Earlier today I picked up the album Stay Human by Michael Franti & Spearhead. If you've never heard of them, they're a band that blend hip-hop, soul, funk, rock, and reggae (and probably some other stuff somewhere in there). They're really good, definitely worth checking out.

Anyway, Stay Human is somewhat of a concept album, only the story isn't told through the songs (the songs reinforce the themes of the story, but are not narrative), but through fictional radio segments. These detail the story of the planned execution of Sister Fatima, a community activist who was arrested and convicted for the murder of a business couple on little more than eyewitness testimony, given by witnesses who later recanted their testimony completely. As you can probably guess, it's an anti-death penalty album, and a damn good one. The songs range from angry to reflective, somber to joyful, and the overall effect of the album (if you pay attention to the radio segments) is rather haunting.

It's a fictitious story, yes, but it's based on reality.