8Ball & MJG Ridin' High (Bad Boy)
When these Dirty South vets say something filthy, they must wash their mouths out with mud, 'cause after 13 years they're still coming out hard with gangster pimp music you can't play around your mama.




Thom Yorke The Eraser (XL Recordings) Despite rumors of a techno album, Radiohead's front man delivers haunting piano and guitar-driven songs about the effects of fame, with minimal electronic burps and farts. You're excused, Thom.

Field Mob Light Poles and Pine Trees  (Geffen/Disturbing Tha Peace)
Slick-tongued lyricists Shawn Jay and Smoke are proof that not everyone raised in small rural towns below the Mason-Dixon Line is slower than syrup. Word to Mrs. Butterworth.


TV On The Radio Return to Cookie Mountain (Interscope) Brooklyn's onetime buzz band goes big on its major-label debut, spinning out melodically complex, intricately structured songs with irresistible harmonies. The revolution is televised…on the radio.

Strange Fruit Project The Healing (Om Hip-Hop) Not every rapper in Texas rocks grills and rides dirty. This Waco trio returns with a soulful, smart hip-hop disc with guests 9th Wonder and Erykah Badu, and more emphasis on flow than Tampax.

Cham Ghetto Story (Madhouse/Atlantic)
After dropping the "Baby" from his name, the Jamaican native is making dancehalls hot with a mix of sweaty sex music and street consciousness (Jamaica hates snitches as much as we do). Hopefully "Young" MCs take their cue.

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