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The Ultimate Guide to Finding Hip Hop in Boston

Written by Tim Burdick. Published: Friday, June 18, 2010.

Venues

Between hosting Celtics and Bruins games, the 19,580-seat TD Bank Garden [100 Legends Way, Boston, MA (617) 624-2450 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (617) 624-2450 end_of_the_skype_highlighting], occasionally functions as the largest concert venue in town. However, giant outdoor festivals like Rock the Bells and the Warped Tour are generally held outside the city. The Comcast Center, [885 South Main Street, Mansfield, MA (508) 339-2333] thirty miles south of Boston, holds almost twenty thousand. When asked to describe the Comcast Center, Rock the Bells regular Lauren Mullin said, “There’s the usual heat, overpriced beers, and weird crowds of any giant outdoor concert; but, you couldn’t ask for more from the location.” With covered and open-air seats, as well a lawn, and plenty of room for second stages, the outdoor amphitheater makes the 12 hours of music feel less like a marathon.

Back in the city, the House of Blues [36 Lansdowne Street Boston, MA (888) 693-2583] sits in the shadows of the historic Fenway Park. Its sprawling stage, high ceilings and wide-open layout make the cavernous venue feel much larger than its 2,425-person capacity. “Without the piles of gear and collection of members of most bands, a lone rapper can get lost on that giant stage,” says hip hop enthusiast Kris Holmes. “Still, when an artist has the stage presence to pull it off, it’s almost a work of art.”

On the other hand, the Paradise Rock Club [967 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA (617) 562-8800] feels much smaller than the 728 people it can hold. Local writer Ryan Weaver describes the venue thusly: “The Paradise conjures up a particular kind of old-school Boston aesthetic — puritan, minimalist, pragmatic. Though they will not and have not stopped performers from wearing crazy masks or bringing a hype man or screening ‘visual art’ onstage, there are rarely giant confetti cannons going off here when the audience’s attention flags — there just isn’t the space.” The maze of stairs, balconies, and the low stage pulls the crowd closer to the performer and gives the place the feel of an intimate club. Despite its rock & roll name, the “‘dise” has recently hosted hip hop acts including RJD2, Brother Ali, and the CunninLynguists.

Middle East: The Ultimate Guide to Finding Hip Hop in Boston Like many of the venues in Boston, the Middle East Downstairs [472 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA (617) 864-3278] built its name as premier place to hear indie rock. In recent years, however, it has gained notoriety for hosting local and national indie hip hop. P.O.S., Murs, and Sage Francis have each recently packed the room that can hold a crowd up to 575. Concert-attendee Crys Calderon says, “the thing that I love about the Middle East Downstairs is that it has just the right amount of grunge and just the right amount of pretense.”