I think producers in the DMV have the skill and talent to produce for anyone in the industry. The DMV is often overlooked when it comes to creating music. This area is known to the majors as a big music consumer area. You can count on one hand the number of artists that have achieved major label status. But its just not about getting on a major. The producers I hand-picked for the project care about the music that represents them. Quality over quantity. You look at any terrestrial radio best MC poll, and you will never hear Oddisee, yU, Kaimbr, Kenn Starr or XO mentioned. We have a long way to if the people here don't know who we are. I picked Ghostface because he is undoubtedly one of the best MCs at picking good beats. Almost every producer shared the same sentiments. The producers on the project are by no means the only talented producers in the area. Some were busy and couldn't make the cutoff date in time. The project was created for two reasons: To showcase the producer talent in the D.C. area and to hopefully have Ghost hear the project and want to rhyme over every track!

Mims also runs Digital Hustle Films, which has shot a lot of DMV-related footage over the past few years.

Yup, that's a hat.

The firehose of DMV hip-hop videos at D.C. Mumbo Sauce sometimes spurts out a hidden gem, like Ike Da Kid's "Fast Life," which, beyond its big-ass beat and general good-natured-ness, left us with more questions than answers. So we posed five of them directly to Ike himself, a recent University of Maryland graduate and Hyattsville resident who has Nigerian roots. (He says he was born Ike Obioha in New York, lived in Lagos for a while as a child, and then settled with his family in Maryland during his teens.) Here's our Q&A with the man:

1. What the hell is that on your head?

Haha that's the homie "Ike's Fur Hat." I actually started wearing it last year when it got cold and people seem to love it. It has its own Twitter page, it gets more girls than me, and sometimes I think people come to my shows to see it instead of me. Sad, really.

2. Who are those dudes in the background?

Those are a group of swagged-out individuals who showed love for both the song and the mixtape.

3. Which parking deck is that?

It's actually Mowatt Lane parking garage at the University of Maryland.

4. Whose Jeep is that?

That's one of the homies'. We randomly decided to shoot the video at the last minute, and he happened to be around so we went with the flow.

5. The song is about how fabulous your life is, but it doesn't look too fabulous in the video. Please explain.

The original idea was to have a whole bunch of cars, girls and bottles of champagne everywhere but i figured that would be too cliché. The video is simple but it still captures me having fun with the homies. My videos have always been simple and random, anyways, so it worked it out well.

(NOTE: There is at least one girl and one empty bottle of Patrón in the video.)

MUSIC

It's another edition of Family Hemerlein at Gibson Guitar Room tonight. Main dude/multi-instrumentalist Matthew Hemerlein is, as always, co-host alongside comedian Seaton Smith. The guests: comedian Andy Haynes and musicians Terrence Cunningham and Cecelia Jeffrey. Doors open at 7 p.m. $15.

The very young Long Beach band Avi Buffalo—who just released another pleasant 7" on Sub Pop—hits H Street NE tonight with L.A. singer/songwriter Nik Freitas. 8:30 p.m at Red Palace. $10 in advance, $12 at door.

Big country: Vince Gill plays bluegrass at Birchmere tonight and tomorrow, and Keith Urban is at the Verizon Center tonight. Urban is the cheaper option: It'll run ya $25-$65 (plus fees) to see Nicole Kidman's hubby at the sports arena, compared to $110 (plus fees) to catch Gill at the more intimate venue in Alexandria.

It ain't supposed to rain tonight, or be chokingly hot, so go check out Foul Swoops at Fort Reno. They play second between The Burnside Shattered and The OK Corral. 7:15 p.m. Free.

FILM

Tonight's the last night of the Capitol Riverfront outdoor movie series, and the film is cheesy and iconic, as expected: West Side Story shows at Tingey Plaza behind the U.S. Department of Transportation beginning at sundown. Free.

BOOKS

How is this for hyper-local: Five Hyattsville writers will read at the new Busboys & Poets tonight on Baltimore Ave. Authors include Julia Duin from the Washington Times, Economist, and Washington Post, and regional historian Andra Damron, who will share historic images of the city and read passages from her book, Hyattsville. 6 p.m. Free.

Author Jason Zinoman is at Politics & Prose to read and sign copies of his book about horror film, Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror. Our very own Benjamin R. Freed reviewed the book last week. 7 p.m. Free.

It is now my new favorite idiosyncratic local TV commercial. If you catch it once out of the corner of your eye, it might not grab you. But after a second or third viewing, you realize that the Afros Cut crew is not playing around. Pretty much every line in here is quotable:

Washington City Paper: How did South by Southwest go this year?

