LA WEEKLY REVIEW

Playwright Alan Aymie takes swipes at gangster rap, the music industry and consumer culture in this boldly refreshing one-act. While performing on Hollywood Boulevard, street musician from Ghana, Kwame (James Black), is “discovered” by an executive (Wylie Small) from Gang Rape Records. Despite the fact that he’s a soulful folkie who doesn’t rap, he’s made over into a gangster rapper. At the urging of another company executive (Abner Genece), Kwame reluctantly accepts a phony identity intended to boost his street credibility and takes on a new name: MC Bling Bling. (Ironically, Gang Rape’s motto is “Keeping It Real”). Thrust into the media spotlight, Kwame maintains the charade of MC Bling Bling but finds the hoax increasingly burdensome, especially after a young fan is killed at one of his concerts. Other characters offer counterpoints to Kwame’s story, including two sound engineers (Wolfgang Bodison and Jarrett Galante) — who provide a short history of hip-hop and rap — an impoverished African-American teen (Damien Johnson), and a TV news announcer (the marvelously deadpan Scott Vance). The cast is excellent under Rodney Nugent’s direction, and Black demonstrates amazing range in the lead. Aymie’s audacious one-act has much to recommend it. (Sandra Ross)