Living in the path of the recent snowstorms, and finding time in February winding down, I can't help but think to the spring.
One sure sign of spring on its way that I remember from growing up is a cluster of small, white flowers, tinged with green, that emerged in my parent's backyard each year.
These flowers, known as snowdrops, brave whatever winter is giving us to unexpectedly thrust themselves through the ground--through snow; through cold, hard earth; through a matted tangle of decaying leaves from the last days of fall. They offer hope of longer days and warmer temperatures when many of us are well within the grasp of a seemingly unending case of cabin fever.
Cold temperatures and a harsh climate would make it seem like these flowers have the worst timing for blooming. But, nevertheless, when things look dreary to our eyes, here they come, imparting a sliver of color to the winter landscape--and a sliver of hope to our frozen hearts.
Sometimes our faith can be as stagnant as the hard, cold, packed earth of the winter months. During such a time, verdant periods of growth in our relationship with God may seem like a distant memory. But by stepping back from our stress and our fears, and reconnecting with the Lord, we can witness signs of life return to our spirit--even if the joy that manifests starts as small as the brave snowdrop.
An appropriate verse from the Bible to illustrate how spirit-filling it is to stop everything and seek God is this one: "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." (Psalms 34:4) The deliverance--the spiritual growth in our lives--only comes when we seek God and place our worries and sadness in His hands.
We are reminded by the snowdrop flower that winter will be over sooner than we think. We are reminded by God that time in His presence can break through the layers of ice that encase our hearts, cast aside the piles of negative history that smother our contentment, and even penetrate dense layers of doubt with the clarifying light of love. And as sure as the snowdrop comes back every year, God's grace is available perennially as well.
Esther had a good life. Though she had been an orphan, raised by her cousin, she was chosen to be King Xerxes' leading lady, after he dismissed his previous wife, Vashti. Esther was pampered with precious oils, beautiful clothes, special food, the best room in Xerxes' harem, and handmaidens to come to her aid as needed. The king even declared a holiday in his dominion following his union with Esther. In short, she had arrived.
But Esther had one big secret: Her nationality. Esther was Jewish, and Jews were not looked upon kindly in the kingdom, due to cultural differences. Esther's identity became a problem when Haman, an esteemed noble in the king's court, decreed the death of all Jewish men, women and children, after Mordecai refused to idolize King Xerxes by bowing to him.
Mordecai sent an urgent message to Esther, asking her to approach the king on behalf of the Jews in the region, to spare their lives. Esther faltered, fearing for her own life, but was quickly reminded by Mordecai that there was no guarantee she would be spared if she was found out. And then Mordecai delivered the kicker: "Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14, NLT)
This passage echoes where I hope a lot of Christians find themselves these days. God has blessed us in many ways. We may have always lived blessed lives, if we look back to our lost time with an honest eye, or we may have found favor in God after breaking free from a difficult past. Either way, as God's children, we are blessed. With those blessings come resources, whether financial, physical, or emotional, in the form of empathy and compassion.
The fruit of our blessings are needed. I believe, in the words of Mordecai, that we were given them for a time like this. 2010 was immediately marked with the worst kind of humanitarian crisis imaginable, a massive earthquake, followed by countless lesser, but similarly damaging, aftershocks. This natural event, with its epicenter just outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has left an estimated tens of thousands dead and an even larger number homeless.
We are needed to extend our grace to our Haitian brothers and sisters, to save their lives, heal their injuries and help them rebuild their cities and nation. Even if it's just $5 or $10, as many mobile phone charity campaigns have made possible, or a small shipment of clothes, baby formula, or water bottles, there is something we can do to be God's grace to a population in need.
I sincerely hope that, in addition to your prayers, you have contributed in some way to this unexpected, devastating emergency in Haiti. If you have, I hope your heart has been stretched to do more. Haiti, a country that was already in dire straits, is guaranteed to have long-term needs following this disaster. And, of course, our families and our own communities have needs as well.
As I alluded to in my review of DJ Official's "Entermission" recently for Da South, we are living in trying times. Families are financially ravaged, following the prolonged recession. Individuals are empty inside, due to the kinds of hurt we read about on the news, as well as the kind of hurt that the devil tries to instill into our hearts, encouraging our souls to fester. Many people are lost and hurt these days, and feel there is no cure-all for their pain.
