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Know Qwestion has been in the midst of the hip hop scene in Phoenix for about six years now, putting out live rhythms and rhymes to crowds the likes of which no emergent rock band could even hope for. Since their youthful start--their first show was as openers for the Digable Planets--the lyrical duo of Cappuccino and Cash, working in conjunction with producer Mr. P-Body, have shared the stage with such notables as De La Soul, Notorious B.I.G., Outkast, Nas, The Pharcyde and the Alkaholics, as well as another band of well-known and highly successful Arizona rappers, Phunk Junkeez. The trio is a balance of Cappuccino's even glide of syllables and nearly literary descriptions and Cash's more aggressively punctuated delivery and graphic imagery, with Mr. P-Body's darkly melodic compositions serving as the fulcrum. P-Body anchors their dialogue with a rhythmic soundscape that couples varied live instrumentation with loops and samples--all of which are laid out on disc for the first time in the 13 tracks of Know Qwestion's imminent full-length release, Eclipse. Primed for widespread distribution on Lost Cause Records, the onslaught begins with CD release parties in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff. Fans may notice that Cappuccino and Cash have adopted new names in the disc's liner notes. "Cappuccino and Cash started out, and we evolved into Pokaface and Mic Wyld, "says Cappuccino/ Pokafase, explaining that the new aliases are not so much a change in identity as a representative shift in their music, attitude and style. The duo thinks the new monikers herald an emerging maturity in their musicianship. With their knew album, Know Qwestion synthesizes various early influences from fellow musicians--remarkably on the eve of their debut release, the duo has already shared a stage with many of them.
Know Qwestion is a Phoenix band, know doubt about it. They refuse to align themselves in the East/West dialogue that underlies much hip hop and rap music. They solidly identify with the Phoenix scene, which Cappuccino calls "that mysterious spot in the middle...rap's new frontier." While Tucson lacks anything resembling Phoenix's homegrown hip hop/rap scene, audiences in the Naked Pueblo are most certainly ready for hip hop to happen. "Tucson is jumpin'!" exclaims Cappuccino, commenting on Know Qwestion's earlier trips south. "The love was crazy when we came to Tucson. We didn't expect that, and it blew our minds down there," both agree. And to their Tucson fans, Know Qwestion promises a show that Cappuccino claims will be "off the hook." Know Qwestion perform with special guests (widely thought to have gotten rap rolling) The Sugar Hill Gang, with additional appearances by Grandmaster Melle Mel and a DJ to be announced, at 8 p.m. Friday, February 27, at The Rialto Theater, 318 E. Congress St. The show is all-ages, bar with ID. Tickets are $13 in advance, available through Ticketmaster, or $15 at the door. Call 740-0126 for more information. LAST NOTES: Both Giant Sand and Calexico have in recent weeks been holed up in the studio, putting the finishing touches on new, full-length releases for 1998. Both re-emerge for a double-header on Friday, February 26, at the Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Also at the Club Congress on Tuesday, March 3, one of the godfathers of modern guitar rock, Link Wray, returns to Tucson and the Congress stage. Chick Cashman, who in recent months has been noticeably absent from stages around town, unveils his new outfit, and his new band, The Cocksmen, with an opening set for Wray. Tickets are $12 in advance, $14 on the day of the show. Call 622-8848 for more information.
Twenty years and still jammin', international recording artists and Grammy winners Inner Circle are on tour to support their new release, Da Bomb. Local reggae faves Neon Prophet open the show on Tuesday, March 3, at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave.
The Tucson Jazz Society presents The Glenn Miller Orchestra
for a splendid evening of dinner and dancing at 8 p.m. Friday,
February 27, at the TCC Ballroom, 260 S. Church Ave. Musical
director Larry O'Brien leads the famous 19-member orchestra, which
has been delivering America's Big Band favorites since 1938. Tickets
World-music luminary Rigo Star shines on Tucson with his 10-piece entourage of singers, musicians and dancers in support of his new album, Attention! Rigo Star's African Revue, featuring Pepe Kalle, grooves with the rhythms of the Congo at 9 p.m. Saturday, February 28, at the Rialto Theater. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Call 740-0126 for more information.
Finally, the toast of Boston blues, The Radio Kings, return
for a command performance on Wednesday, March 4, at The Boondocks
Lounge, 3306 N. First Ave. Tickets are $12, $10 in advance
and for TBS members. Call 690-0991 for more information.
--Lisa Weeks
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ALIEN INVASION! Well, maybe not a full-on invasion--perhaps
all the headlines proclaiming that the U.S. is on the brink of
another "incursion" with Iraq have me a little jumpy--but
Tucson is hosting more than its usual share of out-of-town
and far-flung artists this week. Down from Phoenix are hip hop
artists on the verge, Know Qwestion. Seattle sends us the
pop-lounge amalgam The Nightcaps. All the way from Kingston,
Jamaica, comes reggae by the Inner Circle. Rigo Star
shines out of Africa by way of Paris, rendering world jazz along
with the popular music of Zaire. Also moving through town this
week is the best of the big bands, with The Glenn Miller Orchestra,
Boston-based blues with the Radio Kings, and the very roots
of rock itself--the legendary Link Wray. All of this and
our regularly fine fare of local music, including an appearance
by 
Jazz, which is increasingly cropping up in hip hop and rap, is
a big influence on Know Qwestion, albeit indirectly. While bands
like The Digable Planets might evidence their jazz roots in obvious
flourishes, Know Qwestion's jazz strains are more subtle, buried
in the backbeats.
The Nightcaps return to Tucson, appearing with J. Walker
on Friday, February 27, at Double Zero, 121 E. Congress
St. If you caught their last show in town, you might remember
the cool sophistication they employed while working up lounge
covers of the 
are $23, $18 for TJS members. Call the TJS hotline, 743-3399,
for more information.
