One thing we learned in 2008 was that Bendistillery Martini Bar has become the Bend spot to catch local, Oregon, and West Coast hip-hop on a regular basis.

That will continue in 2009, apparently, starting this weekend, as Portland mainstay DJ Wicked visits tonight and Kable Roc and My-G play the bar on Saturday.

Wicked is a veteran of the Northwest hip-hop scene, having opened for no less than Eminem, Outkast and the Wu-Tang Clan. He’s well-versed in both new and old-school hip-hop, crazy skilled on the turntable, and a consummate dance-floor-heater-upper who spent years coming over from Portland to spin at now-defunct Bend bar The Grove.

To hear what Wicked does, visit www.myspace.com/dj_wicked.

Kable Roc and My-G are both Portland cats who are part of that city’s underground hip-hop scene. Both do it up real smooth like, with effortless rhymes and interesting, head-bobbing beats. And it’s clear from his MySpace that My-G doesn’t shy away from addressing social and political issues. To check ’em out, visit www.myspace.com/kableroc and www.myspace.com/sinpush.

Can we give another shout out to martini bar manager Reggie Martinez for opening up this hip-hop pipeline between Portland and Bend? I think we just did.

DJ Wicked ; 10 tonight; free; Bendistillery Martini Bar, 850 N.W. Brooks St., Bend; 541-388-6868.

Kable Roc and My-G; 10 p.m. Saturday; free; Bendistillery Martini Bar, 850 N.W. Brooks St., Bend; 541-388-6868.

— Ben Salmon