Kid Sister + Flosstradamus

Webster Hall; Fri 27

Kid Sister

Photograph: Don Flood

Chicago’s Kid Sister first appeared on the national radar two years ago with the Kanye West–assisted “Pro Nails,” one of a pair of excellent 2007 lady-rap hits about the importance of personal grooming. (The other, of course, was Lil Mama’s “Lip Gloss.”) Since then, the MC born in 1980 as Melisa Young has struggled to release her debut album, a seemingly simple mission that’s been complicated numerous times by label politics and, according to Young, her own insistence on perfection.

Ultraviolet finally arrived last week, and while the result of all that extended labor falls several notches below perfection, the 12-track set is an uncommonly charming dance-rap effort that demonstrates how deeply Kid Sister believes in her music’s ability to start a party. Young’s primary liability as a rapper is that she’s just not much of one; if you’ve heard “Pro Nails,” you already know the range and depth of her flow. Better to consider tracks like “Life on TV” and “Big N Bad,” with their rubbery grooves, catchy synth riffs and insistent chants, as successors to awesome late-’80s and early-’90s hits like “Pump Up the Jam” and “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).” Even if she doesn’t do it especially skillfully, Kid Sis is the rare MC capable of mustering the vocal enthusiasm required to stand up to beats that rock so much block.

Tonight Kid Sister will perform with DJs and several dancers. Arrive early to catch an opening set by Flosstradamus, the Chicago party-rap duo that includes Young’s brother Josh.—Mikael Wood

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