Recap The Mighty Underdogs at Majestic Theatre

Right before The Mighty Underdogs took the Majestic’s stage Tuesday night, someone up front asked aloud, “Did you see [MF] Doom back there?” There were masked figures lurking behind the stage door, but they turned out to be MCs Gift Of Gab and Lateef The Truthspeaker and producer Headnodic in dog masks. This high-test trio didn’t bring guests to this show, and there wouldn’t have been much space for any between Gab’s liquid-jackhammer flows and Lateef’s pugnacious yelps.

The three usually zipped right from one song into the next, jacking up the crowd’s excitement and not giving it time to deflate. The curtain behind them sparkled with blue lights, evoking the playful and at times trippy atmosphere of the trio’s recent album, Droppin’ Science Fiction. Headnodic played it cool and content behind the turntables and sampler. As he cued up the eerie spaghetti-Western styled guitar feedback samples of “Gunfight,” he unzipped his hoodie to reveal a T-shirt with a light-up graphic equalizer panel. (Later, the group would use this to measure whether the crowd’s screaming was loud enough.)

From Gift Of Gab’s first verse on “Monster,” it was clear he and Lateef were feeling a lot more excitable. At times, Decider listened to a whole verse without being able to make out more than a few words—they were coming out clear, just really damn fast, and in Lateef’s case, a bit hoarse. Gab paced the stage with a well-earned cockiness as his free hand stuck out of his big leather jacket sleeve, gracefully flitting back and forth and wiggling its fingers in time with his voice. Lateef ripped into the crowd like Joe Pesci with a side of reggae-toaster, usually pumping an arm up in the air, palm open and with plenty of shoulder muscle behind it. Even on “Ill Vacation, “ Droppin’ Science Fiction’s most bubbly and whimsical track, Lateef jabbed his finger at the audience, as if to say, “and you had better agree that it’s an ill vacation, fuckers!”

During a couple of freestyles, Headnodic tested his MCs with a few abruptly tempo-switching beats, yet both switched speeds without ever tripping over themselves. To Lateef’s credit, he showed a healthy sense of humor during a few turns of phrase about Wisconsin: “Got style like y’all got ice fishin!” The two rappers loosened up a bit more as Lateef channeled the mopey chill of “Want You Back.” Still, when they began their encore with “Laughing,” the mood of the album track got lost and the song came off as more of an aggressive taunt: Headnodic replaced his innovative beat made of laughter samples with a chugging up-tempo bass line, and Gab charged hard into his verses instead of keeping with the recorded track’s goofy, laid-back vibe. That’s a small complaint, though, and maybe that’s just the cost of a hip-hop group bringing intense skill and work ethic to its live act.

Speaking of work ethic, Decider recently ran a review of a Dumate show at The Annex, but their opening set here was worth another mention. Following up well-meaning goofballs The Active Ingredients (come on, how is that a good name for a rap group?), all five members of this Madison hip-hop band played like they were really hungry for it, and that’s always a great thing to see. MCs Dudu Stinks and DLO bring creative, confident flows, Jah Boogie plays a solid kit of drums and sings great reggae-flavored hooks, producer Man Mantis seemed to be working up a sweat over his sampler, and Bobby Peru is among the few human beings who can be trusted with a five-string bass. The band was also selling a T-shirt that insisted their name’s spelled with a “lowercase d.” (Sorry folks, here there be grammar sticklers.) They’re also slated to open for K’Naan at The Annex next Tuesday, so here’s hoping they stay tight and busy.