In a late-sixties detroit rock scene that gave rise to the uncompromising protopunk blast of Iggy and the Stooges, the Motor City 5 were the rulers of the roost, crafting a kind of soul music for disaffected white freaks. On Are You Ready to Testify?, the three mid-fidelity CDs present a trio of Michigan-area onstage performances that embody the manifesto of MC5 manager — and White Panther Party chairman — John Sinclair, namely "rock & roll, dope and fucking in the streets."

On Disc One, recorded in June 1968, the set list overlaps somewhat with the band's debut, 1969's live Kick Out the Jams. A James Brown medley, Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" and Pharoah Sanders' "Upper Egypt" are subjected to Afro'd frontman Rob Tyner's vigorous vocal strut and the welt-raising guitar tandem of Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, who drag the songs far from their R&B and free-jazz origins. Disc Two features the MC5 ushering in New Year's Day 1970 with raw servings of "Teenage Lust" and "Shakin' Street" — tracks soon to be spit-polished for the group's second LP and studio debut, Back in the USA. The capper on the four-song third disc, also from '68, is eleven minutes of their loud-jazz freakout "Black to Comm," the ultimate call to arms for the brothers and sisters and motherfuckers of the MC5's rock & roll revolution.

“My President”

Young Jeezy teams up with Nas on this track, in which he compare his own success with the idea of an African-American winning the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 presidential election. "When I pulled up in my car, that s--- was unbelievable to people in my neighborhood because they were like, 'We grew up with him. How the hell did he accomplish this?'" he told Rolling Stone. "I feel like it was the same way with Obama. I grew up all this time, but I've never seen a black man this close to running this country."