Hip-hop-influenced metal quintet BackWordz inject their politicized messages through music influenced as much by Nas and Lauryn Hill as Korn and Pantera. Fronted by frontman Eric Dewayne July, the Dallas, Texas-based band is rounded out by bassist/vocalist Alex James, drummer Robbie Rosales, and guitarists Kevin Kerestes and Marcello Garcci. The band formed in late 2014 after July parted ways with the group Fire from the Gods. He was introduced to James, Rosales, Kerestes, and Garcci and, finding they had a similar vision, they started BackWordz. An outspoken Christian Anarcho-Capitalist Libertarian, July delivers his intense viewpoints with a mix of rapping and screaming, while James provides harmonic backing over the band's sharp riffs and pummeling drums. Their debut LP, Veracity (Stay Sick Records), arrived in 2017. It charted on the alternative, rock, and rap charts, climbing to number two on the Billboard Heatseekers chart upon release. ~ Neil Z. Yeung