As 2010 comes to a close, members and observers of the D.C. hip-hop scene are debating who's the hottest MC, and whether or not we have a great one. The year also saw a seemingly endless stream of mixtapes—from D.C. Don Juan and UCB, to Kingpen Slim and Raheem DeVaughn. In 2011, listeners should expect [...]

"Where do you get the balls to change your name from Gordon to 'Sting'?" asked the comedian Dana Carvey asked sometime in the mid-90's, when the musician's stage name was still viable stand-up fodder. One might ask the same of John Stephens, who changed his name to John Legend while he was still a small-time act in Chicago. To his credit, Legend's spent the intervening years slowly justifying his ambitious moniker, carving out a niche of the outskirts of pop R&B, not far from its borders with rock and big-band. He brought his horn section, dancing girls, and Clorox-white pants to Merriweather Friday.

Friday

An Evening w/ King Sunny Ade & his African Beats. 9:30 club. $25. All ages.
The Paulverizers, Idle Americans. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
Oleta Adams. Birchmere. $39.50.
Novalima, Pistolera. Black Cat. $18/$22. All ages.
Lovvers, Small Doses, Cigarbox Planetarium. Comet Ping Pong. All ages.
John Legend, India.Arie. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $36–$109.
Hello Society, Marbin, Lucky Dub. The Red & [...]