Peanut Butter Wolf

For two decades, DJ Peanut Butter Wolf has been the Pied Piper of the hip-hop underground, bridging schools both old and new, as well as establishing Stones Throw Records, the scene's most formidable label.

In the process, PBW (aka Chris Manak) has helped launch the careers of such indie titans as Madlib, J Dilla, and MF Doom, while also releasing a string of solo efforts that have catapulted him into the pantheon of mixmasters. It's an impressive résumé, especially considering the adversity he's had to overcome.

In 1993, Manak's friend and collaborator, the outstanding MC Charizma, was gunned down, leaving PBW devastated and contemplating retirement. But he soldiered on and, two years later, released a remixed Charizma track as Stones Throw's first single.

Though he operates mostly behind the scenes these days, PB Wolf's latest tour finds him embracing eclecticism like never before, including during a seven-night, seven-club stint in Los Angeles, where he's spinning everything from vintage funk to "ironic hipster covers" from the '90s.