Every Thursday night, what looks like your average old man’s bar is transformed into an artistic haven for one of Buffalo’s best kept secrets. Baby Steps is a weekly underground hiphop event which focuses on local acts as well as nationally “known” artists. Named because of the slow but steady rate of its growth, Baby Steps is “a phenomenon that has grown immensely over the past year and seven months,” according to one of its driving forces, UB student Josh Brown (a.k.a. Emcee Sick). I had the pleasure to attend a show on October 19, which featured MF Doom, who was formerly known as Zeblove X of KMD. According to most of those in attendance at the show, MF Doom is basically as sweet as hiphop gets, in Buffalo or anywhere else. This was my first experience with both Baby Steps and underground hiphop. Going into the show I wasn’t sure what to expect—I’d seen the advertisements all over campus but I never spoke to anyone who’d actually attended one. Hiphop, in my mind, carried a connotation of being violent, offensive, and generally just not something I would enjoy. I was proven extremely wrong about this. All of the people involved with Baby Steps are proud of the fact that they’ve never had a problem with violence, if for no other reason than if a problem arises, they’ll no longer have a venue. “Hiphop is a culture, and it lives in Buffalo at a little place called Braodway Joe’s,” said DJ Lutchi.

Each week, the show starts with performances by DJ Lopro and DJ Kreme. This was loud as hell, but you really can’t help but get down a little. As the crowd grew more, a break-dancing circle actually formed, whichfeatured some very impressive performances. Around 2 a.m., MF Doom took the stage, wearing a silver mask. (The MF in his name stands for Metal Face.) He wears the mask when he performs as an expression of the theme of super heroes vs. villainy, which appears in many of the songs on his album, Operation Doomsday. According to his fans, much of the album was inspired by the death of his brother and fellow KMD group member, who was known as Subroc. Together, Doom (known then as Zeblove X) and Subroc released one album as KMD, entitled Black Bastards, but it wasn’t picked up because it was too “anti-white” and record companies feared the general anti-rap sentiments of the time. Doom left hiphop after his brother’s death, but returned in 1999 with a single, which was released on Bobbitto’s Fondle’m Records. It was out of the pain of his brother’s death that Zeblove X’s alter ego, MF Doom, arose.

At the concert it was very tough to distinguish any of the lyrics, but whatever MF Doom was saying, he sure felt it, and so did the crowd. The beats were mostly very melodic, but sometimes a little hard on the ears. According to Robert Rebholz, a UB grad student and long time hiphop fan, Doom’s style is “experimental and innovative. His whole album is groundbreaking, especially its creative use of 70’s breaks and the descriptive lyrics.”

Personally, I thought that the greatest thing about this show was the fact that everyone there is just so into it. “When you’re underground, you do what comes from your heart, and the people who feel it love it and follow it,” said Rebholz. If you think you love music, then it is definitely worth your while to experience Baby Steps for yourself on Thursday nights at Broadway Joe’s.