Here's how young and St. Paul-oriented the members of Heiruspecs were when they first crossed the river to play gigs in Minneapolis: Promo fliers for their gigs included bus route info.

More than a decade later, the Twin Cities' best-known live hip-hop group is returning to the musically rich high school where it began, St. Paul Central, to play a concert to raise funds for an arts scholarship in the band's name.

The quintet will perform next Thursday night in the school's auditorium along with a wide array of guests to benefit the Central High School Foundation.

Bassist and bandleader Sean McPherson said the event is intended as a thank-you to the school, but the group also hopes to trumpet the importance of music and arts programs in secondary education during these budget-crunching times.

"I walked out of that high school with more skills and knowledge than I see in a lot of kids who are coming into music college today," boasted McPherson, who teaches by day at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul.

All five of the current Heiruspecs attended Central. McPherson remembers why he picked the school for his sophomore year. "I was touring the school and overheard [music teacher] Red Freeberg quizzing a student after a performance," he recalled. "He was asking all the things I think every teacher should ask -- questions about promotion and organizing and all the things that go into being a musician besides playing music."

It was in Freeberg's advanced recording class where McPherson befriended rapper Chris (Felix) Wilbourn, which was the spark for Heiruspecs in the late 1990s. At the time, hip-hop was still far from being widely accepted among educators as a viable form of music. Still a teacher at Central, Freeberg said he had no qualms about letting McPherson, Wilbourn and others pursue their own sounds.

Heiruspecs want to make this scholarship fundraiser an annual event. "We want this to get bigger every year," McPherson said, "and hopefully really be a meaningful, lasting way for us to give back."

Local rapper Toki Wright must have been underwhelmed by the $30,000-plus he and label Rhymesayers tallied from their Feb. 9 Haiti benefit gig at First Avenue. The altruistic hip-hopper is raising the bar by offering his new eight-song EP "BlackMale" as a pick-your-price digital download starting Thursday. The catch? Fans who choose a price higher than zero will see the entirety of that sum go directly to relief efforts in Haiti. "I was going to give it away for free," Wright said of his latest EP. "But when Haiti came up I saw it as an opportunity." The innovative project was made possible by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and serves as a great way to score both karma and quality music. "BlackMale" marks Wright's second release in nine months, as his impressive debut LP "A Different Mirror" was released last June. The prolific wordsmith is also embarking on the Black Belt Tour 2010, a regional jaunt with fellow Twin Cities rapper Omaur Bliss and Atlanta's Haziq Ali that kicks off next Thursday in Duluth and swings through Minneapolis on March 5.

OK, it's not a rave. But listen to these stats: an eight-hour marathon featuring more than 25 DJs in five rooms. But instead of some unnamed warehouse, this Friday's "Bassgasm" will take place within the cozy confines of First Avenue. The massive bill is headlined by two superstars, Chicago house pioneer Derrick Carter and drum/bass phenom Dieselboy. Organizer DJ ESP (Woody McBride) will fill the club with his Wall of Bass sound system (a whopping 52 speakers).

Meanwhile, the Moon Goons are back with another "Forever Young" party in the old Soho storefront next to Bar-Fly (10 p.m. Fri 2/19, $5-$7). This one, dubbed "The Jersey Shore Edition," is riffing off that insane MTV reality show about hard-partying young Italian-Americans. Partygoers are encouraged to dress the part: muscle shirts, gelled hair and a good tan. Note: The real thing -- "Jersey Shore" star Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino -- is supposed to be at Bootleggers next Saturday.

The people behind a small start-up are hoping to make a big impact in north Minneapolis. When Gullah Grub Cafe opens at 1200 W. Broadway in August, it will be the next step in an continued revitalization of the troubled West Broadway business district.

The Gullah are a distinct, heritage-minded group of African-Americans living in South Carolina and Georgia's Lowcountry coastal regions, the area where the menu finds its inspiration. Since a chef isn't attached to the project yet, it's hard to know exactly what to expect, food-wise, although Shea's prototype emphasizes basic and beloved low-country classics: she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, catfish with okra, skillet cornbread, black-eyed pea cakes, sweet potato pie and more.

"No one is doing this style of cooking in the Twin Cities," said Shea. "We want the restaurant to connect with the roots and history of the people living on the North Side, but also draw diners from elsewhere in the city."