Best Underground Promoter

At the head of the Lawrence-based promotion team Downplay, Edwin Morales strives to give a voice to underground hip-hop and electronica artists. Using relatively fresh concepts such as street teams and heavy online networking and age-old tactics such as hardcore flier-posting, Morales and company have brought dozens of well-known national acts (Ming & FS, Blueprint, Bus Driver) to the area. Morales also masterminded popular weekly events, including Project Groove and Neon, a showcase for '80s and early '90s dance classics that packs the house at La Tasca every Thursday. This spring, Morales helmed a four-hour onstage reunion between DJ P and DJ Z-Trip, the pair responsible for Uneasy Listening -- one of the most acclaimed turntable collaborations in the genre's history. Morales was among the 600 people in the audience that night, soaking in the music with a moonbeam smile. The massive turnout was a huge victory for Downplay, but it was seeing these two wax-slinging heavyweights together again that made it a successful night for the promoter with the fan's heart.