After a cursory web search, it might seem that not only can Maryland-born, SoCal-residing rapper Wax freestyle—that’s about the extent of his arsenal. But from the sea of YouTube videos that launched his career, a record deal with Def Jam emerged last month alongside the pop-flavored DJ Skee-hosted mixtape that serves as his debut. Its title, Scrublife,does well to shed light on the aesthetic the MC chases—a former rocker who ended up in San Diego after his band (and love life) fell apart, he reps the opposite of excess, a contradiction to the jewel-encrusted rappers he grew up watching on MTV. From DUI odes to loves songs for the girl at your marijuana dispensary, it’s lifestyle music for an apartment littered with beer bottles. With SuperFire, City Hall. NICK FELDMAN

Mon., April 25, 8 p.m., 2011