Heroes For Sale – Andy Mineo Review

Reach Records 2013 The reviewer is constantly neck deep in internal conflict especially when the project to be reviewed is from a favourite. On one hand is the reviewer’s professionalism and integrity and on the other is his/her bias because Artiste X or Y has a prime position most of the reviewer’s lists. The “modern Christian” faces such conflict in terms of honouring and worshipping God and at the same time remaining relevant in this fallen world. Again, the rapper’s struggles remain as he tries to “be real” as well as “play-worthy”, finding the proper balance being uncompromisingly true to his art as well as ensuring people can listen to him. This tragically gets harder as the genre keeps evolving and even within Christian Hip Hop we’ve seen the move from the Cross movement days to the days of chanting “unashamed” and “116” and we’re now nestled in an era where the lines seem to be blurred all because of the conflicts earlier referenced. It is now time to throw Andy Mineo under the spotlight as we explore this theme of conflicting choices. From the Sin is Wack mixtape to THAT hook on Lecrae’s “Background” then eventually securing a deal with Reach Records and down to singing on other hooks as well as putting out the excellent Formerly Known Andy has become a very tangible analogy to explain growth and proper balance. His latest project Heroes for Sale warns of the potential pitfalls attached to making anyone other than Jesus Christ a “hero”. Of course the lives of many are fully occupied with following so many “role models” but it’s no secret that this dysfunctional world is falling apart no thanks to the so called models and the almost zombie-like devotion they get from their followers. This is an album that boasts some solid production credits with Alex Medina, Tyshane, Dirty Rice and J.R amongst the stellar cast of superpower producers who crafted a lot of these keepers. Their work ensured that these tracks wouldn’t struggle to make it on to literally any radio playlist as well as enjoy heavy rotation. As for content Andy delivers some of his best bars and even injects the right amount of his trademark humour to make this project memorable enough. Another strong point for this album is the flow of the tracks from one to another seamlessly. It is an almost forgotten art; the ability to arrange album tracks in such a way that the tempo isn’t startling or the songs don’t get in the way of each other and in almost all genres seeing an album with proper track arrangement is quite rare. Reach Records has done a good job with majority of its projects in that regard. I should also mention that the album art was given the right amount of attention with the design passing across a relevant theme while doubling as a good looking wallpaper submission for the phone, PC desktop or even a poster. For a 16 track album Heroes for Sale had a fairly sizeable amount of quality tracks with perhaps “Ex-nihilo” being the stand out track. The song is an ode to God and His divine ability to make “something out of nothing” as witnessed in Creation. Several radio anthems abound on the album too, from the skateboard inspired “Ayo” to the dubstep infused “You Will” it’s more than possible that you would be encouraged, taught a thing or two while jumping all over the place in excitement as you listen. Some of the much more sober tracks like “Curious” and “Bitter” hit home as they get you reliving every single step you’ve taken over the years in all your relationships with people to check and see if you could have done much better. Then there’s “Tug of War” with Krizz Kaliko delivering a decent hook while Andy chronicles the everyday Jekyll/Hyde duel within the Believer. He states “anything that I lose to follow you (God) is not a loss” with so much gusto that you’d be forgiven for deciding to give all you have immediately. The album rounds off with “Death has Died”, an encouragement to those who have lost loved ones to look to the One who guarantees Resurrection, comfort and dominion over death. A fitting end to the project although I must comment on a few low points on the album. In some places it feels like Andy was laboriously going through the motions; there wasn’t much weight in some songs rendering them weak in the sense that they seem to have been done just to make up the number. “Cocky” and “Uno Uno Seis” featuring Lecrae fall into this category. Beyond just being lively songs they lack strength to carry one beyond a first listen or a set at a concert. The bottom line is that Heroes for Sale assists in getting your mind focused firmly in the right place (Jesus) right in the thick of things in this world of false heroes. This is good art, good music and of course one of the projects that will remain in our memories for a bit. With so many icons on display for sale Andy Mineo delivers the original Hero who not only saves the day but made it in the first place.

