Hot Tracks THE AVETT BROTHERS

Don't let the banjo fool you," says Rick Rubin. "The Avett Brothers transcend any genre." Rubin, who produced the Avett Brothers' new album, The Carpenter (out this month), says the band's songs are influenced by bluegrass, country, folk, and even punk. According to banjo player-singer Scott Avett, "Growing up, I sat in our house with an eight-track tape player, listening to Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Willie and Waylon. We lived in the country in North Carolina, and [there was] a lot of room to imagine and romanticize." Guitaristsinger Seth Avett adds, "Our influences may not seem obviously connected, but they make sense. They all have their place in our musical understanding—from Woody Guthrie to Mos Def, from Will Oldham to Louis Armstrong."

The Avett Brothers have a sizable and eclectic following based largely on their exuberant live shows. Along with their permanent stand-up-bass player, Bob Crawford, and a five-member touring band, the Avetts perform music that is rowdy yet emotional, and often touching. Television viewers in the U.S. may have gotten their first glimpse of the Avetts at the 2011 Grammys, when they performed with Dylan and Mumford & Sons. "Bob Dylan was very kind to us," says Scott. "The interactions felt like men in the same business with the same job, just at different points in life." Adds Seth, "The room got really quiet when [Dylan] walked in. It was a touch surreal, but surprisingly natural when we all settled in." And, like that other band of brothers, the Kings of Leon, there is a preacher in the family. Their late grandfather, Methodist minister Clegg Avett, was, says Scott, "a brilliant writer and a true artist. He was a gentle blue-collar intellect who I look to as a hero. Our grandfather was part of the reason we grew up with selfassurance, faith, and more confidence than we even need." Often, when brothers make music together, well-publicized conflict and tumult can occur: the Kinks' Ray and Dave Davies and the Black Crowes' Chris and Rich Robinson come to mind. But with the Avetts, the harmony isn't limited to their vocals. "We know each other's strengths and weaknesses," says Seth. "We know when the other needs help or room to breathe. We look out for each other—on the road and everywhere else." And, adds Scott, "we certainly have our disagreements. [But] I do know that we get along better the less we drink."

LISA ROBINSON

'I wanted people to see rap as a true American art form," says Ice T about the fantastic documentary Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap. The movie, produced and directed by Ice T (out this month on DVD), is an authentic, riveting look at the most original music of the last three decades. Ice, who made the movie over a two-year periodin between filming Law and Order: SVU— interviews 52 rappers, most of whom perform

on-the-spot freestyle raps. "All the people in it are my friends," Ice says, "so I just opened up my phone book and called them." Among those who segued from phone book to screen include Eminem, Kanye West, Mos Def, Nas, Treach, Chuck D., Rakim, and Common.

And Ice T's new movie, Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, premieres at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. The documentary, directed byjorge Hinojosa, explores the life of Iceberg Slim (a.k.a. Robert Beck), the notorious Chicago pimp turned author whose seven books have sold more than six million copies. With music from DJ Shadow, Obie Trice, and Eric B. & Rakim, the movie has interviews with Chris Rock, Snoop Dogg, Ice T, Quincyjones, and Henry Rollins—as well as rare footage of Iceberg Slim. — L.R.