I feel strongly in my own life that God wants His children to extend His love and compassion in a way that pushes past our comfort zones. We were made small-scale kings and queens in His greater kingdom for a time like this. Give God glory by giving of your wallet, your heart, your time, your sweat, your ear to listen, your knees in prayer. With our intervention, we can save lives--both in the physical, as Esther had the power to, or in the spiritual, by nudging the lost toward everlasting life.
Gotta wish S.O. a belated birthday (Dec. 5 was the actual day) and thank him for sharing a track he whipped up to celebrate his born day.
Think of it as a late Christmas present from me... Wow, I stay losing with the celebrations this month!
Seriously, though, "Makings of Me" is a nice, laid back track. S.O., the UK Christian rapper who brought you "Love Is" earlier this year, jacks the beat from a Jahaziel track, also called "Makings of Me," to give love to some of the people in his life in six minutes and some change.
Enjoy.
And, if you don't already, follow the kid on Twitter: @SdotThekid
I have come to appreciate the moments when God has whispered a Bible chapter or verse to read that has brought me clarity. I had such a moment this morning.
Flipping through the Bible to get to 1 Corinthians for a Bible study on Jehovah Nissi, I found myself in Nehemiah, staring at chapter 4. I was called to read it.
The chapter deals with repairing the walls of Jerusalem out of rubble. It deals with individuals and ethnic groups despising the efforts of the Jews to rebuild the wall, first with mocking words ("Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble--burned as they are?"), and then with threats of violence, once these groups realized at the halfway point of the rebuilding project that the work was going well.
How did the Jews respond to the negativity that began to swarm around them? They prayed to God and ultimately posted a guard at the wall.
But, after hearing from Jews who were privy to the conversations of the foreign enemies, they came to realize one guard wouldn't be enough to squash the antagonistic desires of Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod, who became even more bold with their threats.
A decision was made to devote half the Jewish men to protecting the work efforts, and the other half to doing the actual building. However, those who carried materials took to having a weapon at the ready in one hand. Even the builders wore swords. All men stayed within Jerusalem, to serve as watchmen at night.
Additionally, a trumpeter was on call to sound out an alarm in the event of an impending attack. In case a need to fight arose, those who were working on the massive project could regroup and be prepared to defend their rebuilding efforts. "Our God will fight for us," Nehemiah said of what would happen after any necessary trumpet call.
The words that kept them going were these: "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."
I found this to be a powerful passage. And I also later realized that God can be seen in the light of Jehovah Nissi, "the Lord is my banner," through this passage, keeping in line with my initial Bible study focus. No actions concerning God are ever wasted!
What struck me most about this chapter is that the city was literally in a state of brokenness--its former walls a heap of shattered stones. Its inhabitants needed to fight hard, harder than anticipated, to keep moving forward on fortifying the city limits.
This parallels common internal strife we face. We often find ourselves crawling tenaciously out of a period of brokenness, sitting in a pile of rubble, yet holding a remnant of faith that things will get better. We look to God to pull us through, and often challenges may seem to build even as we grow in the strength with which God has blessed us.
That is when we have to fight even more, to not give up, but to figuratively rebuild our spirits with one hand and fight with the other. But we have to fight smarter, by ensuring that our strategy to advance and overcome is truly rooted in God, and not in our own limited power. Let God be the banner in our fight for wholeness and peace, the actual and symbolic sign of victory over nagging internal struggles.
Ultimately, the wall was rebuilt, and the enemies' ambitions were deflated. Nehemiah 6:15-16 reads: "So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God."
What we can take away from the passage is that to prevail in an internal struggle, it may take splitting focus on work and protection. It may take being on guard for your spirit overnight--when we are often most vulnerable to attacks of doubt and fear from the enemy--to begin the hard work of rebuilding again in the morning. It may take more than a day. But, victory is at hand. Under the banner of God, fight for your peace and wholeness. When the trumpet of alarm sounds, run to Him, and let Him lead the way. The enemy can't help but lose confidence when faced with a work of God in you.
We argue about whether Christian rappers should rhyme over secular beats, but Willie Will's mixtape, "Redemption," shuts down this debate for now.
It's a mighty work for the Lord in reaching nonbelievers, taking some of the grimiest hip-hop tracks (including "We Gonna Make It," by Jadakiss; "C.R.E.A.M.," by Wu-Tang Clan; "Ambitionz az a Ridah," by 2Pac; and "Shook Ones Pt. II" by Mobb Deep) and claiming them for God. Not only does he jack beats, but he also swagger jacks to further capture the essence of the original songs, stylistically stepping into Raekwon's two-tone Wallabees on his remake of "C.R.E.A.M.," for example.
