HIP-HOP'S HARD ROAD TOUR BUS TROUBLE WON'T KEEP ANGER MANAGEMENT FROM TELLING ITS TRUTH.

Byline: Paul Andersen Correspondent

The hottest rap tour of the summer nearly came to a grinding halt on a stretch of Interstate 70 near Odessa, Mo., last week.

That's where one of the trek's tour buses was involved in a six-vehicle pileup that left 11 people badly injured. The Anger Management road show - featuring Eminem, 50 Cent, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, G-Unit and D12 - regrouped and eventually continued, minus Alchemist - Eminem's DJ - who suffered broken ribs and a bruised lung.

``We had problems on that stretch of road last time,'' said Denaun Porter (known as rapper Kon Artis) of Detroit's D12. ``One of the buses blew out. Crazy (stuff) just seems to happen there. This time, though, there were bad injuries.''

Just another obstacle to overcome for the third installment of the 22-date hard-core rap tour, which is being closely watched in the industry to determine if rap stars like Eminem and 50 Cent can bolster a weak concert season otherwise dominated by graybeard rockers. Even though rap and hip-hop are essentially keeping the major labels afloat, no rap enterprise has ranked among the top-grossing annual tours in five years.

Yet, the music side is certainly healthy. One of ``Anger Management's'' highlights has been the strong reaction to Atlanta's Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, which provides the highly danceable Southern flavor of ``crunk'' on the caravan. The show travels to the Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista tonight and Hyundai Pavilion in Devore on Saturday.

``Probably 95 percent of the people are here because of Em or 50 Cent,'' said Darryl Richard (know as Lil Scrappy) of the Lil Jon crew. It's kind of like starting over, even though Jon is already on a (high) level. But we're out here, earning other fans, crossover fans.''

Scrappy's single-named comrade Bohagon crowed: ``We're stealing shows with this country-butt music.''

D12's Kon Artis, though, views the event's high profile as a means to move out from under the shadow of Eminem, with whom his group has frequently collaborated. Early next month, fellow D12 rapper Proof will release a solo effort called ``Searching for Jerry Garcia,'' while Kon will pursue an increasingly hectic production schedule that takes in a new D12 album.

``It's time to step up out of the shadows, to weave your way through,'' Kon Artis said. ``I've learned a lot working in the studio with Em and Dr. Dre, watching how others do things. You watch the Puffies and the Jay-Zs, the Ems and Dres. It's all a learning experience, and if you're not learning anything, it's useless. I want to make a living for myself doing this; I want to do my own thing.''

Proof and Eminem have been friends for most of their lives, having grown up together in Detroit, where the U.S. tour ends Aug. 12 before heading to Europe. An established freestyler considered among the Motor City's most gifted wordsmiths, Proof pushed his blond-haired pal into the early rap battles that were later portrayed in ``8 Mile,'' Eminem's well-received rap-to-riches film.

``We both dropped out of high school to pursue this dream of ours, and though it may seem hypocritical, I always tell kids to go and get that education, because you need both book sense and street sense,'' Proof (DeShaun Holton) said. ``I've got friends who have landed hard out on the streets, and I try to give them advice and a little help, but they keep going up and hit their heads on that brick wall, and each time they think they're going to get a new response.

``I was lucky. My father was in music, so I had some background from him, and my mother taught me to always be the best you can be at whatever you do, whether it was lawyer or thief. In my case, it was to be the best rapper I could be.''

ANGER MANAGEMENT 3

Where: Coors Amphitheatre, 2050 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista; Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen, 2575 Glen Helen Parkway, Devore.

When: 7:30 tonight, Chula Vista; 7 p.m. Saturday, Devore.

Tickets: $53 to $95. [phone]; ticketmaster.com.