Brinson OMG Review

Label- Godchaserz Entertainment
Before September I didn’t know much about Brinson. I had heard him only a couple of times featuring on D-MAUB and Eric Cross projects. In the past two weeks I’ve learnt quite a bit and even gotten his latest album OMG (and no neither this review nor the album in question have anything to do with that annoying Usher song). He’s got this obvious southern approach yet it sounds fresh and different. Using interesting rhyme schemes, he’s got a lot of passion and he does straightforward and honest music, no strings attached, no bells and whistles; just the simple message of Christ exalted.
The production on this project is cool too, like I’ve said it’s mostly crunk that’s catchy and easy to chant along to. He’s got guys like Juice20/20 behind the boards and that’s pretty nice. The tempo ranges from very upbeat to pretty mellow tones. One interesting thing I noticed about Brinson is the fact that he seems to be a big movie fan; quite a lot of his metaphors are based on popular movie references. I guess that’s a good thing as a lot of people won’t find it hard to get what he’s saying. From the get go, Brinson gets in our faces with his blunt lead single “Don’t Rap No More”, a simple waning to any emcee alive to simply exalt Christ with his/her music or drop the mic. I like the hook on this one especially. “Green Grass” is another good song although it gives mixed feelings especially when you get to the hook as you don’t know whether to sing along or just hope the next verse starts soon. There’s “Breaking Down”, “Every Knee” and “Fully Persuaded”, tracks that what this album is about. Watch out for Knine’s verses on his guest spots, very refreshing to hear. There’s a skit that ordinarily would have turned me off but listening to it gets you amused at the humour in it (maybe I’m nuts) and even helps you appreciate good music, certainly one of a kind.
A demerit for the album was that some of the hooks and choruses put me off, they sounded a little too labored and I think Brinson should have tried putting a few more singers on the album to diversify the flavor. Still, by the time you get to the beautifully crafted Outro and eventually the Cypher you are satisfied the listening experience wasn’t a waste of time at all; more than anything else you feel encouraged. If you’re looking for good music that lifts our Lord Jesus then Brinson is the man for you. Much like David was a man after God’s heart is truly and aptly styled a God chaser. Don’t hesitate cop this album ASAP.

Trip Lee Between Two Worlds Review

Label-Reach Records.

The world we live is a broken one, much like a bad watch and as Christians whether or not we recognize it we’re like Neo from The Matrix, caught between two parallel “realities” and since Adam fell humanity has been on a journey that resembles a downward spiral. At this point it just seems like a large section of humanity possess brains powered by hamsters on wheels! So what does the Christian do? Pine away for heaven, the perfect world or try to fix the broken world by offering the solution, Jesus? This dilemma, the “in, not of” disposition towards the world (like in Philippians 1) forms the bulk of Trip Lee’s 3rd album Between Two world presents itself as a 15 track banger.
First let’s focus on Trip’s growth. From being that young prodigy on the Reach label he’s grown into a man that pulls his own weight effortlessly. With his 3 album discography and various guest spots his gift has progressed like the path of the righteous and it’s exciting to think that even though he’s on such an impressive level he’s still growing!!!
So what makes Between Two Worlds an almost perfect album? Well we could start off by looking at the top notch production with some of the foremost producers on this project. From DJ Official to Alex Medina to Tony Stone, JR, Big Juice and of course G-styles this it’s practically an all-star cast. Secondly the featured guests; fantastic appearances from guys we know like Tedashii, Lecrae and Thi’sl to lesser known guys like J.Paul and Chris Lee. Each guest brings a beautiful flavor to each song that complements Trip’s abilities. The most excellent appearances were from Leah Smith and Jimmy Needham, lending their beautiful voices to the project. Another praiseworthy attribute is the theme that each song dealt with, right from the first line “They say hindsight is 20/20 well they right it’s behind me/back for the third time you know where to find me…” on the intro “Real Life Music” you know you’re in for a treat. Then there’s a song that deals with temptation, “Covenant Eyes” featuring PRo, who has the answers to life’s questions on “Life 101” and the excellent acknowledgement of our limitations and God’s sovereignty on “Limitations”. It doesn’t stop there, there’s a prayer of dedication on “Yours To Own” with Jimmy Needham, a “kill the flesh” anthem called “Snitch” and down to “The Invasion (Hero)” with Jai practically everything that concerns life as we know it in this broken world is touched on and in a fresh and real manner too.
Before I round up this review, I must draw attention to the beautiful work Reach Records is doing with regards to marketing. From occasional giveaways to maintaining a strong online presence they’ve kept the public well informed and hungry for good music. It’s not hard to understand why they have such a wide reach (no pun intended). A video from this album (The Invasion) is already a hit on different channels and has even featured on BET’s 106 and Park. If you’ve noticed they also pay much attention to detail as the album art on Reach albums nowadays is just bananas. I think a lot of other labels should be taking notes.
In the midst of my enchantment with B2W, I have a little reservation which comes in the form of Sho’s verse on “I Love Music”. Something about the verse (and maybe the song) comes across as cheesy even though the song is enjoyable. This album is easily 2010’s number one album (with Lampmode’s The Church and Rhema Soul’s Fingerprints it’s only worthy challengers). An album we’ll remember in years to come. I give it a 4.5…it’s that good!