These 32 songs are now fortified with the Holy Ghost and Willie Will's dense, intelligent lyrics. Classic tracks in the hands of a talented lyricist is always a win, and this one is a big win for God.
My Top Tracks: There wasn't a track list provided with the mixtape as far as I can tell, so I'll have to title by the names of the original songs and list track numbers. Without further ado...
Track 4, "Big Poppa" remake: Stop being a baby, baby.
Track 5, "Shook Ones Pt. II" remake: Be shook if not saved.
Track 11, "New York State of Mind" remake: Start the revoloution. God=solution.
Track 12, "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" remake: Praise for the real Hov.
Track 13, "We Gonna Make It" remake: Amped lyrics and amped music.
Track 15, "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" remake: Christ's story, Pete Rock heatrock.
Track 16, "It Was a Good Day" remake: A humorous praise song.
Track 21, "The People" remake: Will's flow > Common's. Trust.
Where do you cop this one from? DaSouth.com. Join the site and access this mixtape, and many other free downloads.
Philly may have (sadly) lost the World Series recently, but man we been winnin' lately with the CHH music! If you haven't already, drop everything and cop R-Swift's "Anthem." Fantastic album. Read my five-star review of it here.
Here, we have Eshon Burgundy, dropping 100 bars on "A Note for the Hopeless."
I've been behind on my Internet travails (You may have noticed me M.I.A. from this blog and my Twitter account lately...Tryna get back on it now...), but props to my fellow DaSouth.com writer Kellus Hill for putting me on to brother Burgundy a few weeks back. He goes Sugar Ray Leonard on this one. Don't be surprised by the lightness of his delivery (a whispery flow completely devoid of menacing attitude) and his relaxed composure; he verbally sticks, moves and delivers a TKO on the soul sample. My fave line: "Lucifer? I don't know you... Huh? Oh yeah, I'm acting brand new."
I hear he's working on a new release. I'll be lining up for it, like going to Pat's or Geno's for cheesesteaks.
For more info on the man, check out his Myspace, here. There's a treasure trove of music to be found here--three mixtapes! (Note: copy and paste the links into your browser to get at the free downloads.)
When reading through the Bible last night, I came across a passage in Philippians that hit me:
“Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:2-3, NLT)
What touched my soul most about this passage is the exhortation to think more highly of others. This sounded like a good statement for me to focus on in my journey toward being more openly loving to others. (I don't necessarily harbor a lot of hatred, though, like anyone else, I have had my share of dislikes when it comes to people. My biggest problem is being an introverted person, with baggage rooted in fear, and struggling to get beyond myself to establishing meaningful connections with others.)
Think about it: If we are honest with ourselves, the people we gossip about, scream at in our minds (or aloud), and otherwise harbor negative feelings toward are ones to whom we have assigned second-class human status. We are not considering them on our level (of intelligence, compassion, whatever), and we are certainly not loving them. We may not even call them by their names in conversation, instead resorting to “that woman,” “him,” or something worse that we'd never want to escape from our mouths.
How would your attitude change toward someone if you upgraded your perception of them? Someone with whom I face a struggle currently immediately came to mind for me. If you consider your “problem person” the same as you, or better, it becomes impossible to think about them the same light as before.
There are many areas of life that can be challenging, but the hardest has to be doling out love unconditionally, in the spirit that Jesus intended. I thank God for the ways He has changed my spirit so far, and I look forward to more work!
The best albums, secular or Christian, are ones that you can play all the way through and use for all occasions. Everyone has that one album they can go to for dinner when company's over, driving on a sunny day, cleaning the house and vibing to in an introspective moment. Jas Knight just offered you another of those releases to keep on hand, with "The Psalter."
Knight presents this jazzy, neosoul offering as a contemplation of the Psalms. A Psalter is a collection of the Psalms for worshipers in olden times; Jas' Knight's Psalter covers several Psalms, repeating key verses that can be meditated on, with the mellow music serving as a willing vehicle for the uplifting reminders. "This is soul music," Da' T.R.U.T.H. aptly announces on "Psalm 91." Other guests include shai linne and R-Swift.
ShoBaraka dropped a song called "Word" yesterday. It may ring a bell with those of you who attended the Don't Waste Your Life concert.
"Word" will be on Sho's full-length release next year, titled "Lions and Liars." (For more on the release, and more on Sho, check out my recent interview with him for DaSouth, here.)
