Leave it to a real OG like SP aka Slo Poke to deliver a necessary solution to the problem of wack MCs and general stagnation in the 25360 hip-hop communities.  With his newly launched monthly battle series, "Go Hard or Go Home," held at Olympia's Royal Lounge, SP has created a venue for rappers and MCs to sharpen their game and stack some change at the same time - $500 for the monthly winner to be exact.  Go Hard or Go Home is a re-launch of battles SP held last year, and typically they go down the first Thursday - except this month, when Go Hard falls on the second Thursday of April.

[The Royal Lounge, "Go Hard or Go Home" MC Battle featuring Misc, Afrok, 2.0, DJ Travisty, Thursday, April 8, 9 p.m., $5, 311 Capitol Way N., Olympia, 360.705.0760]