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Also this issue:

Emotional Rescue
Philly punks Paint It Black overcome a CVA and release CVA.
-John Vettese

Uprooted
How Ben Kenney left Philly’s hip-hop legends to rock with Incubus.
-Eve Simonsen

Executioners' Songs
Rilo Kiley takes off.
-Michael Pelusi

soundadvice
Get out.

Rule Blur-Tania
Britain's best band head for the Think Tank.
-A.D. Amorosi

Idle Pleasures
-M.J. Fine

Two Halves and a Hole
The division of At the Drive-In.
-John Vettese

Out Hud
-M.J. Fine

July 24-30, 2003

musicpicks

Bubba Sparxxx

Hip-hop

Handpicked by Jimmy Iovine and placed on Timbaland's Beat Club imprint, Warren Mathis, a.k.a. Bubba Sparxxx, tilted Southern hip-hop sideways in late '01. Supplemented by super-powered beats from Tim and Organized Noize, Sparxxx's debut album, Dark Days, Bright Nights shot to the number three spot on the Billboard charts. The country-bumpkin MC went on to rule the clubs with sitar and banjo-backed mega-singles like "Ugly," "Lovely" and "Bubba Talk." Redneck rap? Blue-eyed imitation? White-trash boom-bap? Nope. With clever lyricism and a better-than-average delivery, Sparxxx stands next to Eminem as proof that white boys can rap. Through he's still clowning on his rural upbringing on Deliverance (his second CD, due out soon), the Georgia native pulls off the backwoods thing without getting (too) gimmicky.

Tue., July 29, 7 p.m., $28, with Common, Anthony Hamilton and Jin, The Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE.

—Ainé Ardron-Doley

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