The release of Deliverance, the follow up to his debut album Dark Days, Bright Nights, follows a tumultuous period in the life of this Georgian farm boy. Bubba Sparxxx first came to our attention 2001 with the release of his raucous party anthem 'ugly'. However, despite achieving overnight global success and picking up a gold plaque in the process, Bubba was widely slated by critics and hip-hop purists. In response he retreated back to rural Georgia and went through a period of rigorous self-analysis.

The resulting album is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a far more introspective offering than Dark days, Bright Nights. The term 'introspection' has admittedly been used by far too many artists as a shortening for self-pitying drivel. In the case of Bubba Sparxxx however, this 'introspection' has transformed Bubba Sparxxx from what many people saw as a one dimensional novelty act into a truly innovative Hip-Hop artist. Somehow Bubba Sparxxx and his acclaimed producer /mentor Tim 'Timbaland' Mosley have made the fusion of hip-hop and country seem like the most obvious and natural marriage of musical forms and, in doing so, have produced some of the most original mainstream hip-hop of 2003

Skipping the seemingly obligatory intro, the first full track, Jimmy Mathis, proves to be one of the standout tracks of the album. Built upon a fat Hillbilly harmonica loop which could have been taken straight off the O Brother, where art thou? Soundtrack, this semi-biographical tale of a country boy done good is certainly the most immediate track on the album.

However, after a couple of listens, the two tracks following Jimmy Mathis are equally sumptuous. Comin' around, with its sample of the bluegrass outfit Yonder mountain string band, is easily the most Southern sounding track on the album. Indeed the track is pretty much summed up in the first line of the song: 'There's a portrait of the South in the spirit of this song / keep followin' the fiddle, it'll never steer you wrong'. The fiddle laden She tried meanwhile finds Bubba Sparxxx in reflective mood, Musing over lost love and his cheating past. Sparxxx's self depreciating lyrics and Timbaland's magnificent string arrangements serve to make this a deeply evocative number.

However, it is the title track Deliverance which marks the pinnacle the album for me. Driven by simple hand clapped beats and an acoustic guitar, this track is Bubba Sparxxx's finest release to date. Bubba's flow is flawless and his new found lyrical maturity is perfectly exemplified in this track through lines such as 'so rarely in this world are these chances given twice, I indeed sold my soul, without glancing at the price'. This track is simply magnificent.

Whilst Deliverance is certainly a far more sombre offering than Dark Days, Bright Nights, it is not completely void of humour. Indeed, lyrics like 'A lot of y'all was thinkin' that Bubba would probably disappear/ Get some show money from ugly and buy a keg of beer/ and another pig to give my other pigs some company' confirm that Bubba Sparxxx's new maturity has not dampened his comical spark.

The only real complaint I have about Deliverance is that towards the end it begins to dwindle. Timbaland occasionally slips back into his Utra-commercial dance production and Justin Timberlake's presence on Hootnanny fails to make it into anything more than average album filler. This having been said, these minor cons should by no means deter you from purchasing this altogether impressive sophomore album. Go buy yourself a bottle a shine, a pig pen and an Ol' confederate flag and prepare for the redneck revolution.

Rating: 4/5