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Toronto MC Abdominal, whose real name is Andy Bernstein, enjoys some down-time with the newspaper on Friday, March 6, 2009. (CP24/Saira Peesker)

View larger image Abdominal says he started his new acoustic band after realizing he was getting old. (CP24/Saira Peesker)

Hip hop fans who'd rather stay home drinking tea than stand for three hours in a nightclub may have met their match in Abdominal, a seasoned Toronto MC who's making the move into middle age.

While actually only 35, the rapper -- previously known for high-energy shows and a massive lung capacity -- is making a concerted effort towards a more placid performance style and will be playing with an acoustic band during Canadian Music Week.

"So, I like rapping and I'm pretty good at it. But I'm also old," states his bio on the music festival's website.

"And as a result, I was getting a little tired of having to jump up and down on a stage every night, screaming just so my raps could be heard over the super-loud beats playing in the background."

He adds that the band, which also includes drummer Colin Kingsmore and guitarist Andrew Frost, performs sitting down.

"I got interested in hip hop for the wordplay," Abdominal, who's real name is Andy Bernstein, told CP24.com during an interview in his Little Portugal basement apartment.

"I spent so much time writing lyrics that it was frustrating at times when they were drowned out by the beats."

Abdominal and the Obliques have been working together for about eight months and plan to have an album ready for the summer. The working title is Sitting Music.

It will be Bernstein's third album, following 2004's Flowtation Device, a partnership between Abs and Toronto's DJ Fase, and Bernstein's 2007 solo record Escape from the Pigeon Hole.

He also features heavily in Music for the Mature B-Boy, released in 2003 by the UK's DJ Format. It was while on tour for that album that it first dawned on him that he was notably older than his fans.

"The average fan was a 19 or 20-year-old college kid," Bernstein said. "Part of me was like, 'I'm not this demographic. I need to make music that's reflective of my age a little bit.'"

If his bio was to be believed, you'd think he meant 55.

"Come check out Abdominal and the Obliques and hear the best in middle-aged rap," it boasts. "And I might even sing a bit too, like it's my bar mitzvah."

Abdominal and the Obliques perform at the Supermarket on Saturday at 9:45 p.m. as part of Canadian Music Week.