Alternative Hip-Hop Group The Wylde Bunch Rocks Sports Arenas

Tired of the same old stagnant rock, pop and hip-hop albums rotating in your CD player? Up-and-coming alternative hip-hop group Wylde Bunch is here to save you from your musical doldrums.

Wylde Bunch, a 10-member group from South Central Los Angeles, is about to explode onto the music scene with their self-titled EP in stores today. The group, which has been compared to (and even toured with) the Black Eyed Peas, is penetrating the "sports arena anthem world" with its new release.

The first single on the album, "Yeah Yeah (Stomp the Bleachers)," is the theme song featured weekly on Fox Sports' college football programs. The group's sound is a little of everything - funk, soul, rock and world music combined with the members' hip-hop roots. All elements combine to form one of the most unique-sounding groups in quite some time.

Wylde Bunch consists of: Emcees Dame, Speed and Janey (the only female); Ish on drums; Creezie playing saxophone; Jay on trombone; Vray on bass guitar; Daniel playing keyboards; Popz on guitar and Byg Sexy and Kenfolk as vocalists. Most of the group members started off as schoolmates - some are even family - and they grew up together loving the same music.

The explosive sound is sure to make you want to stand up and dance, although none of the tracks are typical club songs. You're more likely to hear the driving beats inside local arenas and on console video game soundtracks.

The group's second single, "On Top," has recently been chosen as the NBA theme song for ABC/ESPN television coverage during the 2006-07 season. The video will be spliced with basketball highlights at the start of each broadcast, cementing Wylde Bunch in the footsteps of the Black Eyed Peas, Pink, Fort Minor and Tom Petty. The song itself is powered by lyrics of hope, saying, "I want to be one of the greatest/that ever made it…Now you see/what it takes to be/on top." The chorus includes harmonies and rhymes belted with attitude.

Wylde Bunch has been together since their junior high school days and began to flourish in high school when the members got tired of playing popular tunes. It was at that time they began writing their own music, playing gigs around L.A. for money and producing independent CDs. Their debut album, Wylde Times at Washington High, was released in 2004.

Other tracks on the Wylde Bunch EP include "Dumb," a track about life's lessons and pushing forward through life's triumphs and troubles. "NaNaNa" humorously describes the relationship between males and females and includes huge horns in the background, reminiscent of the legendary band Chicago. "Clash" and "Lose It" finish the album and the latter includes distorted guitars in a style that feels like Beastie Boys-meets-Run-DMC-meets Public Enemy.

Stop complaining about the lack of innovation in today's music scene. You'll be sure to groove with Wylde Bunch's self-titled EP. For more information on the group, visit wyldebunch.com or myspace.com/wyldebunch.