Polo is no longer in what they call "end of life"care which means he  has been removed off of hospice. He is no longer in a coma and is well enough that he has been moved to a rehabilitation facility to help him start his recovery. He has been breathing on his own for awhile but he still is in a semi sleep state. He can hear you, he can feel things, he can open his eyes for a few moments and he can squeeze your hand. These are good signs because now he can start therapy and start to see specialist to help with his progress.

All of which is expensive. The group says it's setting up a fund to which fans can donate.

Mama, He's a Big Girl Now: WaPo and the Examiner talk to jocular WETA host Robert Aubry Davis on the occasion of his appearance, in drag, in Signature Theatre's Hairspray. But for the ultimate Davis profile, you'll want to read Eddie Dean's 1996 piece from Washington City Paper, "Around Town With Mr. Know-It-All."

On Covering Cons: Lauren Rae Orsini, in offering some best practices for journalists who want to cover anime cons, totally buries the lede: Orsini worked as a press liaison at this past weekend's Anime USA convention, and one credentialed journalist pulled some serious bullshit, and—although the details are related murkily—led to the event losing $4,000 worth of equipment.

Extensions Corner: FotoWeek D.C.'s HQ is staying open until Dec. 17. Two Fall Fringe shows—Good Girls Don't, But Indian Girls Do and Squirrel, or the Origins of a Species—have added performances.

Today on Arts Desk: Results of the Peter Marks/Howard Sherman live tweetspat. Live music at Occupy D.C.

X.O., one-third of the vaunted Diamond District trio, released last night his video for "Effortless" a methodical, organ-heavy track about making it big. "I'mma run to a dream, I'mma do it my way/I'mma smile when I win, I'mma hit me a 'J,'" X.O. raps. "Effortless" is the first single from his Monumental 2 mixtape, scheduled for a July 30 release.

Following his impressive Postcard From Abroad mixtape, D.C. jetsetter Tabi Bonney dropped "Parachute" this morning, a single from his forthcoming album The Summer Years, coming this August. On this sizzling head-nodder, Bonney plays his unmistakable D.C. twang against a synth-heavy backdrop and bass guitar: "Please give me some privacy to figure out this P.Y.T./If she who she say she is, then she'll walk down the isle wit me," Bonney raps.

Perhaps released just for exercise, Wale's "Bait" is still a raucous go-go number with plenty of local references: the Stadium strip club in Northeast, H.O.B.O. clothing, and the Berry Farms housing complex in Southeast. Still, it wouldn't be a Wale track without some chick hoppin'. "I'm why baby mamas leave/I'm why baby fathers kirk," he rhymes on the hook.

Last year, Chelsey Green—aka "The Green Violinist"—won the best alternative artist award and TCB was named best go-go group. Whitefolkz netted the best male rapper award, and his brash F*ck Your Mixtape was named the year's best mixtape.

This year, you can submit your nominations online and via text message; there's also a "power ballot" for local music journalists and industry types. The top seven nominees from each category will then be sent to a panel of 15 judges, who will determine the winners.

Here's the online ballot. To vote via text, type "DMV" and insert a space. Then, type the corresponding number code and the artist or group you're voting for to 313131.

The nomination deadline is Feb. 14. The show is scheduled for March 5 at the Hyatt Hotel at Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Hwy in Arlington.

In the early morning hours of April 11th during our show at The CFE our friend Reggie (Polo) complained about not feeling well and it was decided that he should go home. On his way home his condition didn't improve so he was taken to Greater Southeast Hospital were he went into a coma. He was then taken to Washington Hospitol Center where he has been since Sunday morning fighting for his life. So as of today... POLO IS NOT DEAD! Out of respect for his family we are only passing on information we get from them.

The situation is very serious and it's been hard just even listening to our music. The band had a meeting Sunday night and everyone was briefed on Polo's condition and they collectively decided to perform at the LePearl out of respect for Polo. In reality he has suffered a serious trauma and best case senerio it'll be a very long road to any recovery. We respect the families decisions whatever they may be and we always hope for the best. So as of right now TCB will do what Polo has done all his life...HUSTLE and GRIND. He left us with his dream to watch over it for him. He made sure we all could eat. He changed the game up as with everything he's done. So to not continue to be TCB would be disrespecting the sacrifice and hustle Polo made to see TCB what it is now. We're pulling for our friend. We don't want to talk about what if's, but for right now, Polo is still with us. Just pray for him y'all.

Despite persistent rumors (and an #RIPPolo trending topic on Twitter) to the contrary, Polo, frontman for go-go favorites TCB is currently alive, though in intensive care. He was rushed to the hospital last night after collapsing on stage.

"He's not dead," TCB's manager Ben Adda confirmed. "He's in stable condition right now, they've got him sedated."

The cause of his collapse and additional details are unclear at this time. Here's hoping for a quick recovery.

Area R&B crooner Raheem DeVaughn's new album, The Love and War MasterPeace is out today; we'll have a review from Ben Westhoff in this week's Washington City Paper, and online tomorrow. Till then: The go-go remix of "Bulletproof" featuring TCB is some next-level stuff.

The Pink Line Project shot some video at the massive "G-40: The Summit" exhibition at Art Whino:

After the jump: A certain film critic's fat fucking face, a bitter Munch exhibit, Dan Bejar!

If you haven't read Chris Jones' wonderful Esquire profile of Roger Ebert, do that now. Then read Ebert's response. Then read Will Leitch's piece about his friendship with Ebert, and why he once wrote a piece called "I Am Sick Of Roger Ebert's Fat F—-ing Face." And then watch Ebert on Oprah today.

TV corner! Dustin Hoffman will star in "Luck," a new HBO series. Leno returned to the Tonight Show last night.

A new Edvard Munch retrospective in Paris couldn't get its hands on "The Scream"; the art space, Pinacotheque de Paris, then decided to name the show "Edvard Munch or Anti-Scream." "Privately financed and unashamedly commercial, it’s snubbed by Paris’s curatorial establishment — an attitude Marc Restellini, its director and driving force, reciprocates," writes Bloomberg's Jorg von Uthmann.

Song of the day! Loscil's "The Making of Grief Point," a 9-minute ambient work featuring spoken word from Destroyer's Dan Bejar. Start your day off confused!:

Wale is back in the (ahem) news today, as the subject of much Twitter and blog gossip. His current single "Pretty Girls" is a reinterpretation a longtime Backyard Band standard, and it looks like Interscope is about to give a big push, video treatment and all. Except, according to the internets, the go-go outfit is/was calling for a boycott of the record, either stemming from royalty issues or the fact that he shot the video without them. A screencap of this vague Facebook status from BYB sparked the conversation and Wale responded thusly.

Earlier this afternoon, Wale denied the rumors on WKYS: "Myself and Backyard Band are extremely happy about the success of the record… we are actually shooting the video on Thursday night with some members of the band." Twitter reactions from members of both Backyard and TCB (the band behind Wale's 2007 similarly go-go tinged single "Ice Cream Girl") have since been deleted.

Update: Backyard's Big G just called into KYS: "it wasn't never no beef, it was just some miscommunication about the situation on the video… [BYB vocalist] Weensey's gonna be in the video, Wale and them working out the kinks." Crisis averted. Move along, nothing to see here.