles of scotch and magnums of champagne. But you won't get hosed on a cover charge -- Dafenix Foundation asks only for a $5 donation to get in the door. Special guests this week are up-and-coming lyricist Butta Verses and local-boy-made-good DJ Unemployed. Call 954-683-9098, or visit www.dafenix.com. --Scott Medvin
Do Justice
...to the mic
FRI 8/20
Way back in 1991, Skatemaster Tate and the Concrete Crew (a DJ, two rappers, and a guitarist) did justice to the bass and created a masterpiece anthem, "Do the Skate." Of course, the idea of throwing rap and skateboarding together was way ahead of its time, and you sort of forgot about the magical mix shortly after your cassette tape wore out. But Tate's vision -- that you don't have to choose between being a rapper and being a skater -- lives on at the Pompano Beach Indoor Skatepark (2171 Blount Rd., Pompano Beach), where Friday night, an Open Mic MC Battle will take place among the halfpipes and rails. Freestylin' MCs should show up by 7:30 p.m., armed with their minds, their mouths, and their mics. A good stage name helps too. It costs $7 to get in. Winners take home $200 and a trophy; losers will be banished to live in hell with a bunch of preps and jocks. Call 954-979-7966, or visit www.pompanoindoorskatepark.com. --Deirdra Funcheon
Give That Girl a Mic
Ladies with lip
FRI 8/20
Sister Speak's philosophy is that every woman should have a voice, and a microphone should go along with it. During this open-mic event, anything goes, and anyone with ovaries is allowed on stage at the Pride Factory (845 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale). This means that South Florida's hottest belly dancer/prose artist is often sandwiched between whiny chicks who read their "my ex-girlfriend left me" poetry from handwritten journals. A couple of gems appear at each event, and the audience applauds no matter what. Profits from the $5 cover charge ($3 for readers) go to a different charity every month, but you can't deduct it from your taxes. The ladies take the stage at 8:30 p.m. Call 954-463-6600, or visit www.sisterspeak.org. --Karen Dale Wolman
Workin' Hard or Harley Workin'?
SAT 8/21
The first-ever Palm Beach Bike Show includes a Ms. Bikeshow bikini contest, an arm wrestling contest, a tattoo contest, and a chicken-wing-eating contest. Of course, there will be heaps of custom choppers and ATVs, and, we hope, stickers that read "Places to Go, People to Piss Off" for you to slap on your helmet. The show takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Palm Beach County Convention Center (650 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach). Tickets cost $10. Call 954-990-4033, or visit www.palmbeachbikeshow.com. --Deirdra Funcheon
