Def Harmonic was one of the bright spots in the mid-2000s Milwaukee hip-hop scene, during a time when the scene was a bit less vibrant and hopeful than it is today, but the group slowed down as the decade progressed and faded away by 2007 as members focused on other projects. With less hype than might be expectedperhaps they were aiming for a soft launchrappers J. Todd and Lunaversol 9 reunited for Def Harmonic’s first show in over two years Saturday night, playing at a crowded Mad Planet.
The group’s soundspaced-out funk with unhurried, sing-song raps somewhere between Outkast and Digable Planetsalways stood out in a city that’s traditionally preferred more meat-and-potatoes hip-hop. The group actually sounds more at home in 2009 than it did in 2005, now that artists like Kid Cudi and Kanye West are experimenting with nearly rapless rap songs Def Harmonic's always toyed with.
Though Todd and Lunaversol 9 began their set hesitantly, as if called to make a wedding toast they hadn’t prepared for, within minutes they were working the crowd brilliantly, with easy chemistry unexpected of a band coming off a long hiatus. Their reunion seems to be more than a temporary one; this Saturday they’ll play the Cactus Club on a bill with Eyedea and Abilities.
Kid Millions, performing as part of his blitz behind his new record, Recession Proof Rap, opened Saturday’s Mad Planet show with a set of quirky party rap. He was buoyed by something that until recently not too many Milwaukee rappers could claim: a genuine local hit, “Victim To the Beat,” which closed the summer with considerable radio play. Nearly as infectious was his follow-up single, “I Made a Mixtape,” which rides the same mid-’80s, summertime jam feel as its predecessor.
