The first Monday night of April 2015 was supposed to be a coronation, at least in my house.

For the past month or two, I’d hoped to spend the evening of April 6 watching my beloved University of Kentucky basketball team put the finishing touches on an undefeated season, the first in men’s college basketball since 1976.

Alas, the Wisconsin Badgers ended that dream abruptly on Saturday night, handing the 38-0 Wildcats their first loss of the season.

It hurt. Bad. It still hurts, a week later.

Once Kentucky was out of Monday’s national championship game, my night was transformed. No longer would I watch a college basketball team go for a 40-0 season. Instead, I’d go see something almost as rare: a Monday-night hip-hop show in Bend featuring two nationally touring — and good! — headliners.

IamSu! is the latest next big thing out of the Bay Area’s storied rap scene, a laid-back cat with a sharp ear for pop hooks. Rome Fortune comes from the country’s dominant hip-hop city, Atlanta, where he has separated himself from the pack by putting his own moody spin on trap music. Those two dudes are criss-crossing the country for six weeks on the “Eyes on Me Tour,” and on Monday night at the Domino Room, they took the stage after a handful of short sets by support acts.

Rome Fortune emerged amid what I honestly believe was the heaviest bass sound I’ve heard in nine years of attending shows here. It was absolutely bone-rattling.

But it did not persist into his set, thankfully, because one of the most appealing facets of Fortune’s songs is his taste for melodic beats. That meant the psychedelic “sproing” sounds and snappy snares of “4 Seasons” and the roller-coaster synths of “5 Second Rule” had plenty of space to peek through the thunder. “Why” is a rap track built on alt-rock guitars and ascending chimes that sound like they’re bubbling up from the ocean’s floor; neither got lost in the roar Monday night.

The same couldn’t be said for Fortune’s vocals, which were muffled to the point where only the occasional phrase would reach the audience intact. Part of the problem might’ve been the mix, but it’s also possible the MC’s words took an occasional backseat to his energetic performance style: Fortune spent much of his 30-minute set jumping and pumping fists in front of a bizarre video backdrop that featured dinosaurs and plane crashes and kittens and the blue-bearded rapper himself.

Fortune’s energy created a sharp contrast to IamSu!, who is a natural showman with a style that’s easygoing but fully engaging. His debut album, “Sincerely Yours,” was one of rap’s best releases in 2014, primarily for its mingling of 21st century Bay swagger and a cloudy hip-pop vibe.

Su showed off all of the above in Bend; his vocals were clear, and while the beats and bass thumped, they didn’t overwhelm the melodic elements of his songs. He started out with an ode to his HBK Gang crew, “I Love My Squad,” before insisting gently that everyone in the Domino’s upstairs area come down to the main floor.

He rewarded the newly consolidated crowd with a rowdy version of “Different” and “Nothin’ Less,” an anthem about ambition that benefits from a percolating beat produced by DJ Mustard, the architect du jour of West Coast hip-hop.

Next, Su removed a layer of clothing and his glasses, and his DJ urged everyone to raise their lighters and cellphones into the air. The result was our best look at the headliner all night. He responded with one of his best songs, the introspective “Father God,” a rapped prayer leavened with an undulating woodwind loop that recalls Jay Z’s “Big Pimpin’.” Airy beats were a theme in this set, with the tropical touches of “Clothes Shows & Afros” and the smooth ’70s pop feel of “Hipster Girls” following.

After another wardrobe change, Su returned to do a set of his verses from songs featuring other well-known rappers: “Aiight” with Project Pat, and his two biggest hits so far, Sage the Gemini’s “Gas Pedal” and E-40’s “Function.” The popularity of those two tracks turned the back half of the Domino Room into an all-out dance party.

But the crux of IamSu’s persona came in the first line from “Hella Good,” his silky smooth collaboration with Tyga from the recent EP that gave this tour its name: “Fly s–t is all I do. Only worry ’bout me, I don’t care ’bout you.”

Yup, that about sums IamSu! up. The guy’s got “it,” no doubt.

— Reporter: bsalmon@bendbulletin.com