"Lucifer In A New Suit" finds Slim battle-rapping over Kanye West's "Devil In A New Dress" while "While I'm From" is a gritty ode to D.C. over Jay-Z's song of the same name. On "Exhibit A," which borrows Jay Electronica's standout 2009 track, Slim gets spacey: "You can tell by my wave pattern/So out of this world, I can wave at Saturn."

2dopeboyz has the mixtape. The Beam Up 3 is scheduled for a spring release.

Maybe that's why Freeway feels at home when he performs in the DMV, an area that has largely flown under the hip-hop radar. But it's not just the hip-hop that Freeway notices here. "The women in the DMV are beautiful," Freeway says with a laugh.

On Sunday night, the Philly MC will headline the second installment of the Indie Life Concert Series at U Street Music Hall, a monthly show in which local hip-hop artists open for nationally recognized MCs. Last month, SmCity, Gods'Illa and X.O., opened for Black Milk. This month, SmCity, Black Cobain, and KingPen Slim will warm up for Freeway.

SmCity, the event's organizer, says Big K.R.I.T. and Freddie Gibbs will headline next month's concert, and local MC Muggsy Malone has already agreed to perform."We're just trying to bring the industry here," Sm says. "We want to bring the local acts to D.C. to get shine with the national acts."

Freeway says he plans to bring plenty of "electricity" during his set—dusting off some familiar favorites and unveiling new material. He's scheduled to drop his Diamond In The Ruff mixtape in June.

The concert takes place at 9 p.m. at U Street Music Hall, 1115A U St. NW. $15-$20.

In response to the devastation, promoters here and abroad organized a seemingly endless stream of benefit concerts to aid the country's overwhelming relief efforts. To date, more than $1 billion has been raised for Haiti's earthquake recovery.

On Sunday night, the group that organized last year's "DMV Helps Haiti" benefit at the 9:30 Club will host another concert—featuring Kingpen Slim, Alison Carney, Harmony Muzik, and several others—to aid the Caribbean island, even if it follows some controversy.

The local organization raised $37,000 last year from a similar concert at the 9:30 Club, which featured Wale, Tabi Bonney, and Raheem DeVaughn. However, the DMV charity group was criticized for donating some of its proceeds to Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti, which came under fire for its dubious financial history.

This year, all of the proceeds will go to Partners in Health.

Sunday's show will take place at The Warehouse Loft, 411 New York Ave. NE. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show begins at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $20 at the door.

Before we pop bottles and sing "Auld Lang Syne," here are the five DMV albums (no mixtapes) that killed my car speakers and headphones this year.

5. yU—Before Taxes

Arguably the stabilizing force of the Diamond District trio, yU delivered a nostalgic opus that was part boom bap—reminiscent of the hip-hop I loved in high school—and part florescent freedom music that challenged listeners to look ahead to better days. "Fine," a quick, hypnotic loop at the album's center, is dipped in struggle, yet nurturing enough to wash away the pain. Don't be fooled by yU's seemingly calm demeanor. On the battle-ready "The UP&UP," he proves that he's more than willing to serve second-guessers. "I reign as the humble king, crown made of copper oil/You the best, not for long, sleep until ya spot is gone."

4. Levi Stephens—This Way

Jokingly called the DMV's India.Arie by Mambo Sauce vocalist Black Boo, Levi Stephens easily stands out with his brand of alternative soul in a region dominated by hip-hop. On his eclectic debut album, the guitarist/vocalist discussed the joys of love and the despair of heartbreak with refreshing maturity and exuberance. The upbeat, commercial sound of "When I'm Rich" became an instant classic for many listeners and "Sorry For The Pain" summoned the musical spirit of Bill Withers, an artist who influenced Stephens' sound. At the album's conclusion, Stephens asks, "That's it?" Let's hope not.

3. X.O.—One.One.Ten

The title says it all. Released on Jan. 1, 2010, X.O.'s One.One.Ten set the tone for D.C. hip-hop, as a moody, celebratory, and somewhat cocky project that showcased the Diamond District member's love for the nation's capital and his willingness to help it succeed musically. Whether he was analyzing his progress on the atmospheric title track or jet-setting with Tabi Bonney on the drum heavy "We Are The 1's," X.O. proved he's one of the region's top lyricists, especially when he rhymes over Oddisee's beats. On the horn-heavy "Blah Blah," the D.C. native takes direct aim at the competition: "They sayin' it, but not to me, that lets me know I got the lead/In this race, I set a pace way back in '03."

2. Zo!—SunStorm

Lorenzo Ferguson, a Detroit/Silver Spring hybrid, had earned a solid reputation as a respected keyboardist and producer, mostly playing the background for his peers. In July, however, Zo! stepped to the forefront and released SunStorm, a seamless soul project suited for romantic nights, backyard barbecues, and two steps. In this album review, I compared his transition to Bruce Leroy's in The Last Dragon. Previously, Zo's work was mostly instrumental, with the vocalists making appearances here and there. On his most recent album, the producer merged his talents with those of The Foreign Exchange. The results were very impressive.

1. Kokayi—Robots & Dinosaurs 

While Janelle Monae's The ArchAndroid is still my favorite album of 2010, Kokayi's Robots & Dinosaurs is most certainly my second. Maybe even 1b. If nothing else, I'm intuitive and get good feelings about certain albums before they drop. I had that feeling about Monae's record and it blew me away. The same goes for The Phenomenal Handclap Band record that dropped last year. I felt the same way about Kokayi's album—like I just knew it would be dope, long before it ever blared through my speakers. It didn't disappoint. From the mind-numbing haze of "RoxTar" to the chilling depression of "Autumn Rules," Robots is a sonic and lyrical masterpiece that deserves all the accolades bestowed upon it so far. It tackles ageism, suicide, and heartache with unmatched precision and solidifies Kokayi's stature as one of the greats.

