BALKAN BEAT BOX

From Jamaican dancehall and American hip-hop to Arab Spring street chants, the music of the oppressed shares a certain rhythmic and lyrical toughness. As Israeli musicians based in New York City, the members of Balkan Beat Box are well positioned to take it all in. On its fifth album the trio aims for mass mobilization, lobbing hand-grenade slogans—“Money leads to more money!” “Fight the urge to be violent!” “Shout, people, shout like an alarm!”—over blaring funk, reggae and Third World rap beats. Working with samplers, synths, drum machines and Gypsy-style Eastern European sax, the band kicks out jams as harsh and hopeful as the times that inspired them.