Deltron 3030/Kid Koala

From the first several minutes of the iconic “3030,” it’s clear that Deltron 3030 brings something a bit elevated to the hip-hop game. And that was more than a decade ago. But the beats from the group’s self-titled opus remain timeless, fresh, forward-thinking. Even the band’s 2013 outing, Event II carried with it some semblance of otherworldliness (like that far-out Joseph Gordon-Levitt intro, among other oddities). But taken as a whole, Deltron - Del The Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator, Kid Koala - have done much to advance the cause of “alternative hip-hop,” the sort of stuff that won’t fit into radio-packaged head space nor share qualities with the day’s chart toppers. And that’s all the better, of course. Two decades into illustrious individual careers, these guys can still throw down. And they’re at the top of their game when performing together. Deltron returns to Cleveland tonight. (Sandy)