The song features a minimalist 808 and soul-clap beat. On the song, Sho sometimes clothes his words in a Jamaican-style accent, which coordinates with the woman on the chorus with an exotic dialect. "I walk with boldness like Revenge of the Nerds," Sho says of the strength he gets from the Word of God.
He also gives a shout-out to the Bible for shaping his life for better--encouraging him to serve wifey with breakfast, give to the poor, and to repent when he realizes he's been doing wrong.
Sho is keeping tight wraps on "Lions and Liars," but if this song is any indication, the album should attention grabbing and thought-provoking.
Until then, "Word" is available on iTunes and Amazon. There are also special promotions for the song on the Reach Records site. Get it for free by telling five friends, or if you want to pay, Reach allows you to name your price.
I gotta admit that sometimes I judge by the cover. In a positive way. A close examination of wording and images has often led me to thoroughly enjoyable entertainment that I would've never known about if I hadn't been nosy.
Jade Harrell's "Class Reject," released this summer, is the latest Exhibit A for me in this line of thinking. Her CD caught my eye in the urban section of my local Christian bookstore. Her punky hair, Day-Glo clothing and the title's defiant nod to not fitting into the norm stood out with panache.
I was not disappointed by dropping my cash on her album. "Class Reject" is a light-hearted, pop-leaning concoction of dance and rock, with reggae and even a retro R&B moment. Harrell's willingness to bend genres to her versatile alto is enjoyable.
My Top Tracks:
Into the Music: Futuristic escapism at its best.
Me and My Radio: Worship: No club, DJ needed.
Who Are You: Empowerment celebrated, with Ayiesha Woods.
You have probably heard by now that Jin, a secular rapper who, in the last decade, had a lot of buzz from winning freestyle battles on BET and ultimately being signed to Rough Ryders, recently released a Christian hip-hop song, "Welcome to the Light Club," on his Myspace page and his YouTube page.
The song, rhymed over Kanye West's "Amazing," starts out with Jin reading Matthew 5:14-16, with the words posted on the screen. With this nearly three-minute audio clip, Jin shines light on his new life as a growing Christian to the urban masses. "Jesus is the truth; with Him, freedom can be achieved," Jin proclaims on the song.
He lays bare his feelings on his past, of being a rising star in secular hip-hop, only to seemingly crash in a resounding, career-ending blaze after being defeated at a Fight Klub battle by Serius Jones. "Ego crushed, but it also taught me humility," Jin confessed. "I used to hear the side commentary and get upset with it/Until I realized what was said had some sense in it/No excuses for the stupid records that I made/Would I still be saying this if those records had got me paid?/I can't call it/Either way I'm trying to save/What's left of my soul and not just what's going inside my wallet."
The song begs the question, what's next for Jin? Making more hip-hop, with a positive, Christian-influenced edge has not been ruled out, he seems to say. "Common said he used to love H.E.R.; yo, she's still my baby/So it's only right I learn to treat her like a lady/You want raps about pimpin? Killin? Snitchin? Ballin?/You won't get 'em from me, nah, that's not my calling/God Almighty reached out/I mean it sincerely/He spoke to me like Morgan Freeman did to Jim Carrey," the MC states.
Following the release of the audio clip came a video, straight from Jin's kitchen in Hong Kong, and courtesy of his laptop camera. The nearly 10-minute video has answers to all of the questions that have been floating around Christian and secular hip-hop message boards for the past few weeks.
Jin notes that he has been surprised by all of the Web sites, including HolyCulture.net and AllHipHop.com, that have featured the song. With this exposure, plus that of the song being on his personal pages, Jin acknowledged that he has received a lot of e-mails and Myspace comments from people wanting to know if he's a Christian rapper now.
Jin's answer? Yes, without a doubt, he's a Christian. He still raps, albeit in Chinese lately, but he is not opposed to dropping more English tracks in the future. Is he a Christian rapper? "Hey, I'll let you call it," he says.
Though Jin basically identifies himself as a rapper who happens to be a Christian, he doesn't sidestep the issue of his faith, and the fact that he is relatively new to it. By listening to his account on the video, him giving his life to Jesus, unbeknownst to him, has been a long time in coming.
When Jin was eight years old, a beloved aunt of his, whom he has rhymed about previously, offered to have him stay with her in New York, to go to vacation Bible school. He recalls that he was not thrilled with the idea of summer school, but was amped to have a chance to see the Statue of Liberty and do all the other exciting things that his aunt, a devout Christian, had promised.