Lampmode Recordings The Church:Called & Collected Review

Label- Lampmode Recordings

The Church; some define it as an institution, some define it as a building and some call it The Body of Christ. Some even look at The Church as a living, breathing being and call her The Bride of Crist. So who’s right and who’s wrong? Well listening to Lampmode’s compilation should offer a lot of helpful answers.
One of my favourite TV shows is Lost and I’ve often imagined what I’d do if I was stranded on an island with a bunch of strangers. Well aside trying to get all of them saved assuming they aren’t I’d love to have my Bible and this album so I’ll organize them (even better than Jack Shepherd or Ben Linus) and of course hear the kind of music I classify as “dope”. Trust me when I say this one of the few albums that’s got it all; five star production, tight emcees spitting truth and a theme that is both relevant and properly dealt with. Based on a book by Mark Dever called 9 Marks Of The Church, The Church is basically an album that lets you know what the church is and why what a lot of Christians claim to be part of might just be a cult or social gathering, oops!!!
Who better to feed us on the subject than the cats who are versed in the art/gift of ‘Lyrical Theology”? I mean, they’ve got a credible MO as far as such things are concerned and I wasn’t surprised they delivered a well packaged project.
Starting things off for us is the beautiful combo of God’s Servant (who I think is a monster) and Azriel on the song “Take ‘em To Church” a nice anthem making a case for belonging to The Church is necessary. From there on out it’s fireworks as shai linne’s two songs “Biblical Theology” and “Expositional Preaching” both get your head nodding but actually emphasize on sound doctrine as opposed to your pastor’s philosophy or his captivating style of preaching. On the latter song shai proclaims “Y’all should be mindful of this devout thesis/all of the Bible’s about Jesus, The Old Testament? Jesus Christ concealed, the New Testament? Jesus Christ revealed!” hmmm… also along for the ride is Trip Lee with “Conversion” a wonderful expose on the subject with relevant excerpts from Mark Dever sermons for the hooks. Flame weighs in with “Leadership” a flawless analysis on church administration/leadership structure from Christ down to us. Then of course there’s Hazakim with their signature messianic “uncut and raw” approach serving us “Evangelism” and “The Good News” two absolutely necessary gems. With all this quality you would think that’s about as far as it gets but you’d be wrong as the high points of this album are Stephen the Levite and “Church Discipline” a track exploring how to deal (in love) with erring members of the flock and it’s done over a sick DJ Essence beat and a beautifully sampled hook, his other contribution “Membership” is as good and is a very nice discussion starter as he examines the state of modern day church membership accompanied by the legendary sound s of Tony Stone. By the time we’re through and have gotten to the end of the album we’re bursting at the seams with so much to process but Evangel doesn’t seem to care as he rounds it all up with “Beautiful Church” an ode cum history lesson on the journey the institution we call The Church has made from the tower of Babel to our present day. The beat for this was crafted by Big Juice and was just celestial and Evangel duly killed it!
The production on this project borders on illegal, yes we’ve come to expect quality production on Lampmode projects (from the Tim Brindle days to Jas Knight) but Alex Medina, Big Juice, Tony Stone, DJ Essence (my favourite producer) all contribute the kind of beats that are masterpieces on their own and yet do not take anything away from the featured emcees, they are just skillful anointed fellows who deserve much props.
There’s one little issue though, Tedashii’s song was a little to mediocre, not bad but we’ve heard him at a much higher level. That aside this album is one I’ll like to play to my grandkids (alongside a few Cross Movement albums) and say to them “this is what classic music sounds like”.

