David Banner

When a rapper like David Banner decides to name an upcoming album The Greatest Story Ever Told, you're not gonna split hairs with the dude—at least not to his face. Like the mortal whose fury turned him into television's Incredible Hulk, this bulky Banner also uses his temper to fuel a pretty dramatic show. And while the green giant crushed evildoers, this Mississippi MC (verbally) pulverizes evil record companies who sit on his record, racist hotheads who don't overcome their "ignorant parents" and anyone who thinks hitting the club means standing in a corner, arms folded.

Supported by two DJs, a live band and the brawn of a superhero, Banner offers a truly athletic routine. At this past SXSW, he bounced ladies on his shoulders, turned backflips in a moshpit, flexed his pecs and popped off about everything from resisting Bush to missing his late father. Even when rapping about such stereotypical thug subjects as gun size and fistfights, Banner exudes an energy that's aggressively electric, and he won't rest until everyone in the room is sucked into his momentum. Expect to be converted into one of this Southern hulk's recruits.