Scottrade Center played host to four legendary hip-hop acts on Saturday when the Kings of the Mic tour came through St Louis.

Unexpectedly prompt to the stage, with signature hate-it-or-love-it bedhead hair and eyes wide shut, Danny Brown transformed the Old Rock House into pure bedlam.

Don't mess with his microphone. Crank it up and keep it loud. Standing well over six feet, and sporting a "Sex, Drugs and Rap" shirt, the one and only Ghostface Killah brought his aggressive yet intricate delivery to St. Louis on Saturday night, proving why he's one of the most impressive rappers of Wu Tang descent.

Hailing from Harare, Zimbabwe, rapper and singer Blaq Carrie locks in on "Let There Be Hope" with socially conscious themes -- and a surprising Machiavelli quote -- over some tense and catchy acoustic guitar and piano samples. The sound is as persuasive as the message.

Kristine Flaherty, aka K.Flay, has made a name for herself as an independent-minded, feminist rapper. On "West Ghost," from the new mixtape of the same name, she proves her production chops are just as strong. The track smacks and stutters and flows like the best hip-hop party starters must.

Walking in to the sampled ad-infitum percussion of "Apache" and spotting Kangol complementing a Dookie rope chain, I'd arrived to a Coliseum full of hip-hop's golden-era purists eagerly anticipating the presence of a living legend -- William Michael Griffin Jr., aka Rakim.

The crowd was sweaty (and drunk) and the beats were thumping at artsy-grungy venue 2720 Cherokee last night as Kansas City-based, YouTube-sensation rapper Mac Lethal (aka David McCleary Sheldon) followed three local, rising hip-hop artists with an hour set of his rapid-fire rhymes.

Perhaps it was simply an early show on a Tuesday or perhaps there just wasn't enough exposure and promotion, but St. Louis did not show up to support Spose and the others from Preposterously Dank Entertainment. The low turnout was certainly not for a lack of talented performers.

Guns, illegal substances and automobiles are frequent players in the rap game. Wu-Block's self-titled record allows you to live out the gangster life in a safe manner.

Monday evening at the Pageant became a showcase for the Brick Squad Monopoly, the record label founded by Southern rapper Waka Flocka Flame and his manager, Gucci Mane (who made a surprise appearance).