DJ Zirk
Memphis rap legend DJ Zirk is pulling out all the stops for his birthday party Thursday at the Hi-Tone. In addition to a performance from the DJ himself, Memphis legends DJ Squeeky, Gangsta Blac, Kingpin Skinny Pimp, Gangsta Pat, DJ Spanish Fly, Tommy Wright III, and Nasty Nardo are all set to perform, making this a underground blowout you won’t want to miss. For the unfamiliar, DJ Zirk has been in the city’s underground rap game since the early ’90s, and is most known for his collaborations with Tha 2 Thick Family, including the classic Lock Em’ in da Trunk.
DJ Zirk, Thursday, January 26th, at the Hi-Tone, 9 p.m., $10.
Rickie & Aimee, Masc 4 Masc
Midtown couple Rickie & Aimee take over Bar DKDC this Friday for their first episode of the Rickie & Aimee Show. The show will serve as the Rickie Lane album release, and will also feature Aimee Easter’s first solo performance. There will also be a dance party and the debut of Masc 4 Masc, who claim to be Memphis’ “newest boi band.” As often times is the case at Bar DKDC, expect this party to go late into the night. As for the Rickie & Aimee Show, they have the Cooper-Young bar booked once a month through March.
Rickie & Aimee, Friday, January 27th at Bar DKDC, 10:30 p.m., $7
Human Radio, Jimmy Daddy Davis
Human Radio’s latest album Samsara has been a long time coming, as the band has reportedly been working on the album since 2013. Formed in 1988, longtime Memphis music fans will remember Human Radio as one of the first Memphis bands to get signed to a major label post-Big Star, and their song “Me and Elvis” reached #32 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in 1992.
The band will have LP and CD versions of Samsara available on Friday, but don’t expect Human Radio to be playing shows on the regular, as the band’s website says they aren’t planning on performing as a live band henceforth. That would make Friday’s show all the more special, but if you can’t make it, the band will be playing in Nashville at the Mercy Lounge the following night. Advance tickets for both shows are available through the Human Radio website.
Human Radio, Jimmy Daddy Davis, Friday, January 27th at Minglewood Hall, 8 p.m., $10.
Joyce Manor
Epitaph rockers Joyce Manor will hit the Hi-Tone this Tuesday in support of their new album Cody. Produced by Grammy-winning producer Rob Schnapf (Beck, Booker T. Jones, Elliott Smith), Cody picks up where their albums Never Hungover Again and Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired left off, meaning their mostly positive pop-punk is still very much intact. The band is touring with Phoenix, Arizona’s, AJJ and a band called Mannequin Pussy — Google that last one at your own risk.
Joyce Manor, Tuesday, January 31st at the Hi-Tone, 8 p.m., $16.
Curren$y
Closing out this stacked lineup of shows is New Orleans rapper Curren$y. Curren$y got his start as a member of the great hip-hop act the 504 Boyz before working on songs with Master P, Soulja Slim, and C-Murder. He can also be heard on the 2005 Lil Wayne album Tha Carter II.
Fast forward about a decade, and Curren$y is still making hits and dropping mixtapes, the latest being Andretti 12/30 which dropped on, you guessed it, December 30th of last year. Now releasing music under his own label Jet Life, you can expect new music from Curren$y early and often, as the rapper dropped numerous mixtapes last year. The opener for the show is still to be announced, but advance tickets are available through the Hi-Tone’s website.
