Mystikal

New Orleans rapper and current prison Mystikal is the most stylistically compelling rapper in the South. With his raspy voice and a flow that lurches out in front of the beat before suddenly vanishing in a huff of funk, Mystical is like an unholy hybrid of James Brown and ODB. It's funky and insane, and oftentimes funny (albeit usually obscene). "I came here with my d*ck in my hand," the rapper observes on "Shake Ya Ass," before adding, "Don't make me leave here with my foot in yo' ass."

Convicted sexual batterer and sole actually talented No Limit rapper Mystikal remains at his fiercest on 1997's Unpredictable, issued by No Limit/Jive. Hence the corporate provenance of his best-of, easily the most desirable CD to feature the timelessly timely Pharrell Williams collab "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)," which captured how it might feel to shake your a** at the terrorist threat. (Grade - )