This 18th Street storefront might appear an unlikely spot for entertainment; it is, after all, essentially empty, no marquee broadcasting the names of the night's main acts or coming attractions, no box office, no eye-catching logo. But that bare-bones sensibility makes it possible to transform The Next Space for a night. When local rappers perform here, the scene is like a small, laid-back party. When rappers on the Anticon label came through on a nationwide tour in the spring, the atmosphere became aware, focused and engaged as the visitors tackled political issues and kept pace not only with their voices but with their bodies. The crowd punctuated the musicians' songs with applause and nods of approval, and smokers respectfully stepped back from the stage so that the entertainers could catch enough wind to fuel their rhymes. At The Next Space, the atmosphere is recreated with every gig, and guests respond not to a long-standing sense of what to expect, but to the substance of the art form they've come to witness.
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