For Baltimore-based rapper Son of Nun, the forming of Firebrand in June, a new rebel music record label headed by Tom Morello and Ryan Harvey, offered him an opportunity to redeem his rhymes. Born Kevin James, the 37-year-old emcee took a lengthy hiatus from hip-hop until Harvey, who he’d met through activists circles years back, approached him to become part of his experiment. “I wasn’t performing and hadn’t been writing,” says James. “I had gone through some shit and I didn’t know when I was going to pick the mic up again.” But he did, leading the way for Firebrand with the politically charged “It’s Like That,” the label’s first release.