Dwayne Tryumf 777(Mark Of The Peace) Review

Label- Tryumfant Records
As a Nigerian I find it rather amusing that my country is a former British colony yet we turn to America for most of our music! Before I got into Christian music, I could barely list 5 British acts (outside The Beatles) that I knew and I think it’s a bit worse now! Nevertheless, I know that UK rap acts are gaining a solid reputation within the circles that matter and they’ve got ears prickling up in attention on both sides of the pond nowadays. In Christian rap we’ve seen Jahaziel and Dwayne Tryumf achieve huge crossover success and there are others following in their footsteps (S.O., Guvna B, E-Tizz, Gems, etc…) but all of them Dwayne Tryumf seems to be the poster boy for the UK’s Christian rap scene. He’s been on Katalyst’s album Death By Design, Lecrae’s Rebel, a couple of mixtapes here and there and his song “I Don’t Pack a Matic” off the Mark of Peace EP has solid credentials so dropping 777 was long overdue I guess.
From start to finish the album has your attention. The captivating “777 intro” which was released last year (and is on Uprise’s Video Lounge on OH TV) fittingly kicks off a hot collection of awe inspiring tracks. Possessing this Jamaican flavor (staying true to his roots) Dwayne manages to give us hip hop, reggae, dancehall all in one package with a little touch of gospel too. Some of the songs on the album aren’t exactly new but they are nice additions to the mix, “I Don’t Pack a Matic” and “Proverbs 31” fall into this class. “Never Be the Same” has Dwayne spitting in his signature rapid-fire staccato like way over an awesome beat and a wonderfully sung hook. “He’s The King” an anthem of Christ’s sovereignty is another beautiful banger. “African Drum” and “Sons of God” are two beautifully crafted songs with the aforementioned dancehall flavor and Mr Tryumf holding it down with his verses. As u go along its almost as if the album slows down yet it doesn’t lose its quality as songs like the melodic “Help Me Find My Way” and “Trust Me” round things up for us.
A noteworthy trait on the album is the rich cast of guest artists (nothing less than 14 of them) which basically consists of the “who’s who” in UK Christian music from Muyiwa Olanrewaju to Ryan Carty to Jahaziel. Even with this many guests Dwayne Tryumf still holds it down!!! Not an easy task. One drawback is the Comedian Chris skits; they seem somewhat subpar for a project of this caliber. Other than that 777 is a hefty album that is sure to launch Dwayne Tryumf to much bigger things in the future, it gets my 4 stars unapologetically.

Braille Weapon Aid Review

Label- Syntax Records

Braille: system of writing for the blind that uses characters made up of raised dots.
Weapon: something used to injure, defeat or destroy or s means of contending against another.
Aid: to give assistance or provide with what is useful to achieve an end.
2010: the year we’re in at the moment
Bryan Winchester: this cool dude from Portland, Oregon, father, rapper servant of Jesus Christ.
Vintage: possessing quality, akin to being classic, superior
Sigh… forgive my apparent rant by text as you wonder what the vocabulary lesson is about. The words I’ve just defined seem unrelated; only if you’ve not heard Braille’s 2010 offering and nice follow up to 2009’s Cloudnineteen. Weapon Aid is pure hip hop, infused with the type of quality that’ll be felt by even the few alive who are unschooled in hip hop. Braille has often made the genre something that has texture, something that comes alive, something you can relate to whether you’re a guy like me in faraway Africa or a down under in Australia.
Weapon Aid is a 10 track offering (and Braille’s 6th studio album) that had just one feature (theBreax) leaving us with the opportunity of enjoying Braille’s potent lyricism to the fullest. songs like “Revenge (The Right Way)” and “Up” are five star offerings that’ll be here for a long time (archeologists from the future take note). “Poison”, “Thinking Shoes”, “Complexicated”, “Nothing Left to Say” and “Give Myself” (a wonderful love song) contribute to this vintage mix of great tracks. Braille on each one asserts himself as that emcee you know you should listen to and he does it with great humility. The beats on the album make your ears happy and that’s the sort of thing we’ve come to expect from Braille. Ranging from heavy synths to organs and heavy guitar riffs to the customary live drums; it’s the kind of production that gets you breaking out in goose bumps and the like.
This album is so good you can use it to silence that annoying neigbour of yours who keeps taking cheap shots at Christian rap (in this day and age?) even though what’s bumping in his music player is obviously garbage (content wise, production wise and otherwise). I give it a 4.5 without flinching except that I think it even deserves a higher rating. If you haven’t heard it already why not listen and try to prove me wrong if you can.
P.S. check out the album art and leave a comment if you can figure it out. That’s how deep it gets…

