By Sam Chennault

The wind whips through San Francisco’s dirty alleys and slashes a cold, nearly horizontal rain at the feet of Theodore Unit members Trife Da God and Du Lilz. It’s a typically dreary, early spring evening in downtown San Francisco, and the three of us are smoking cigarettes beneath the awning of the Hotel Milano, an upscale joint just one block away from Mezzanine, the club where Trife and Lilz will perform with Ghostface Killah later tonight.

Though they’ll hit the stage in a little less than an hour, the MCs seem nonplussed. It’s one of those nights, and few words are exchanged until Ghost comes down from his suite nearly a half hour later. But even his appearance is a non-starter. The rain is coming down strong, and though we’re fewer than 100 yards from the club’s back entrance, …