Fight With Tools (Universal Republic): A-
Flobots deserve the sudden hype. An organic Denver-based hip-hop outfit with a political slant and viola player Mackenzie Roberts pulling strings, the band is rap music’s most singular breakthrough act in years. On their major label debut, some of Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit’s rhymes overplay anti-establishment cliches, but in a genre so overrun with ignorance it’s refreshing to hear MCs creatively push progressive values. Download: “Stand Up.”