He agreed to make the trip from Miami to go to VBS. There, he made friends, but he also learned "the basic fundamentals--which is just God's love for all of us, and Jesus, and how great he was, and what a sacrifice he made." He went to VBS roughly between the ages of eight to 13, stopping when it became necessary for him to help out with his family's restaurant. "I accepted Christ at a young age. Never got baptized, but I accepted Christ as my savior."
Though the seed was planted, Jin notes that the relationship didn't grow, aside from him praying in times of personal need. But, God was working behind the scenes. "What I've learned in the last year is that God wants us to turn to Him when we're in trouble, but what makes Him even more happy is when we turn to Him when we're not in trouble, and just being grateful for what He's done for us, and what Jesus has done for us."
Jin getting back on the path to salvation became a done deal last year. Before he moved to Hong Kong, in May of 2008, he met a pastor in January of that year. He told the pastor about his past experiences with Bible school and his aunt. He doesn't divulge what else went down in that conversation, but ultimately that meeting, on a Friday, led Jin to get baptized right away, on Saturday.
"I'm still not a perfect angel now, there's still a lot of things that I'm fighting, there's still a lot of demons that I'm fighting, and a lot of personal devils that I need to overcome, but it definitely was the beginning of a new chapter in my life," he expressed.
Jin feels that God brought him to Hong Kong, where he thought he was going to explore a Cantonese hip-hop career. "As time passed, I realized that God planned all of this....I want to turn to Him now and express to him exactly how grateful I am. I've just been so blessed in the past year."
Now, "it's bigger than me," Jin said, expressing his desire to "publicly declare just how great God is." The rapper asked for us to keep him in his prayers.
He closes the video by acknowledging that he has said and done "some pretty ungodly things," but that he is certain that "the only thing that's going to...enable me to change is the grace of God and the power of God." For him, the journey is just getting started."
I was happy to hear that Jin had put out a Christian hip-hop song but, like many of you, didn't know what to make of it. Was he really a practicing, authentic Christian? Was he just trying to get shine in the CHH arena after having to bow out of the secular one? Was this a one-time deal?
Only God and Jin know what's next, but I have to commend Jin for being honest about his spiritual state of mind, and his love for Christ. I pray that his plain talking, his detailed testimony, and his willingness to confess why he loves the Lord will inspire others.
Consider this a sizable spiritual coup d'etat, even if Jin doesn't drop another obviously Christian rhyme. He still has many fans, who are potential souls for Christ, as noted by approximately 200 comments each for the "Light Club" video and the explanatory video, titled "Jin....From battle rapper to Christian rapper?!"
"yungblackcat," a commenter to the "Light Club" video post, recalled how Jin never tried to embarrass his foes in freestyle battles, but rather tried to overcome with lyrical ability. "That's what I always liked about you. And now you're saved, that's even better," he expressed. Of the testimony video, "amberannan" said, "I feel the Holy Spirit in your words. What a wonderful testimony. You inspire people like me who are living in Today's world. We can be young, modern and Christian. Thank you." "Onlywon" added: "Much love Jin. Been prayin' for you for years. A real blessing to know that God answered both of ours." Let's hope that Jin's testimony inspires others to consider a life for Christ.
One thing I've learned recently when hip-hop and Christianity have crossed paths in the news is that secular fans aren't necessarily as close-minded to Christian beliefs or as "brainwashed" by the world as some of us may think they are. I was impressed by the number of people on popular secular hip-hop site The Smoking Section who didn't fall for the okey-doke when Jay-Z released a T-shirt emblazoned with "The Return of the God," referring to himself, in promotion of his new album. Comments on that particular post called the pronouncement blasphemy, expressed displeasure at Jay-Z for equating himself to God or, at the very least, complained that the T-shirt was in bad taste. We may have good opportunities to help make a positive change in others' lives.
I would hope that hearing a story like Jin's, of secular rappers heeding God's call, will become more and more commonplace, whether those who are called continue rapping, in a Godly manner, or simply leave the secular arena to focus their personal lives on Christ. I hope that we will give these people the support that they need as new members of the body. We need to recall the struggles we faced in taking that step forward; imagine how much more challenging it must be for someone in the public eye to shed a negative identity that has given them psychological and financial worth, or to quiet the voices of industry folks and "friends" who don't have their best interests at heart, to hear God's still, small voice. Just as it has been a process for us, it is a process for people like Jin. The same goes for any fans of Jin's who want to find out more about his God. Let's show people the love that the Holy Spirit has given us--the clothes of compassion described in Colossians 3:12-13.
