Obscura celebrates local talent at West Philly’s A-Space

The latest in the semi-regular Obscura series brought a stellar lineup of local talent to the A-Space anarchist community center in West Philly on Saturday night. Founded by local writer and promoter Lissa Alicia Simpsons, the series aims to spotlight local independent artists who are all too often overlooked in the Philly music scene.

This month featured a totally engrossing performance by rapper Omar OriginalMan Samir, whose raps were heady and dare I say spiritual in a way I haven’t heard since The Last Emperor was ruling the Philly scene 15 years ago. Verbatum Jones‘ set was a ton of fun, reinforcing his rep as a talented rapper, a charismatic showman, and a dude who you just want to hang with and get to know. Luci Rising and her four-piece band played a set that mixed in striking covers of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and Arctic Monkeys’ “Do I Wanna Know” with originals, centered around the frontwoman’s dynamic voice. The Bul Bey closed the show with a performance that was every bit as energetic and engaged as his set at Illvibe Collective’s MilkBoy show the other week.

Check out photos from Obscura in the gallery below.