Lots of DMV rap yesterday! Kingpen Slim, Ra the MC, Fat Trel, and Black Cobain all released mixtapes/albums. Looking forward to hearing the Black Cobain tape, especially—the one time I saw him perform, at January's Haiti benefit at the 9:30 Club, he slayed. Here's a Slim song:

Also on my radar: A "Go-Go for Fenty" video with Junkyard, Stinky Dink, and Big G, though a Gray sign sneaks in around the 2:15 mark. The Latin American Film Festival announces its lineup, which, Ryan Kearney of TBD notes, includes an omnibus work featuring directing contributions from Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, stars of Y tu mamá también and the less good Rudo y Cursi. The Vinyl District has been running great stuff all week from John Davis, who performs the songs of, um, John Davis this Friday at Story/Stereo.

And since we're on the topic of freedom: Isn't the lede of the New York Times Book Review's cover review of the new Franzen novel a bit much? I'll get back to you once I read the book.

If it seems like it's been a quiet month for DC area rap, that's only because every last rapper in the city was waiting until today to drop their tape. First up is Kingpen Slim's long awaited The Beam Up 2. Slim has the best (and most Districty) rap voice in the District and so far this is sounding like his most consistent tape to date, mostly sticking close to the sort of triumphant soul beats that he sounds most comfortable on. Also dropping today: a new outing from underground female favorite RA The MC as well as solo tapes from up and comers Fat Trel and Black Cobain, both of Wale's Board Administration. I haven't had a chance to listen to those three yet because I am not a machine. But, yes, all indicators point to them being mixtapes.

Although D.C.'s Kingpen Slim chose a quaintly gangsterish name, he's been steadily honing his persona into something contemporary and relatively mainstream-friendly. The Twitters? Nicely active. The YouTubes? All day long. The connections? Jim Jones, among others. The artistic partner? Virginia's busy J Buttah. And there's product, always product: The Beam Up II, Slim's latest record, arrives Aug. 31. Which means there's product about the product, like this and that. And there's also product about specific parts of the product, like the "trailer" above, for the song "21 Gun Salute," featuring Edley Shine of Born Jamericans. What can we assume from it? In short: Kingpen Slim doesn't want to show you people doing bad things; he prefers to show you people dancing to music about people doing bad things. He also likes Akomplice.

It's been a long time, but I'm back with another DMV Rap roundup. Check out new songs from Kingpen Slim, Southeast Slim, Fat Tone & Rizon after the jump.

Kingpen Slim – "Gone"
Kingpen Slim has been very vocal about his Clipse fandom on twitter recently so it's not a surprise that this is basically a Clipse record. Especially on the production end, with producer J Buttah out darking the Dark Neptunes. Right now is a weird moment in time to be emulating the Brothers Thorten, what with them coming off of two consecutive retail flops (three if you want to count the horrendous Re-Up album, but it'd be a lot better if we just pretend that never happened) and a cooling critical response, but it's not a terrible move. Because, as it turns out, KPS has made a better Clipse record than the Clipse have made in a long time.

Southeast Slim – "Goblin"
You already know Slim was going for the Wayne sample when you read the title. And for a split second I had hoped he'd be rhyming to the Suspiria soundtrack. Psych. This beat is like the karaoke "Gucci Bandana." Slim raps his ass off but gets ten points deducted for acknowledging the existence of Asher Roth.

Fat Tone – "I'll Prove It"
The one perk of wading through frighteningly comprehensive sites like DC Mumbo Sauce and past names like (oh yes) Swag Boy Young Reek is when you find a Fat Tone type, a little known area rapper who just rhymes really well with no frills. "I'll Prove It" is a simplistically infectious record. His aesthetic is part Northern/backpack rap lyricism on this but his demeanor is decidedly DC. "South Side Shit" from last year is another pretty incredible record and I'm not sure how it flew under the radar.

Rizon – "Shopaholic"
Rizon is another name that's new to me and this the stranger beats to come out of the DMV in a minute. It's superficially of the same school as the spastic kick driven Swizz Beatz/Philly style beat but bounces all over the place on the strength of some borderline "Percolator" style bubbles. I accidentally opened the youtube in two different windows and it was like I took a hit of acid.

Rob Myers (Fort Knox Five, Thievery Corporation):

-Selecting tracks w/ Raskin for the FK5 set in Bmore @ Solstice. 60 min of hits! On the mic: Asheru, Mustafa, Rootz & Z, it's hard to choose!

-2:40am Frank Mitchell behind the wheel of 1 of 60 extant US Lamborghini "Nera"s in front of ESL after See-I. Whaaa?! http://yfrog.com/3na3aj

-Bryan Ferry selects FK5's Dodge City Rockers for his latest Beatport chart. Now circle is complete! http://bit.ly/bQdAyH (via @sidbarcelona)

Travis Morrison:

-"Don't practice. If you practice, it happens there, and I want it to happen here." Miles Davis to Herbie Hancock

-is in a relationship with Janet Jackson's greatest hits and it's DEFINITELY complicated.

Edie Sedgwick:

-Why are they called "baby names?" They should just be called "names."

-Playin' poker with Marlon Brando circa "Don Juan de Marco." He's really in his fat phase...

Kingpen Slim:

-This that picturesque snow but it ain't hurting nothing my windsheild wipers brushed it off like *yawn*

-watching old biggie interviews in between ready to die and life after death to soak in the greatness