Sho Baraka "Barakaology" Review

The self-righteous MC who brings extreme seriousness to his craft, to the point of looking down his nose at others, is someone who continually gets lambasted in secular hip-hop. But, as Sho Baraka implies in the "Serious Rapper Skit" on his mixtape, "Barakaology," Christian rappers may easily find themselves in this rut when trying to bring the Word to others and to simultaneously rein in worldliness in themselves. Sho Baraka's release is meant to remind Christians and Christian rappers not "to become the religious stiff-necks of our day." He urges Christians to avoid living lives of double standards like Pharisees and instead to "love God, with all our heart, mind, body and soul and love the brothers; to honor the king; to show respect to all men and to preach with passion."

After putting his exhortation out for his rapper peers and fans in the "Barakaology" intro track, the short offering of songs that follow exalt God ("Glorious" and "Jesus," which uses the beat from Ambassador's song of the same name), give inspiration for stamping out sin ("Great Day to Die" and "My Testimony"), and feature Sho mixing these topics with relaxed wordplay for head-nodders with more pure entertainment value.

In this last category is "Kobe Bryant on 'Em," which features this punchline: "My God's something like Kobe--crazy and amazing on 'em/yours is always hurt, yeah--Tracy McGrady on 'em." (Sho tickles himself with this line, but later apologizes to McGrady's fans and wishes God's grace upon the baller himself.)

Musically, the tracks on the mixtape reflect Sho Baraka's globetrotting life. "Get You Open," which almost has a freestyle feel, finds Sho, who was born in Canada, taking on a vaguely Jamaican accent, and "Great Day to Die" morphs into a mellow reggae cut, with a reggae singer on the chorus adding world-weary vocals. "Glorious" and "Kobe Bryant on 'Em" have the Texas transplant rhyming over Southern tracks.

Though it's true that Christians are supposed to die to the ways of the flesh, this doesn't mean that they need to stop enjoying life, as Sho Baraka points out on "Barakaology." It's clear that Sho will never stop enjoying life as a Christian, or as a rapper, and that we can always look to him for edification and entertainment alike.