Lecrae Background Video

This is probably my favourite song off Rehab, just because of the humility in it...
Enjoy the video...

Humble Beast Humble Beginnings Vol. One Review

Label- Humble Beast/Syntax
Not too many compilations are ever worth the listen, even when you put the best artists together. So I normally approach such projects with a “win some, lose some” attitude. Well, Humble Beast smashed that to bits for me. Some of the most respected cats in Christian rap came together (much like Voltron) and formed a “Humble Beast” a new movement aiming to take on the hip hop culture with their brand of creative, real and truthful hip hop. With guys like Braille, Odd Thomas and Theory Hazit on the team, there’s no need to overemphasize the resulting success. The concept is simple; emcees with beastly delivery yet humble enough to serve Christ with their gifting.
On Humble Beginnings Volume One there’s quite a lot of storytelling, cool production and mind-blowing collaborations which makes for a neatly done project. As brief as 11 tracks, this project is a solid argument for the case “hip hop is not dead”. With each cat bringing his own experience, style and craft to the table we are privileged to hear and experience the best of the best.
Kicking off with what seems like an unusual yet impressive intro for this type of project (a Pastor Eric Mason sermon excerpt), you know you are in for a good listen as you slide down the track list. “The Dream That You Gave To Me” with Braille and the late Citizen Aim (RIP) is a simple and awesome joint, a pledge to make god’s business one’s business. Sareem Poems serves up a nice metaphorical story about “The Beast” on “The Story that’s Rarely Told” and then there’s the banger “Humble Hungry” with Theory Hazit, Odd Thomas and Citizen Aim. Each cat spitting solid verses over a beat that’ll be hard to get out of you head. Propaganda weighs in with “Beautiful Pain” an unusual but truthful ode to pain and by the time Odd Thomas ends things with “Truth Wars” you’ll probably get upset that the album’s done! Each song gets you thinking and for me that’s the beauty of this project; rap for the “thinking man”. The production of each beat is excellent and the mixing comes across beautifully except for a few cases where I couldn’t hear Citizen Aim’s verses properly. I loved the emphasis on live drums on most of the songs, a rarity nowadays.
I really can’t wait for Volume Two, whenever and if it ever comes out. I can’t help but wonder that if they call this humble, what’s next???

LMNO & Theory Hazit Determined To Fly Review

Having duos in hip hop? Hmmm… maybe as singers it could work out pretty easily but it’s pretty hard to come across two guys doing rap music and doing it well enough that you don’t notice that one is outshining the other. I can only think of a few successes; Redman & Methodman, The Lox, Everyday Process… but the subjects of this review, LMNO & Theory Hazit seem to possess this chemistry that enables them to come hard enough to get them appreciated. It’s like LMNO’s the knife that cuts the meat and Mr. Hazit does the rest.
On Determined to Fly the dynamic duo serve a vintage hip hop album with no strings attached, unadulterated game, more than convincing delivery and the type of beats that got me hooked on the beautiful genre in the first place. Almost everything on the album’s perfect even down to the album art, a fish with outspread wings leaping above some water and the mere sight of that even without hearing single scratch from the album is enough to bless you. It’s a beautiful tribute to a beautiful art form seeing how very few people put much thought into album art nowadays.
Songs that definitely should be on constant repeat on this project include “Boombaptism”, “Money” with Suzi Analogue, “Born to Write” and the title track “Determined to Fly” a really dope jam and my favorite “Full Motion” especially because of the last verse where Theory Hazit merged analogies on both sports and different music genres together! Pure bliss I tell you. Of course there’s the seemingly inevitable drawback of this album being the type that not everyone in your class or down at choir practice would be into. That’s probably intended because the album comes across as targeted at only a select few, the “conscious/underground hip hop heads”.
Whatever the case may be, Determined to Fly is a 4.5 star effort that makes 2010 a happy year musically for anyone with good ears. Peace!!!!

