The Brooklyn hip-hop artist wants to shed his clothes and scream.

But it's within this naked fall that El-P finds an unexpected promise, even a chance for renewal. "I'm operating from a point of confusion and despair, but I don't see it as pessimism. Maybe there's an optimism to admit it: to stop running, to work through your own fear," he says. "I want to make music that is the signifier of fighting to live, fighting for sanity, recognizing that it ain't what it should be. So I'm going to scream. I'm going to run into the middle of the street, and take my clothes off, and scream."

EL-P

With Killer Mike, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Despot

Fri/29, 8pm, $25

Regency Ballroom

1290 Sutter, SF

(415) 673-5716

www.theregencyballroom.com