Field Mob

In the world of backwoods rap -- a place ripe with "cotton pickin', slave tradin' and n*gg* lynchin'" -- Field Mob's sophomore album is a classic. Emcee Kalange has a high, whipping rap style that drips with soul, while partner Boondox's baritone provides a nice counterpoint. "Nothing to Lose" in particular is a titan, digging into the shadows of slavery in search of redemption or at least transcendence, but ultimately finding only sorrow. Kalange takes the first verse: "I saw my daddy hung dead wit a noose on his neck…'but one day, things are gone change for betta/ can't rain foreva'/ that's what I told my momma/ two days later, masta sold my mama."