Jimmy Needham Nightlights Review

Jimmy Needham… who’s he? Before we get into that let me point out how into hip hop I am; very!!! There’s just no other way to put it, (I hope I haven’t turned off anyone). Still that doesn’t hinder me from enjoying other genres of music including rock, alternative and a little R&B. so in relation to Mr Needham, a break from all the punch lines kicks, snares and head nodding is often necessary. He’s a songwriter/singer who I believe makes God proud just like David back in the day. He’s got three albums (as far as I know), was on Trip Lee’s album Between Two Worlds and has been on a WOW compilation cd. Nice pedigree huh? His most recent album’s just a reflection of all that, undoubtedly one of the best albums ever made.
Funny as this might sound; I only came across him and his music thanks to my association with rap. It all started when I saw a twitter post where Trip Lee made reference to him and I took interest went searching and found his song “Lost at Sea” on the WOW 2007 cd and that was it. I dug deeper for other projects and I was rewarded one day when my brother walked into the house one day with his latest album Nightlights. So why make so much of a fuss over him and music? Well, he’s a singer that’s as theologically sound as the deepest rappers we love and respect! Nightlights represent maturity and a sort of peak in what is an already impressive resume for Jimmy. With some well-crafted and beautiful songs, a wonderful voice and the boldness to experiment with a lot of genres, Nightlights presents itself as a must have. Each ballad is unique in itself and yet connected to the rest of the album. From the first song “Moving to Zion” a beautiful ballad about the journey of our Faith using Israel after Egypt as an analogy down to the last track “Nightlights” a beautiful Spoken Word piece each song is on point, touching on just the right themes. On “Part the Clouds” Jimmy urges us Christians to stop our lukewarm approach to witnessing to the unsaved, on the lovely “Light of Day” he sings to his “better half” with love and plans to stay in God’s plans for both of them. “Miss a Thing” exalts god’s omniscience and one of the best songs on the album “Being Small” is a prayer of humility asking God to cut us to size whenever we get “swollen heads” asking a very simple question; “Why I wanna be a hurricane when I'm barely a breeze? Cause I've already seen your storm bring me down to my knees...Whenever I climb too high, keep my feet on the ground and when I get full of me, turn me upside down...If it's you that's getting bigger, I don't mind, being small...So maybe I should step on down, hand off the King's crown to the God on the throne". Some serious food for thought right there…
This guy is obviously gifted but pulling this sort of thing again and again (three times in a row check out his discography) with such humbling yet encouraging consistency is nothing short of God’s doing. I had to get up to speed by getting his previous albums “Speak” and “Not without Love” and I kept asking myself what planet I had been on all these years. If you have done the same please do and I pray you get blessed as I was (and still am) by all you’ll hear and learn…

