This is the new hip hop underground. White kids with overgrown Caucasian afros clad in scarves and thrift store sweatshirts mixing with standard hip hop heads. The TV may tell you that hip hop and rap music these days is all about “blinging” things and how J. Lo sings, but this reality is quite a bit different.

With groups like Atmosphere and Jurassic 5 blazing the trail for conscious music in the urban market, there are plenty others following closely behind and making a name for themselves.

Oddjobs, a crew from Minneapolis by way of New York City, took their “Sound of the Drums” tour across this country in a strictly do-it-yourself attempt to spread the news. Fortunately, they brought a few of their friends along with them to help rock the crowds at two stops in Grinnell and Omaha.

P.O.S. and Cecil Otter, two members of Minneapolis’ Doom Tree collective, took the stage first with their light-hearted punk rock approach to hip hop.

Wearing the other band’s shirts and stickers, these two seemed thankful to be included on the tour and happy to be in the Midwest. In a constant attempt to become “more awesomer,” they made sure to keep the audience attentive.

“Iowa’s crazy. You guys swear too much. That’s gross,” joked Cecil Otter. P.O.S. even went as far as to offer a cigarette to someone in the front row patting his pockets, looking for his personal pack.

Seemingly setting a tone for the opening acts, both rappers performed songs about their mothers.

“If you love your moms, put your hands up,” P.O.S. called to the crowd after his emotional and powerful “Duct Tape,” a song about an abusive and absent father.

“She’s in the back, probably drinking the beer,” Otter said of his mom as he dedicated his “Love Story (Mom Song)” from their “Mega” EP.

Mac Lethal and Joe Good, rappers from Kansas City, also rhymed about moms, but in a far more light-hearted manner.

The sound of children playing came from the speakers while Lethal hop-scotched and Good microphone jump-roped. Suddenly, machine gun fire sounded and the duo hit the ground. “My mother just shot up the playground,” Lethal yelled before jumping into “My Mom is a Thug.”

Lethal, while extremely likely to rhyme about TPS reports and Janet Reno, wasn’t all fun and games. Each night, the duo ended the set with a song dedicated to the events of, and after, Sept. 11.

The song, presumably called “Manhattan Midnight,” acknowledges the tragedy of the events but rails against the actions taken since then.

“People in Afghanistan have children too,” he rapped over the somber beat.

As talented as the openers were, Heiruspecs and Oddjobs were obviously the focus of these shows.

Heiruspecs is a band much in the vein of The Roots, the forebears of live-instrumentation hip hop.

The groove is laid with bass lines and drum licks while keyboards are layered on top for added flavor. MCs Felix and Muad’dib trade lines back and forth, each displaying a deft knack for the flow.

As tends to happen with a lot of hip hop out of the Twin Cities, the shadow of Slug (rapper for indie darlings Atmosphere) is cast over those handling the mic tonight. Slug’s words are known for their emotional content, and he enunciates parts of words and sounds that might usually be ignored.

With lyrics that name-drop Coldplay and say things like “art needs a purpose needs inspiration needs a source,” the comparisons become evident, if not obvious.

But this influence makes all the more sense with Heiruspecs. The band has backed up Atmosphere on more than a few occasions. Slug also makes an appearance on Heiruspecs’ latest full-length, “Small Steps.”

While they may wear their influences (and hearts) on their sleeves at times, Heiruspecs’ sound is far from contrived.

These are people for whom music and hip hop are everything — if not the only thing. Bassist Sean McPherson sways back and forth on the stage, passionately mouthing along every word his friends say as he deftly drops the bass lines.

The crowd in Omaha was quite a bit smaller, but then again, they had to pay to come to the show. Those who might not have been die-hards in Grinnell had free admission and adult beverages to entice their attendance.

Despite the somewhat smaller numbers on a Tuesday night, the crowd in Omaha was no less enthused. If Heiruspecs set the fuse, Oddjobs lit the match to ignite the powder keg.

Normal concerts have at least a few minutes between bands to allow for stage changeover. But this is no arena rock show.

With only a brief pause for mic-passing and turntable-switching, less than 30 seconds passed before Oddjobs continued the show.

MCs Nomi and Crescent Moon, backed by DJs Deetalx and Anatomy, are a crew with a bit more of a mainstream sound. But with the strength of their latest release, “Drums,” it wouldn’t be shocking to see them in the mainstream in 12 months’ time.

Nomi hopes this much is true as he ends one of their more up-tempo tracks by saying, “That’s gonna be a party favorite in a year.”

Oddjobs definitely have the skills, talent and, most of all, determination to take them places.

As any group without video airplay and platinum sales has to, these acts have to make their money on tours. Playing basement clubs and college commons, they almost have more in common with a punk band than with Jay-Z or Ja Rule. On stage in Omaha, the members of Oddjobs acknowledge this tour “is so underground we have to beg for a place to stay.” Fortunately, a new-found fan offers up his couches and living room floor in the suburbs.

If talent and passion were the only merits required for mainstream appeal and widespread appreciation, you’d have already heard of all these groups.

That day may soon come.

But for now, it’s one more show down, one more crowd rocked and plenty more waiting down the line.