KC and The Sunshine Band at Rivers; Mr. Smalls Hosts Wu Tang’s GZA (Fri., 3/10/23)

Friday, March 10 & Saturday, March 11

1) KC and The Sunshine Band rose out of the ’70s music scene in Miami, Florida. Creating classic dance grooves including “That’s The Way I Like It,” “Get Down Tonight,” “I’m You’re Boogie Man,” and “Give It Up,” they achieved massive success. U.S. music charts in the mid to late ’70’s were often populated by the band’s numerous hits. KC and the Sunshine Band have been nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning three. When disco/dance music faded and punk music rose in the early ’80s, KC retired for a while until brought back by popular demand in 1991. Rivers Casino, 777 Casino Dr., Pittsburgh (RH)

2) There’s a reason GZA (née Gary Grice) also goes by The Genius. He has had a life-long interest in science, especially quantum physics. His second solo album, 1995’s Liquid Swords, is often lauded by fans and critics alike as the paragon of lyrical prowess. Its reputation has only grown; over 20 years after its release, it went platinum. Plus, what topic won’t GZA rap about? He also champions science education for New York City high school students. With Columbia University Professor Christopher Emdin and the website Rap Genius, he helped to pilot Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. (Bringing Attention to Transforming, Teaching, and Learning Science), an initiative which teaches science through hip hop. GZA is a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan, arguably the greatest hip hop group of all time. GZA hasn’t released an album since 2008, but he has been keeping busy with several projects including providing a voice role in Netflix’s “Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts” as Bad Billions. He even created a song for the series. A fun song/video of his is “Breaker Breaker” which has GZA driving around a tractor trailer with numerous speakers on the inside and outside. GZA will perform his landmark album Liquid Swords in its entirety. Special guests are DJ Goodnight and DJ BoddyDem. 8:30 p.m. Sold out. Mr. Smalls Theater, 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. (C.M., R.H.)

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