Citing the last black traditional string band player, Joe Thompson, as their main influence, the Carolina Chocolate Drops breathe fresh air into the folk field field. The trio sticks close to the antebellum-era roots of the genre, when the banjo - not the fiddle - guided the tempo. It's not all traditional, though; the group's fifth album, Genuine Negro Jig, which just dropped last Tuesday, offers surprises like a cover of Blu Cantrell's "Hit 'Em Up Style." (Gavin Paul)
