Rebirth Brass Band - Hot Venom (2001)

The release of Hot Venom finds the Rebirth Brass Band adding a definite rap element to the traditional brass band music indigenous to New Orleans. Rebirth is successful in combining the community-based traditional brass bands (which have always been a street art, featuring music that is used for parades, burials, celebrating) and injects the current urban sensibilities of rap and hip-hop, creating a potent brand of hot venom. While brass band purists may find this new direction appalling, it is the next logical step for the younger musicians to keep the form from dying, or, worse, becoming a museum piece. A word of caution: this may be the first brass band album to contain a parental advisory sticker. The abrasive lyrics on Hot Venom may turn off some listeners; however, if you can get past that (it's worth it!), it doesn't take away from the overall party groove the Rebirth band delivers.