UPDATE: This show has been canceled. Third Man Records made its first foray into releasing hip-hop studio albums with Pure Beauty by New York rapper Shirt, which is out on vinyl on Friday. The next MC TMR will welcome to the Blue Room is Shirt’s fellow New Yorker, Wiki. Born Patrick Morales, Wiki is in his mid-20s and already in the second phase of his career, having come to prominence as a co-founder of the now-defunct rap collective Ratking. Last summer, he released No Mountains in Manhattan, an album that’s athletic in its presentation and intellectual in its approach to pride in the city and responding to the problems it faces. Some listeners will undoubtedly be drawn to the record because of appearances from top-shelf MCs like Ghostface Killah and Earl Sweatshirt, but they’ll stick with it to hear what Wiki has to say. Seems like we’re all a lot more interested in what it takes to govern people than we used to be, but Wiki makes it downright fascinating — check out the video for the track “Mayor” and see if you don’t agree. Or better yet, come hear him kick it in person. STEPHEN TRAGESER
