Philadelphia producer RJD2 will play a March 14 concert at the Rave, the venue announced today. RJD2 made a fast name for himself with his 2002 debut for Def Jux records, Deadringer, one of the few masterpieces of the instrumental hip-hop genre. On that album, he weaved often dulcet compositions out of some of the most unlikely samples (most notoriously Elliott Smith’s “I Didn’t Understand” on RJD2's most exposed song, "Ghostwriter.")
RJD2 threw fans for a loop with his third album, 2007’s The Third Hand, an undistinguished singer-songwriter set that downplayed his intricate beats, but his latest album, this year’s The Colossus, returns him to his comfort zone. It’s another collection of eclectic, epic soundscapes far grander and more ambitious than almost anything found in contemporary or alternative rap music.