2nd String

Since its inception, hip hop has transformed from a street-based subculture to its present state as a springboard for both thuggery and entrepreneurship. It's become the world’s most popular music, but in its worst form can be a forum for materialistic excess, misogyny, and regressive stereotype-mongering. Knoxville hip-hop group 2nd String addresses this paradox on its excellent album, The Defiant Ones, with an intro by guest MC Courageous: “I’m all about using your talents to get paid, making a good living off the gifts that God made…/Just imagine what you could do with some positivity and the money too—that’s what we setting out to do.”
2nd String is undoubtedly breathing a gust of fresh air into post-millennial Knoxville rap with an uplifting outlook, block-rocking beats, and deft rhyming skills. Simply put, these kids are great. (John Sewell)