PRo Redemption Review

Label – Reflection Music Group
Redemption is an apt title for an album, not only because of itself but also because of the man behind the album. Derek Johnson aka PRo is a man who knows all about mistakes being given an opportunity to “right his wrongs”. I’d heard some chatter about him approaching the Christian rap scene with a sort of bad attitude which eventually brought some animosity his way but a few years on, associating with the right people and adjusting that attitude has made a different person entirely. Personally I’d shrugged him off after listening to “Shut ‘em Down” from his Blackout album but he’s definitely taken it up several notches since then. He released a single “I’m Sorry” which pretty much over and then he’s been a guest on so many albums recently and impressed so much so it was only normal to expect this album to be cool.
Redemption is themed on its title, an album that analyses how God reached out and saved an undeserving specie called man, an album that PRo threw his all into and got some nice results in return. It’s got this nice crunk flavor that is definitely going be felt by a lot of people and at the same time is not too generic. In fact if I didn’t know any better I’d say this was a Reach Records release! With beats from guys like D-flow and K-drama it’s an album that’ll please the ears. It’s also got quite a lot of songs (20 of them). Songs like “Merked”, “Slave to You”, “Murder Swag” and “Power to Die” all have a nice “kill the flesh” ring to them while keeping us aware of God’s grace and mercy to do so. There are some pretty personal songs like “I Want to Know” and then there’s the standout song “Clear the Air” with Mr “Christian Rap” himself, Lecrae, a song that puts to bed all the erstwhile controversial comparisons between PRo and Lecrae.
Evidently hanging with BJ Thomas and the rest of the Reach crew has spawned dividends of epic proportions and it just goes to show how integral fellowship is to the Body of Christ. I must point out that as good as this album is there’s still a lot of room left for PRo to grow. Yes we all love comebacks but it has to be said that this album might have to grow on some and for others it’s not an album they’ll dwell too much on but whatever you position is it’s a decent 3.5 star effort in my opinion. Beyond all that it’s beautiful to witness such a great testimony in my lifetime…

Japhia Life Nazareth Review

Label-Arms Out
I’d like you to have a brief flashback to the period between the mid and late 90s (probably the early 2000s too). The period just before hip hop’s demise; reflect on all the “good” music we had back then before this crunk ‘monster” descended on us all… nostalgic isn’t it? Now snap out of it as fast as possible! Reality check, the year is 2010 and as you read this you’ve probably reached a stage in life where you think that singing in an alien voice is a normal thing, or that skinny jeans that sag to the knees is as ok a practice as brushing one’s teeth. Yes, my brothers and sisters there’s trouble and chances of rescue are a measly 1 out of 10. Even though my mood suggests it, I’m not here to just lament the sorry state of things. This is a review for a true hip hop album from Japhia Life, Nazareth.
Japhia Life, Philly native who I can’t say I’ve heard much from save on J-Silas’s (now J-Johnson) album Soundproof and on DJ Morph’s International. I’ll confess to being one of the few that believes that outside the “big 3” (Lampmode, Reach and Cross Movement) very few Christians can rap. It’s safe to say guys like Braille, theBreax and Eric Cross have consistently proved me wrong. Japhia is another one of those “exceptions to the rule” sporting that effortless Philly style, over beats with conscious/underground appeal and he serves up Nazareth an album you can’t afford to sleep on. With such a good name for an album he lives up to (and goes beyond if I might add) expectation with this 14 tracker. It’s just like I said, a nostalgic, sober album that tackles a lot of real issues from gun crime to the everyday dilemma of looking for answers in our respective lives. One thing that is endearing about this album is Japhia’s calm flow which allows you to hear what he says as he takes you on a journey to show you that something good can come out of Nazareth (and even Philadelphia).
Standout songs include “Don’t Keep Me Waiting”, “I Wanna Go”, “Mama’s House” and a personal favourite “Does Anybody Know?” a very deep song… “Moment In Time” and “One Shot” are notable mentions too. Production wise there’s a sort of Jekyll/Hyde effect with some of the beats being really awesome (“Does Anybody Know?”, “One Shot” and “Don’t Keep Me Waiting”) and some of the other beats sounding too synthesized and generic. One producer that people shouldn’t sleep on though is this Chris Batson guy who was behind the “Does Anybody Know” track; he’s got these awesome drum loops that just complement Japhia’s style and delivery. Wit from Frontlynaz helped out with “Don’t Keep Me Waiting” and impressively too.
In conclusion Nazareth is one decent piece of art that may not be on everyone’s playlist but is a solid effort nonetheless. It gets a 3.5 from me, the type of album to give to the wounded few (like me) who pine away for the “good old days”.
P.S. Check out the album art, beautiful stuff man!!!

