Tef Poe

Tef Poe isn't exaggerating when he raps "my city is burning" on the opening track of War Machine 3. In the wake of police officer Darren Wilson killing 18-year-old Michael Brown, the streets of Ferguson, Mo., became a war zone. If you wanted to know what was going down in the streets, the social media accounts by the St. Louis rapper and activist were infinitely more valuable than, say, CNN. Tef Poe takes no prisoners on cops ("Can't Control Us"), the black church and Democratic Party ("Hilary"), and America itself ("Back 2 Africa"), which all land in his lyrical crosshairs. Like a Killer Mike of the Midwest, Tef Poe raps with the fierce urgency of now. (Sat., 10:50pm, Speakeasy Kabaret)