When the once dominant Rawkus Records, and the East Coast generally, fell on hard times earlier this decade, hip-hop’s underground-loving backpack brigade was left without a label to champion. Perfectly positioned to pick up the slack was an imprint from Los Angeles led by a guy who called himself Peanut Butter Wolf. Wolf (aka Chris Manak) started Stones Throw Records in 1996 when he released an album he’d recorded three years prior with his close…

Did you skip breakfast? No worries, as today is all about the ice cream. Ben and Jerry’s, everyone’s favorite tree-hugging ice cream company (yes, even after being purchased by Unilever, they continue to love the world), is having their annual Free Cone Day today! That’s right, from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. today, you can revel in the glory of Cherry Garcia and Peanut Butter Swirl without breaking the bank, or be daring and try…

MONDAY Reader, meet jazzbo! David Yaffe comes to the Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library on a mission to blend bookworms and music lovers into a creamy Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of cultural appreciation as he reads from Fascinating Rhythm: Reading Jazz in American Writing. 5625 Connecticut Ave. NW. Mon., 1/23, 6:30 p.m. Free TUESDAY Todd Gitlin picks up where he left off in Letters to a Young Activist, beseeching the American left to reconsider their wheezing…