‘02 Lounge showcases hits and swagger

From its humble beginnings as a Lower East Side open-mike night highlighting the poetry and messages of hip-hop’s best MCs, Lyricist Lounge has grown into three national tours, two CD releases and two seasons as an MTV sketch comedy series.

But this year’s heavyweight lineup, anchored by Scarface, Erick Sermon (of the legendary NYC crew EPMD) and Wu Tang’s Killah Priest, seemed to rely too much on greatest hits and not showcase as much new talent -- or especially remarkable lyrics -- as the name has come to promise.

Not to take anything away from the headliners during Tuesday’s stop at the House of Blues: Scarface took the stage alone with his DJ, and their usual bombast had the less-than-capacity crowd partying. Sermon and his partners in the Def Squad, Keith Murray and Redman, were having the most fun, but their set gave way in the middle to a gratuitous tribute to fallen rappers, including Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac.

A high note came from newcomer Poverty, a gritty bantam rapper who, he says, was living in a Massachusetts homeless shelter when discovered by ArtistDirect Records President Ted Fields. “I’m hungry!” he cried, repeating over and over an appeal for support that made it perfectly clear that even his heartfelt “The Real Die Young” wasn’t describing a glaring social injustice as much as a raw lust for cash. A dose of positive hip-hop would have helped balance this show’s bad case of young and baseless swagger.