The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub

Most concert venues around Greater Boston treat hip-hop heads like rappers treat groupies; owners sporadically invite fans to drink and party, but are quick to give them the Timberland boot as soon as they sense drama. Not THE MIDDLE EAST; ever since a short list of other spots showed baggy pants the door, the independent Cambridge complex has only stepped up its game with added boom bap. In the past few months alone, the upstairs and downstairs rooms have hosted national headliners, including Heltah Skeltah, Jedi Mind Tricks, Reef the Lost Cauze, Mickey Factz, and Joe Budden, while at the same time continuing to support Boston ringers like Slaine, the Camp, and Termanology. Middle East management doesn’t ban the whole genre every time devotees of one artist act up, and as a result it’s deservingly become one of the most recognized underground rap venues on the planet.

THE MIDDLE EAST | 472 Mass Ave, Central Square, Cambridge | 617.864.3278 | mideastclub.com