Fresh Cut Collective

Live hip-hop bands tend to fall back on bland, anonymous grooves, as the actual music takes a backseat to the raps, but Milwaukee’s Fresh Cut Collective escapes this trap, giving the six players who back rapper Adebisi plenty to do. With Black Elephant and Growing Nation off the circuit, Fresh Cut Collective filled a niche as one of the city’s few live hip-hop acts, and the group found its audience quickly through strong word-of-mouth, even before the group had any recorded music to support. Earlier this year they released their self-titled album, which throws down shifty dub beats and limber soul-funk jams. Tonight they play a concert cruise on the Milwaukee Boat Line’s Iroquois cruise ship.