Panacea

Northern California duo Panacea makes the kind of dreamy, mystical hip-hop that mid-'90s Bush Babees fans would find familiar. They make songs like "Ecosphere," where producer K-Murdock makes soulful and yearning tracks that rapper Raw Poetic chops up with his edgy yet insightful vocals. "Stars, I count them, one two three/One two I use the star and MC/Three is the one that gets me to free/Styles in the way my people should be," he rhymes on "Starlite."

Earlier this year, Panacea issued an acclaimed EP, Thinking Back Looking Forward, with tracks like "Freedom Theory" and "Limitless Pages." They just released a blissed-out debut called Ink Is My Drink this month on the newly-formed Rawkus Records, a label with its own tumultuous past (think Black Star and Company Flow). The band's Phoenix stop is part of a short fall tour.