Is there really such a thing as alternative rap? Is it like neo soul, grudge rock, and alt-rock? Well if is does so exist, then one of its members has to be One Be Lo.

Every one of his releases has been just as educational as his album titles. From Project F.E.T.U.S. (For Everybody That UnderStands), to S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. (Sounds Of Nahshid Originate Good Rhymes And Music), to S.T.I.L.L.B.O.R.N. (Something To Interest Lo Listeners Beyond Original Recorded Networkings; or Subterraneous/Trackezoids Invest Lost Lyrics Bringing Old Rhymes New), straight to his most recent album, The R.E.B.I.R.T.H. (Real Emcee's Bring Intelligent Rhymes To Hip-Hop). It might be hard to imagine other MC’s coming out of Michigan besides Eminem and his bunch along with Royce Da 5’9” but it’s possible, and One Be Lo is living proof that such a thing can happen.

The R.E.B.I.R.T.H. starts off with the self-titled song. If you don’t pay attention, you’ll miss lines like: “You need a whole posse/some call it cocky/only God can stop me/who else rockin’ these goals/this ain’t hockey/these haters wanna see me fail/go ‘head/watch me/beats bang, but the truth bang harder than that/when it comes to the music, my heart is attached.” Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames. p>

On “Born And Raised” he reminisces on his childhood, and speaks on thousands of General Motor workers being laid off. “Smash” is riddled with voice samples of Mr. T’s voice harassing Rocky Balboa for a title shot from Rocky 3. Just as hungry as Clubber Lang sounded, One sounds just as hungry with lines like: “As starving artists recite it, for the hunger inside it/so vivid when I spit it, you picture I didn’t write it/I live it/dollar signs don’t inspire these lyrics.”

“Headlines” has a rock feel to it, as he talks about rising gas prices due to a senseless fighting overseas. “House Rules”, “War”, and “Keep It Rollin’” are just more of the same, plenty of intelligent content to feed your brain.

In all honesty, this isn’t an album for those who wish to know how much a house can be purchased for on Star Island. Most of the topics that One Be Lo touches on are the very same subjects that affect those people that would rather know how many zeros are in Jay-Z’s bank account in the Cayman Islands (which is very sad). But if you are one of the few that wants to listen to something other than people talking about their sneaker collection, and that actually has substance to it, then this is definitely a good place to start.