Janine Wilson:  SXSW was a great time this year. I had five non-SXSW showcases around town and they all went swimmingly. My favorite was for GoGirls—a community of independent women artists—they were also webcasting the showcase and during our set I was told some folks from Argentina were watching and enjoying our music. Very cool. I ran into Matthew McConaughey at Antone’s and slid him a copy of the new CD. I absolutely believe "Wakin’ Up in Texas" should be in a Sandra Bullock movie so now I’m one step closer… While I was leaving the bathroom at Guerro’s (great Margueritas!) I saw Val Kilmer—stars everywhere!

WCP: Did you make any business connections or was it just a fun time in front of an appreciative crowd?

JW: I absolutely made contacts—new and old—that’s part of the reason to be there! It’s a great way to schmooze although there is so much going on it can be a bit daunting. We did have appreciative crowds, too.

WCP: Did you grow up singing? Learn in church or school or shower or elsewhere or later in life with assistance from others?

JW: I did grow up singing in musicals in school, a little church choir, lots of records and radio. I have studied with some great vocalists as well—Pam Bricker and Lisa Rich here in D.C. and Katie Agresta in NYC.

WCP: How did you and Max Evans meet and start working together?

JW: Max and I met while I was working at Counts Western Store that used to be on Wisconsin Avenue near Tenley Circle. Mr. and Mrs. Counts used to hang with the likes of Patsy Cline and Roy Clark so they had lots of good stories. Max would stop in before his guitar lesson across the street so we became friends. He played in a group called the Thangs here in D.C. and then moved on to Austin. He moved between NYC and Austin for a few years and when I started working on my first album in Austin, I tracked him down in NYC but he  was moving back to Austin a week or two before I was going to be there so that worked out perfectly. When he moved back to the D.C. area we started to perform and write together. Nice full circle.

WCP: You’ve shifted over the years from blues rock to Americana and guitar-pop—how do you explain this transformation if you think that description is accurate?

JW: I have been down a musical road of sorts—I was performing  rockabilly at the very beginning, then moved on to blues and now roots-rock/Americana/AAA whatever you wanna call it—I’m still trying to figure that one out exactly. It seems these days you have to be extremely pigeon-holed. It was just my natural progression not so much a conscious decision but just my personal musical journey.

WCP: Who is in your current band? Can you tell me a little about them and how you  started working with them?

JW: My current band is Max, Tommy Hannigan on bass, and Clark Matthews on drums. Both of them are part of the cream of D.C. musicians and I’m very fortunate to be playing with them. Clark played with Tom Principato for many years and Tommy with the Shambells, Catfish Hodge Band, and various bands in Austin and Dallas, Texas. On keys we sometimes have Mookie Siegel (David Nelson Band and formerly Donna Jean and the Tricksters) or Brian Simms (Junkyard Saints). For the CD we used New York guys who were  absolutely fantastic.

WCP: Are your lyrics autobiographical or a combination of the personal and the fictional and things you’ve heard from others? Or other?

HW: My lyrics are mostly autobiographical but also observations of others and life. I also get ideas from anything from overhearing conversations to movies/TV and yes, my own imagination!

WCP: What summer local and national gig plans do you have?

JW: We have a busy calendar with many summer concerts series and festivals and we’ll be adding more as we go along. The website is kept up to date so that will give you more info should you need it. As of right now I’m planning a CD release in NYC (no date as of yet) and my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, (some high school classmates started a “Bring the Janine Wilson Band to Ohio” page!). I do want to tour more but nothing immediately on the books.

Janine Wilson & band performing for free Saturday April 24 at noon at  Magruder Park,  3911 Hamilton Street, Hyattsville, MD.  (301) 985-5020

The Myspace site for the Surf Club (aka the Surf Club Live and previously Chick Hall’s Surf Club) now plays Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a Changin,” but perhaps it would make more sense to play something in Spanish.  Concerned about small turnouts for the blues-rock, country, and other roots styles he has been getting, owner James Byrum has decided to reach out to the current local demographic and will now be featuring a dj spinning ranchera, bachata and other Spanish language sounds.  Byrum informed folks on a local listserv that “the summer is always a tough draw and now is a good time to experiment with bringing a more consistent source of revenue to the club. There may still be shows in the future. But I am taking the summer to try new things.” 

At least  the club still exists.  In 2007, it appeared that the rectangular cinder block and brick roadhouse would be sold and knocked down.  This honky-tonk bastion has been located at 4711 Kenilworth Avenue in Hyattsville since 1975, and previously was on Bladensburg Road in Colmar Manor from 1955 to 1975.  But Byrum acquired the place and has been booking local Americana acts and zydeco dances.  While the latter draw a dedicated 40-something and up crowd, they do not drink much.  Meanwhile, the audiences have not grown for DC roots-rock, alt-country, blues, and blues-rock bands.  Compounding things, the club is not located near a Metro station, has been unable to get much media or internet attention for the groups booked, and its older hard drinking blue-collar regulars have moved away.  On July 4th Byrum experimented with a teen reggaeton event featuring Spanish language acts from NY, Boston, and DC, but he says he has no plans to start booking more well-known Latin acts.  He is staying local for now.