By Tony Ware

“If you’ve got $5 in your pocket put your middle finger in the air,” blares the command, and several hundred fingers like antennae perk up in response. Any other night, some of these fingers may be looking for respect, others looking for blood. But tonight, all these bony receivers are attuned to the same frequency, and all their energy is fueled by a mouth on the mic and unrelenting 120 BPM calls to “hit that ass from the back,” “pop yo’ pussy” and “put yo’ hands up like a gun in the air.”

Onstage is “Club Queen” DJ K-Swift, on the floor are several hundred hipsters and on the speakers is Baltimore club music, known alternatively through the years as “Doo Dew,” “Baltimore Trax,” “B’More club” and simply “party music.” …