Review- Entermission Dj Official

DJ Official-Entermission
Label-Reach Records
There’s a culture that’s been alive for thirty something years, a culture that refuses to be defined geographically, a culture that is probably more influential on a lot of societies than their collective governments, a culture you can either love or hate but it will grow and survive regardless of your feelings. This culture I’m referring to is what we know as and call Hip hop. As with every other culture hip hop has its signature elements, take for instance it’s aka emcees or rappers, it’s language or hip hop slang/lingo, it’s traditional dance or b-boying (yes, all ye jabbawockees and soulQuest fans and the like, hip hop was here first), it’s art or graffiti (which nowadays is deemed illegal in most places). Hip hop even has its own dress code, its own rules for behaviour, but unlike every other culture there is one important element that I haven’t yet mentioned, an element that was there at the beginning and despite its importance seems to be ignored, it’s the element known as deejaying!! Yes! The deejay, he/she who is responsible for the music, he/she that dictates the pace, he/she whom all others in hip hop pay respect to.
The hip hop culture was lost for a long time in a fallen state, it was in turmoil, chaos, shapeless and void (reminds one of Genesis 1). Well Christ came and redeemed it and today we have the gift of Christian hip hop and by extension Christian rap music. We have a culture that has been evangelized to and is saved even though certain brothers and sisters of this culture choose to be stubborn…
Before I get carried away, this is a review on a veteran (and saved) DJ’s project; Dj Official’s Entermission. One of the most anticipated albums in Christian music ever!! We first heard about this album when Dj Official gave an interview on the Reach Records website shortly after the DWYL (Don’t Waste Your Life) tour. He told us he was working on his debut album and that the concept was basically Missions, something we all agree hip hop music needs. What is Missions? The intro gives us a clue “Enter the Mission” with Dr Eric Mason, pastor/co-founder of Epiphany Fellowship tells us “the Christian by identity is a missionary we don’t just do missions. Missions are not just trips to certain destinations, it’s who we are, and its God’s call on our lives to go into the world based on the Great Commission…” (Matthew 28:19). Now carry that and spread it across 18 tracks and what you have is a banger sizzling with God’s mandate and over 20 passionate cats spitting lines to put across the point.
This album was released on Boxing Day 2009, ending the year 2009 and kicking off 2010 with old and new rappers respectively. It has everybody worth noticing as far as Christian rap is concerned on it and of course they are all spitting one message, the call to missions. After the excellent hard hitting R-swift intro we have the first single off the album which I’m scared to say was not the best1 it’s Lecrae and Flame on the song “Show Off” meant to urge the listener “show off” God’s glory in every nook and cranny of the globe. From here on out we have a diverse mix of songs from the hardcore/streetwise “Streets of New York” and “Streets of Philadelphia” to the “different” sounding “Love Fallen” that had Brits Jahaziel and Gems and the reggae “specialist” Benjah. Of course there are the mandatory 116 Clique jams with Trip Lee’s southern delivery dripping all over “Get Busy”, Sho Baraka narrating a few stories on “Chaos” and Tedashii holding his own on “Use Me” and later on alongside newcomers H.G.A. on one of the standout songs on the album, “Go” a jam that’ll blow you away thanks to the staccato like delivery (reminiscent of T-Bone or Dwayne Tryumf on the 777 intro). Other cool collaborations include Thisl, K-Drama, Json and Tedashii (again) on “Chisel Me”, an earnest prayer to God to hone us into fitting instruments for His mission and of course a remix from Trip Lee’s 20/20 album, “Eyes Open Remix” with Sho Baraka.
Now for me the best songs on the album were not from the “usual suspects” (Lecrae et al) they were from the cats that’ve made “Lyrical Theology” the awesome phenomenon it is today. Enter Christian rap pioneer and stalwart Phanatik alongside Lampmode Records emcees Evangel and Stephen the Levite on the very deep “Not My Own”. If Entermission had a title track this would be it! With each emcee on point with their lyrical prowess, they take things a notch higher by laying on us some serious theology telling us about the ‘Proto Evangelion’ or the first evangelic mission all the way back in the garden of Eden and how that has been replicated over and over till present times. Phanatik aptly sums it up with his bars saying “let’s slay a man to save a man…/then send the lamb down through the man’s family line...” this song is a classic, reminiscent of the early Cross Movement days (biblical truths conveyed and Christ glorified). The other outstanding jam is the song “Missio Dei” (or God’s Mission) with the relatively unknown God’s Servant spitting a DIY manual for missions; it just effectively sums the concept of the whole album. Like I said earlier on, this is just top notch Lyrical Theology.
Now are there any minuses on this project? Well for me it is the problem of adequately balancing both style and /or content. A lot of the songs (especially from the 116 guys) had an excessive ration of style which just kept distracting you from the message they were trying to pass across as opposed to some others which were just plain by way of the message embedded within. Of course people must be able to like what is being said on these songs but we need to be careful to ensure we are not just bumping heads and not convicting hearts with our music. Plus the r n’ b songs on the album “Nothing Without You” by J.R and Cam’s “Forward Me” felt a little out of place and much too conventional, nothing you would remember in three or six months time. That being said Entermission is a more than decent album overall, reminding us how important the deejay is to the hip hop culture and how important Missions is to the Christian culture. By the way, watch out for the delightful instrumental outros after a few of the songs are over and even the one instrumental track “For My Breakers” which is a wonderful tribute to the hip hop culture… in 2010 we expect a lot of things but one thing that has come and must stay mandatory for every one of us Christians is our “entering the mission”……

Real Vision (live)

This was apparently in Birmingham, UK. The video'll soon be out though. This song is just too deep!

