Owing as much to James Brown and Tito Puente as to Fela Kuti, Antibalas, the multiracial 14-piece Brooklyn collective named after the Spanish word for bulletproof, are far from straight Afro Beat revivalists. Instead, Liberation Afro Beat Vol. 1, meshes New York's rich musical heritage of jazz, funk and Latin groove over AfroBeat's polyrhythmic beats to spectacular effect, resulting in a raw selection of driving ghetto funk. Despite tracks being mostly instrumental and nearly 10 minutes long apiece, the relentless onslaught of rasping horns, African chants, strutting bass and frantic percussion mean there's nothing dull about these eight phenomenal tunes. The collection's explosive Afro/Latin/American collision may earmark it a party album, but there is a deeper motivation to their music. The cries of war will make you bleed and bleed for nothing, between the tenor sax breaks of "Dirt & Blood" and "World War IV"'s denouncing of Bill Clinton's foreign policies--Atibalas' unreserved 70s grooves come with unreserved passion and politics. With all the ingredients of the golden age of funk, Liberation Afro Beat Vol. 1 is a modern classic that matches (beat for socially aware beat) the best the Blaxploitation era had to offer. --Dan Gennoe