While Kanye West is the star of the Glow in the Dark show, he also shares the bill with a couple of other offbeat brothas: Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell Williams.

The Chicago hip-hopper and the superstar producer from Virginia Beach (who will perform with N.E.R.D., his band with Neptunes producing partner Chad Hugo and hype man Shae Haley) are the perfect performance companions for West. The three are a triumvirate of black-geek chic.

As one of Jay-Z's recent, prized finds from back when he ran Def Jam, Fiasco broke out in 2006 with "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor."

Since then, the skateboarding, straight-edge, Muslim MC has been seen as one of hip-hop's shining lights. His 2007 follow-up, "The Cool," was greeted with rave reviews and a spot on the Billboard Top 20.

But much like his fellow Chi-town resident West, Fiasco can't help ruffling a few feathers. He earned the scorn of some hip-hop fans (and a few hip-hop artists) when he forgot the words to a song by A Tribe Called Quest at last year's VH1 Hip-Hop Honors. He then stated online that he didn't grow up on the group, even saying "MC Hammer was way more popular to me than A Tribe Called Quest."

Miami-based DJ and rap fan Kevin Nottingham, who runs the "Kevin Nottingham: This Is Hip-Hop" blog, says the Lupe/Tribe debacle (known as "Fiascogate" in the hip-hop blogosphere) got out of hand.

"I gotta side with Lupe on this one," says Nottingham, who calls Fiasco one of the best young emcees out right now.

"I think Lupe could have approached the aftermath a little better, though. Saying he didn't listen to Tribe growing up was a poor excuse. ... You could say it was a tad disrespectful for Lupe to forget the rhyme during a Tribe tribute, but I don't think it was as bad as people made it out to be."

And even though Fiasco has been declaring that his next album may be his last, Nottingham isn't buying it. "I say no way," he says. "Hip-hop needs Lupe."

Williams, who has produced performers including Britney Spears, Jay-Z, and even himself as a solo artist, will be once again serving as the frontman for N.E.R.D. (No One Ever Really Dies), the rap/rock/R&B side project that hit the scene in 2002 with the acclaimed "In Search Of ..." album.

But even with that album and their 2004 follow-up, "Fly or Die," under their belts, Williams and his crew are still much more known for the hits they've made for other people rather than their own.

Nottingham finds N.E.R.D. to be "highly underrated" and "definitely the best project Pharrell has ever been a part of."

"Pharrell & Chad's musical diversity transcends past hip-hop and N.E.R.D. gives them that outlet," he says. "You can't really play N.E.R.D. on urban radio stations. I hate labels, but I would say N.E.R.D. is more rock or pop/rock than hip-hop. I think label executives just don't know how to market them properly."

Nonetheless, Nottingham can't wait to see what the group has in store for its third album, "Seeing Sounds," scheduled for release next month.

It appears West, Fiasco and Williams will be making more music together even after the tour ends. Late last year, they announced the formation of a hip-hop supergroup called Child Rebel Soldier with the release of the Thom Yorke-sampled track "Us Placers." So it looks like these nerd birds of a feather will flock together often in the near future.

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