From Tha Roota To Tha Toota

11/04/2002 10:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy

These days, it seems nearly every section of the boondocks has a hip-hop crew repping for it. But few stay as close to their Southern-fried roots as the duo of Boondox and Kalage, the Georgia MCs with the unapologetic twang. The pair's second album digs even deeper into the red clay of home, frequently suggesting the freaky modern P-Funk of in-state pal Cee-Lo (who guests on "All I Know"). Yet the Mob's version of that sound comes minus the fun; instead, they use it to convey a host of troubles and fears with a small-town feel. "Don't Want No Problems" is a disorienting chant that draws menace from its singsong rhymes, while "Hit It For Free" promotes staying home with a "nasty flick" instead of spending money on a female. Even the album's juiciest R&B hook is matched to Kalage's stuck-in-my-room litany of woe, "It's Hell." With that sort of uneasy listening carrying the day, Field Mob manages to give the Gothic South of myth a compelling new 21st century groove.