KNON Hip-Hop Benefit Party with Mr. Blakes, Legendary Fritz and Devotion 420

In a just world, a 23rd anniversary celebration in honor of EZ Eddie D would mark that many years that he'd been the highly paid Arbitron champ in his drive-time slot on a 100,000-watt hip-hop station. But this is Dallas. And for Dallas or anywhere else, lasting 23 years as a volunteer at a pledge-drive-dependent community radio station is an even greater accomplishment. Eddie's "Knowledge Dropped Lessons Taught" program, Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on KNON-89.3 FM, showcases independent, underground and message-oriented hip-hop along with local rappers. A typical show might have locals as diverse as Moon Criket and Strange Fruit Project brushing shoulders with Soul Position and Ghostface Killah. One of the most tireless champions of local music, his playlists prove there are some rappers and crews in the area who deserve the same respect commanded by the best indie rappers around the globe. His show is required listening for hip-hop heads in the DF Dub. With the celestial brain funkateer Pikahsso acting as master of ceremonies, Eddie and his turntablist sidekick Spider will be in the mix between performances by Devotion 420, the Legendary Fritz and Austin-by-way-of-the-metroplex rapper Mr. Blakes and some promised surprise guests. If the tunes on their MySpace and Texasgigs.com profiles are any indication, Devotion 420--a duo consisting of New Jersey native Rapture and femcee (female MC) Money--alone should make your paltry $6 contribution worth it. Rapture's confident, deliberate East Coast delivery is a nice contrast to Money's tough-girl boasts. Since his move, the multi-talented wordsmith Mr. Blakes (formerly Bavu Blakes) isn't as easy to catch around these parts. Hopefully he'll perform his Neil Young-sampling "Southern Man."