Remember when Southern music used to be all crazy and dangerous and whatnot? Don't get me wrong, I'm feeling Lil Jon's pop material as much as anybody (when's his Paris Hilton collab coming out? YEAAAAYUH!), but wherefore art the "tear the motherfucking club up" anthems? The slow-building, minor-key exhortations to stop being scurred and represent where you're from? Fortunately, Lowbudget still knows how to throw it up. On his latest mixtape, the Hollertronix co-founder drops 24 tracks of adrenalized crunk from beneath the Mason Dixon– from David Banner to Mike Jones and every superstar and underground legend inbetween. Highlights include Juvenile and UTP's whistling, hypnotic "Nolia Clap," the truly amped-up "Knuck if You Buck" by Crime Mobb, and a screwed and chopped version of "Rubberband Man" straight from Low B's home studio. This disc is an essential overview of all the best Southern hip-hop you HAVEN'T been hearing on Top-40 radio all summer, mixed together with scratch finesse alongside a great ear for pacing and overall flow.

reviewed by Nick Catchdubs