Rhema Soul Fingerprints Review

Label- Good City Music
Fingerprints as defined by Webster’s Dictionary; “the impression of a fingertip on any surface… for the purpose of identification or something that identifies one, as either a trace or character revealing origin or the analytical evidence that characterizes an object or substance”
Yes, that’s what the Rhema Soul trio called their third studio project and aptly so seeing how the album bears that artistic signature we’ve come to love. An album that employs the use of some very sick beats and verses (reminiscent of their Good News Dope Beats EP) to give an honest and refreshing account of all the marks they’ve left on life and vice versa. Practically a breath taker from start to finish, Fingerprints is a 15 track offering that features the ever impressive production skills of G-styles (if you’re into Christian Rap as much as you should, you’ll know him well enough) and I honestly wonder why(with a mischievous grin on my face) the album wasn’t just called “G-Styles’ Fingerprints!!!
Kicking off with an intro that has G-styles showing off his vocal prowess singing (and autotuning) away! This is the kind of album you want to bump from the car stereo or in class or to your Mama (like me!). From the unapologetic “Never Lay Low” to “Sky’s not the Limit” there’s that general feel of a challenge to take your place in God’s plan being thrown across. There’s more from the seemingly endless supply of bangers on this one, with different flavors too, the very easy to relate to “Fly Away” (which Rapzilla touts as video of the year by the way), the title track “Fingerprints” and “Blow Your Whistle” are anthems that urge us to go against the grain and be who you are by God’s standards. We also have “Let Me Live” speaking against the incessant “beefing” and division that exists on the rap scene, then there is one song that I liked but for the life of me couldn’t figure out what the song was about, “Shorty’s Lost” another song that had G-styles crooning (in autotune nonetheless). Maybe it’s just a case of cultural differences me being Nigerian and all but I still couldn’t grasp the idea after listening to the song over and over again. That being said, this album’s strengths can’t be overemphasized when you consider the quality production, the explicitly on point verses and the fact that there’s just one featured artist, Eddie Nigma (whose verse on “Sky’s The Limit” is just criminal, in a good way of course). Then consider that the trio of K-nuff, Juanlove and Butta P (in my opinion the best female rapper presently) has this awesome chemistry and everyone brings something concrete to the table and you’ll just be swept away by the Fingerprints project. Very few groups can pull this kind of thing off (think the Black Eyed Peas before Fergie) but they did, and so gracefully too!
Without flogging a dead horse, Fingerprints is a must listen, whether you want Dope Beats, Good News or both (pun intended). A solid 4.5 star fingerprint that’ll be hard to wipe off…

Brinson's first Video off the album OMG

this is a video from my man Brinson, review on his awesome album coming very soon,enjoy this meanwhile.

Brinson - Don't Rap No More Official Music Video from Brinson on Vimeo.

Nigeria's Jubilee

My Country just clocked 50 years old and much like the Hebrews in Exodus we seem to be getting nowhere but, God has spoken and there are a select few just like Joel 2 says who are willing to bring that change...
this is a poem i wrote last year, it sums up my feelings and hopes, be blessed as you read it, it's called I am...
I Am….

I am indirect and still direct rule,
I am considered corrupt, a big fool,
I am the fight, the subsequent struggle,
To be free; as light as a bubble.

I am the bloodless takeover, the bloody coup,
I am on the continent with the biggest shoes,
I am the Elected, the people’s Hero,
I am the definition of fresh, ground zero,
I am the budget that isn’t implemented,
I am the joy that is unprecedented,
I am the average youth, the old man, the unborn child,
I am talent, raw beauty, running wild,
I am the school that’s barely open,
The student that’s anxiously hoping,
I am the office that is abused, the power that is raped,
I am, amongst peers seemingly as obsolete as tapes.

I am considered by some an underachiever, a flash in the pan,
Yet they who make diamonds feed from my hand,
I am asked by my rivers, “why? Oh, why?”
I am the eagle that refuses to fly,
I am the horse without dignity, worn out by endless battle,
I am the grass, ravaged and destroyed by greedy cattle.
I am on my knees, torn apart by my grief,
And yet I dance despite little or no relief,
I am, I realise made for much more,
Not to be defined by boundaries or governors,
I am as some believe, the apple in God’s eye,
The engineer without whom this plane won’t fly,
Thus I refuse to die, calls for my death I refute,
I am ready to b transformed like a beggar in a new suit,
I am not dead; no it’s not over yet,
Critics, friends, the passive, place all your bets,
I will survive regardless the pain, the hype, the hysteria,
I am the sleeping giant that has been roused, I am ….Nigeria!