The reason to go to this show? No, not for Ghostface Killah. No, not for Brother Ali. No, not for the live band, the Rhythm Roots Allstars. Yes, yes, yes for the father of modern rap, Rakim. He is, to put it in his words, the first rapper to "send a rhyme down the Nile." His moment in the history of hiphop was one of radical rupture, a break that inaugurated a new direction. Really, has hiphop moved beyond "Follow the Leader," a track Rakim made 20 years ago? (Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave, ticketmaster.com. 8 pm, $32 adv/$35 DOS, all ages.) CHARLES MUDEDE

Thanks to the dense, dazzling lyrics of Craig Finn, the Hold Steady remain music's premier chroniclers of the adult urge for transcendence, be it through drugs or rock or God. Thanks to the brilliant shtick of Eddie Argos, Art Brut remain a band about a band making music about making music. Tonight these two wordy and theatrical bands take the stage at the UW, for what should be the smartest and funniest rock show of the year. (HUB Ballroom, UW campus, ticketmaster.com. 7 pm, $22, all ages.) DAVID SCHMADER