But they can't say that about James Gardin's show.

Known as Philthy (which stands for Positive Hip-Hop Individual Living Through His Years) to local hip-hop heads, Gardin effortlessly controlled the Mac's Bar crowd Thursday night. Taking long steps to cover the whole stage, the wiry, mohawked emcee — dressed in a tan tee, stonewashed denim and slip-on Vans — smoothly delivered his verses, keeping the audience involved the whole way. {mosimage}

Performing in front of packed venues may be new for Gardin, but he's been writing since third grade. As a junior at Sexton High School, he and three of his friends formed a rap group named Y.N.I.C. (Young Ni**as In Charge) in 2002. Gardin left the group three years later because he says “they weren't moving fast enough for me,” but he says working with the group gave him ample preparation for his solo work.

“Sometimes if you're in a group, and everyone's talented, it's like a friendly competition,” Gardin says. “You step your game up a lot, because you always want to have the hottest verse on the song.”

Along with helping improve his writing and beat-riding skills, Gardin says that working with the group showed him how to make his socially conscious lyrics commercially accessible.

“I'm first to say that art should be expressed and you shouldn't judge someone by their art, but since music is a business, it has to be somewhat marketable, and some [conscious] artists are lacking that,” Gardin explains.

While his songs aren't full of the misogynistic, gun-riddled rhymes that plague much of hip hop today, his hooks are catchy enough to get listeners hooked, and his verses are easy to memorize.

“Some conscious rappers may think, 'I just have to put my message out, no matter what,'” Gardin says. “But you've got to put it out a certain way for people to be able to digest it, and actually want to care about it.”

His solo recording project, “Save Us All,” has been delayed several times due to what he describes as “the worst luck ever.” After finishing half of the album in August, Gardin's computer crashed and he lost all of his music. He bought a laptop in late September and re-recorded everything he had lost, several mix tape tracks and the remainder of “Save Us All.” But just as he began the final editing process, the laptop was stolen.

“Surprisingly, I didn't break down,” Gardin says. “When the computer burned out, I was like 'Dang, I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'ma be straight.' … Then when the laptop got stolen, my first instinct was, 'I've got to finish the album.'” He found another place to record on the same day, and a week later, he had finished 10 of the album's 13 tracks. “I was upset … [but] I just felt like I had to keep it moving,” he says.

While Gardin is still working out the mixing and mastering for the disc, he hopes to have “Save Us All” available by Dec. 18. A preview of the album shows several standouts. On “Celebrate,” Gardin encourages listeners to keep a positive outlook on life and keep complaints to a minimum.

In “Live Yo Life” he tells the stories of two people — one who's living life too slow, and another who's living too fast.

Next month, Gardin is going to California, where he'll roommate with a friend and look to book his own shows. Though he doesn't have any performances locked down yet, he's still in negotiations, and he's optimistic that he'll prevail.

“Hopefully, I'll be able to tour in different states and build the fan base in different demographics,” Gardin says. “If you don't have a fan base that's large, then you're not relevant, and no one's knowing about you. I can't just be known in Lansing or known in Michigan. I have to be known in other states.”

If he keeps doing what he's doing, that shouldn't be a problem.