RISING UP

A few weeks ago, Washington, D.C. rapper Wale played to a sweaty, packed Soho gallery in celebration of his Seinfeld-themed mix tape, The Mixtape About Nothing. As a conceit, the release was clever, but more interesting was Wale himself, an intricate rapper very visibly coming into his own. Being from D.C., he sometimes flirts with go-go music, and tonight he’ll be joined by UCB (Uncalled 4 Band), one of the city’s great outfits, who will back him. Also appearing are Los Angeles’s Blu & Exile, whose Below the Heavens, from last year, was one of the most thoughtful indie-rap relases in some time, reinvigorating the idea of the subgenre, which had grown stale. With AOK, Che Grand, and Skillz

Sun., July 13, 8 p.m., 2008