Originally from Portland, Maine, Sole is among the most prolific and divisive figures in hip-hop's sub-underground. He got into a well-publicized beef on wax with Company Flow's El-P, put out the critically acclaimed Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop (which came out just as the Internet was blowing up), and found a fervently loyal audience around the world. Breaking free of traditional limitations regarding beats, rhymes, cadences, and general funkiness, Sole and company (Doseone, Jel, Why?, Pedestrian, etc.) rejected all notions of what music should sound like and basically set the standard for avant-garde rap. Hello Cruel World is his third album with The Skyrider Band, and it's just what fans would expect. Melodramatic storytelling and unpredictable cadences are set to freaky time signatures, heavy synths, and glitchy beats, with help from co-conspirators like Sage Francis, Ceschi, and Xiu Xiu. It's unlikely to set things off at a dance party, but it's sonically compelling and undeniably original. Check the title track, "Immortality," and "Progress Trap."