Ahh, newness …

Funky 49 laid down some fat, nerdalicious rhymes at the Orpheum Aug. 13.

I love fresh new music. There hasn’t been much of it lately, but that makes the discoveries when they happen oh so sweeter.

Last week I went to a hip-hop show at the Orpheum and caught some cool newish acts that skew to the underground, nerdcore tip. There was a little gangsta, Dirty South. You could say it was a buffet of rhyming styles.

Funky 49 is a Tampa-based performer who might appeal to people who enjoy MC Chris. He’s got a pretty good flow and clever rhymes. His songs touch on really badass street-tough topics, such as the role-playing game World of Warcraft and broadband vs. dial-up.

My favorite of the night was an artist who goes by Black King. He was fierce yet smooth. Sometimes rappers lose their fluidity with aggression, but King’s seemed to be fueled by it.

I have an e-mail to Lazy, inquiring about the line-up of the night, so I will update you on some more of the latest rappers to hit the scene once I talk to him.

Saturday I caught Rec Center (led by Susie Ulrey and Michael Waksman) and Sons of Hippies — two promising new pop/rock acts.

Rec Center is mellow and catchy (see profile in other entry).

Sons of Hippies, whose singer Katherine Kelly is probably the hottest new female vocalist to hit the scene now. She wins crowds over with the right mixture of toughness and feminine appeal. She’s not over-the-top in your face, screaming about blow jobs in theaters and whatnot.

The duo, featuring pal Jonas on drums, vocals, percussion and synthesizers, incorporates distinctly varied rocking and atmospheric influences — Radiohead, Metric, Pixies, PJ Harvey, Air and and Pearl Jam — so naturally the end result isn’t quite like anything else out there these days {thank god someone’s doing it }.