COURTESY OF THE VISIONARIES The Visionaries gets the crowd hyped up. The group performs at Club 111, 8 p.m. tomorrow.

The vision of hip
hop is depicted

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By Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.com

If hip hop ever needed a face to go with the name, underground rap outfit Visionaries would be the perfect crew to represent the urban artform. The six-deep troupe from Los Angeles is a diverse and multi-ethnic operation, with each member bringing his own unique contribution to the group.

COURTESY OF THE VISIONARIES The Visionaries bring their multi-ethnic operation to town with a performance at Club 111, 8 p.m. tomorrow.

There's Rhettmatic, whose technical prowess and funky sensibilities on the turntables helped bring Asian Americans -- or more precisely, Filipino-Americans -- to the forefront of the hip hop DJ scene. He is also a founding member of turntablist trailblazers World Famous Beat Junkies and along with lyricist Key-Kool in the mid-'90s, formed the nucleus of the Visionaries.

Throughout the same groundbreaking decade, 2Mex and LMNO rose through the ranks of elite underground L.A. emcees and now supplement their work with the Visionaries with side ventures and solo projects.

"Visionaries" Where: Club 111, 111 N. King St. When: 8 p.m. tomorrow Admission: $18

When not recording or performing with the Visionaries, Lord Zen and Dannu also make music as Writer's Block, their own offshoot group. Even without the benefit of radio airplay or the backing of a major label, the Visionaries have sold out numerous shows along the West Coast, alongside such luminaries as The Wu-Tang Clan, Jurassic 5, The Roots, Mos Def and Cypress Hill.

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