The latest release from the excellent label Big Dada is NMS's Imperial Letters of Protection, a collection of majorly political songs recorded in a Georgia cotton mill. Officially, the genre is avant-rap, but let's be honest: It's weirdo rap. The beats are hard to listen to, and a majority of the rhymes are delivered off-beat or in an unintelligible manner, and those are the qualities that make some backpackers salivate.

NMS includes former Company Flow member Bigg Jus and Orko Eloheim. The press release labels Eloheim as a "Californian avant-rap legend," which begs the question, what makes a legend? Time in the game, an impeccable body of work, and recognition from peers? All I know is I've never heard of him and neither has the Internet, because I tried to look him up.

The mislabeling doesn't mean the guys don't know how to rip a mic, though. "Evacuate the White House" starts off with kids reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and goes into a superhero-type violin sample worthy of a Kool G Rap rant. NMS lays down back-to-back samples taken from news bites of Bush saying we shouldn't entertain conspiracy theories. "Strike Back" is a call to arms asking listeners to get active, and it features a Malcolm X sample I haven't heard before, and that's great. But the highlight of the song is when Eloheim says, "Word up!" just like Suave from Onyx does on "Throw Ya Gunz" when he says, "Word up! Raise 'em up, We do it with the crew that don't give a fuck." It's a nice contrast to reference such an apathetic line and song on a track advocating political participation. "Get Him Signed" highlights a Jeff Goldblum sample, which is pretty damn gangster. The loop on "Beast Vision" sounds similar to a drill. This is the stuff that makes me like weirdo rap, creative uses of ugly sounds. The album is timely: NMS mentions Saddam, Osama, and Bush repeatedly, and why not? No one else in hip-hop – or rock, for that matter – is really making protest songs. Oh wait, Dave Dondero does – recognize!

If you like Top 40 rap, this record is for you – it will melt your brain and open your eyes to the other side of the hip-hop fence. If you ever liked Divine Styler, then this record is really for you; you will love it so much your heart will attack you, but hopefully not in the way that Bigg Jus's heart attacked him when he was a teenager. Poor guy. (Nate Denver)

Gang of Four
Return the Gift (V2)

Here's the short version: In the late '70s and early '80s, Gang of Four released a string of three incredibly vibrant, jagged, classic post-punk albums: Entertainment!, Solid Gold, and Songs of the Free. Like everyone else at the time, their major-label deal (with EMI) screwed them out of all sorts of money and copyrights, and they wallowed in relative obscurity until 20-odd years later, when bands like the Rapture and Moving Units brought Go4's art-punk-funk style back into vogue. Now the band's original lineup, ready to finally capitalize on their rich legacy, is back touring extensively, to the delight of fans and critics. Time for a new record, right? Well, kinda. Return the Gift (originally titled Whitey's Gift) is a sort of self-honoring tribute album, with the Gang covering songs off their first three discs. They know they've still got the chops. They know we like the songs. They finally stand to gain a little cash from the new recordings (the old versions are the property of EMI). And their popularity is probably at its highest point ever, simply because history – especially in music and fashion – has a tendency to repeat itself every so often. So why bore fans who just crave the old Gang with an album of potentially unimportant – and often dreaded – "new material"? Back in the day, their records had to best those by the Fall, Public Image Limited, and the Au Pairs. Today the only thing they're up against is Franz Ferdinand's You Could Have It So Much Better (Sony). Indeed you could.

That said, the new versions – cleaned up, beefed up, and packaged with a pretty inessential remix disc – don't quite have the old-school oomph the originals do, but if you just want to support the cause, pick this album up and (as one of my colleagues suggests) hand it to a broke high-schooler who could use a quick lesson in rock's secret history. (Ken Taylor)

Breakestra
Hit the Floor (Ubiquity)

There's something about Breakestra that takes me back to my childhood – they're whimsical, fun, and just a little groovy. It's like listening to the background music during the chase scenes on Scooby-Doo, but with much better musicianship and bass lines that cause a carefree smile to spread across your face. But that's not the entire story: When the beats of the title track off their new album, Hit the Floor, begin to pump through your headphones and Mixmaster Wolf's grainy vocals kick in, along with the breaks, you're somewhere else altogether, deep in the funkified sound of "Akestra."

Working in the hip-hop tradition, they've managed to revive '70s funk and soul, giving those genres new energy. "Family Rap" is filled with old-school rhyming styles and new-school guest artists like Chali2na and Soup, from J5, and Double K, from People under the Stairs, along with percussionist Mungungyo Jackson. Producer and multifaceted musician Miles Tackett has brought together Josh "Wallet" Cohen on drums, Geoff "Double G" Gallegos on sax and flute, Todd Simon and Paul Vargas on trumpet, Dan Osterman on trombone, Carlos Guaico on keys, Davy Chegwidden on percussion, Dan Ubick on guitar, and soul sister Demya for a release that makes you feel so good you'll want to crank it up inside your ride with your windows rolled down and your hair blowing in the wind. Breakestra play a CD-release party Fri/16, DNA Lounge, SF. (415) 626-1409. (Jana Rogers)

Spoils of War

II (Shadoks Music/Normal)

Some reissues are more interesting in theory than in reality. Maybe "on paper" it sounded unique, but the full execution never came together, and the obscurity that followed was unfair but not a travesty. Then there are those times when you listen to something that came out decades ago and you can't believe you never got to hear those sounds until now. The latter is the case with the Spoils of War.

Deep in their own little world in Urbana, Ill., from 1967 to 1970, the Spoils of War started making pop songs layered with exotic instruments and experimental electronics, all performed with infectious warmth. At one moment, the group created music that sounds like a jingle you want stuck in your head, while the next moment, they allowed a folky sense of emotion and levity to rise above all else.

You know something pretty great is going on when you hear instruments more common in Afghanistan and Russia – such as the domra and rubab – on a record that also encompasses lots of heavy organ, male and female vocals, and a '60s fuzzy rock guitar sound, and you never once question it or cringe. The Spoils of War had an ability to be both smart and catchy, sultry and playful, haunting and wholesome. They were the even-more-obscure kin to the United States of America. The spike in the drink of the Free Design. The fun daydream of Van Dyke Parks hanging out with the Monkees. Acid rock with a skip to its feet – and a whistle in its pocket. (Irwin Swirnoff)