Me on my soapbox....

R-SWIFT_SOApbOX

Amusingly for someone who’s hooked on who’s supposedly hooked on Holy Hip Hop(or Gospel Rap for Craig Lewis faithful)I refused to listen to this album simply cos I felt it wouldn’t be on the same level of quality with Da’T.R.U.T.H., Lecrae or any of his other “contemporaries”. Of course all this was before a certain bloke named Akor (God bless him) gave me the album last year at the YWAP end of leadership retreat. Let’s just say I’ve been hooked since then! As a staunch fen of “conscious” rap, I couldn’t help but get disarmed by this offering. Not exactly 5 mic material I know, this probably the 1st and most accurate Social Commentary done by a gospel artist (except maybe Everyday Process’s Illumination and Elimination LP).
It covers (yeah study the album cover) everything from today’s music to our greed(for prosperity), social vices and of course, our God…
Ok what’s a Soapbox? Apparently this is a word that refers to a sort of impromptu platform raised above the surrounding level for an orator/ speaker to give a speech or address people on!!(You’re forgiven for thinking it’s just a container of soap). And here’s what R-Swift does, he makes you ask yourself “what’s up with my beliefs?” he unapologetically asks you what you are proclaiming on your own platform!
Away from the message a bit and focusing on the production… it’s now common knowledge that CMR boys don’t ever fall hand cos some banging beats done by the very much on the rise Mac The Doulous and even J.R were on the album. If Soapbox is a movie then the cast for this album is an assorted collection of Oscar nominees and Winners with the likes of Lecrae, J.R, Izreal on board(Particularly the album’s cipher The League boasts a cast of the Who is Who in underground gospel rap). In short this is just tight East Coast material and I think anyone who hasn’t heard it is missing a lotta good stuff big time!!!
1. Stage Fright
2. In Session
3. Good Mourning
4. Freedom
5. Breatha (Featuring Lecrae)
6. Message 1 (k-Drama)
7. The League
8. Gone
9. Killadelphia
10. Lifetime
11. Message 2 (Flame)
12. American Soil
13. Love Letter (Featuring Michelle Bonilla)
14. Me on My SoapBox
15. Message 3 (Teddy P)
Fav Jams? The League, Breatha, Soapbox, Lifetime….










Json_Life on Life

Dang!!! This dude is independent(or was independent till he signed on Shailinne’s Lampmode Records) but of course he brings heat just as blazing as one of em CMR/ Reach Records bois. Released two years after his first album (The Seasoning), Life on Life is simple, straight to the point and an album that emphasizes discipling/ sharing one’s Faith with others. To start with, check out the album cover, then the beats, then the songs!...This guy’s from St Louis and he lets us know with banging Crunk jams, topics like (yup you guessed it!)The Word of God, leaving our comfort zones to share the Word and Growth. The album comes across as a Christian Big Brother just tryna update you on what’s been happening and the next few steps to take in your walk with God.
The same Json flavor that hit us on 13Letters and The Compilation Album is present on this album with even more swagger! There’s a couple of new cats like Future and Titus on the album but we also hear the likes of Thisl, Flame,Lecrae and even Trip Lee(amongst other established acts)
To tell the truth I’ve been listening to this album like everyday since the year kicked off and I can tell you my Faith and Belief has grown based on some concepts he makes mention of. If you can cop this album, do it pronto!!!!
1. Life On Life Intro
2. Catch Up (Interlude)
3. Run
4. Music
5. Turning Point
6. What It Do (Feat. Titus & Trip Lee)
7. Listening Choice (Feat. Tedashii)
8. My Heart (Feat. Dawndia of Cho’zyn)
9. I Do
10. Glory Revealed (Interlude)
11. Sitting Big
12. Fight (Feat. Thi’sl & MikeREAL)
13. Who He Is (Feat. Lecrae)
14. Confession (Interlude)
15. Ladies & Fellas
16. Move Out (Feat. Future & Flame)
17. In The Studio
18. Grow
19. Outro
20. Grace (Bonus Track)

Fav jams? Sitting Big, Who He Is