A trip to Gospelpundit.com reminded me that Kierra "Kiki" Sheard's "Kiki's Mixtape" is coming out next week as well.
Take a trip over to EJ's page to hear an exclusive, the track "Teach Me." The midtempo song has a smooth, live neosoul sound, with percolating drums framing Kiki's lush vocals. "Lord, teach me to be like you, I wanna be pleasing/I wanna trust you, I wanna be like you," she prays.
World-famous reggae veteran Papa San, having come to Christ more than 10 years ago, has released another Christian offering, "Higher Heights." The 16-tracks don't skimp on the "style and fashion" that fans of the former secular toaster, an annual performer at Jamaica's legendary Sting concert, according to a Wikipedia page, came to love from him.
Papa San, dubbed "Marathon Man" for regularly offering a barrage of popular songs at once, has done it again. All of the songs on "Higher Heights" are enjoyable, for different reasons. Styles range from organic, rootsy tracks to dancehall-flavored ones. Topics range from praising God to church goings-on, to uplifting city dwellers.
Secular reggae interestingly mixes "spiritual" fare into its popular music without anyone protesting, though many of the songs are Rastafarian in nature. Its refreshing to hear quality Christian riddims from Papa San.
My Top Tracks:
Fa Sure: Jesus has the cure.
Higher Heights: Call 'pon the flock's Shepherd.
Ina the Ghetto: Hope for the concrete jungle.
Disaster: Easygoing percussion under convicting lyrics.
Psalms says to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord," but it essentially gives us carte blanche on the "how" of it. Thankfully, there are many flavors of praise music for our many moods and needs.
Shachah, “four dudes from So.Cal,” defies staying in one lane on their latest, "Let the Light in." Rock, pop, and reggae (with Jahaziel dropping in on ragga toasting duties) moments are all present. The group hit my ears lovely with the collabo they did with John Wells (aka The Tonic), "Deliver Us," a rousing rap-rock hybrid. Hip-hop shows up elsewhere, thanks to Brenden Mcpeek from the group, as well as The Tonic and Phanatik.
Shachah is Hebrew for "worship," and the guys definitely bring the noise. If you want to diversify your praise experience, this album will do nicely.
My Top Tracks:
None Foresaken: Jammin' reminder of God's promises.
Man, I should've been at my computer on Labor Day! I read the Tweets via phone about this song, featuring the Frontlynaz, J.R., Eddie Nigma, J. Johnson and Viktory, but just listened to it today.
That's what I get for sleeping. This is straight heat, from the MCs going in, to J.R.'s impassioned chorus, to Wit's sonic alchemy--a little bit of the original G-Styles beat, a little nod to the old school (I'm hearing the flavor of Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid in Full" and Boogie Down Productions' "The Bridge Is Over," I believe?) and a smattering of futuristic keyboarding.
Song is available for download at Da South. It needs to be in your iPod, stat.
I heard this song on the DJ Wade-O Radio Show a few weeks back but didn't get to check the playlist to see who the personnel was. A Web crawl for new music solved the mystery for me!
The artist is S.O., which is an abbreviation of his name, Seun Otukpe. S.O. hails from Durham, UK by way of Nigeria. He began his hip-hop ministry in 2006, according to his Myspace page, and has been on tracks with UK CHH gospel acts including Jahaziel and Four Kornerz.
If you haven't already, feast your ears on "Love Is:
The song, produced by Battle Axe, has a classic hip-hop sound, with a sparse boom-bap beat embellished with a light touch of piano. On it, S.O. gives praise for God's love, the realest there is. "True love is found in the Gospel," he reminds us.
Want more from S.O.? He is currently hard at work on writing and recording for a future EP, to be called "Bridgin' the Gap." Battle Axe will be producing all the EP tracks.
The URL of this site is Prodigalreturn.blogspot.com to mirror the Bible's story of the prodigal son because, like that son, many of God's sons and daughters are making our way back to the Holy Father after trying things our way and getting into all sorts of trouble. I am setting out to have a stronger relationship with the Lord, and plan to share with you encouraging music, books and other things that inspire me. I have been a reporter and editor for industry and publishing. I have covered business management, health care, and secular urban music (including a couple reviews in The Source and an internship at Rolling Stone). I plan to use the skills I learned from the School of Hard Knocks and Temple University to help you (and me) in our spiritual search.
I am a Christian and a writer. I love music and am also winning at the battle of the bulge! I have a blog on urban Christian music and one on how to lose weight but not lose taste when it comes to food choices. Please feel free to check in from time to time on my progress with my Christian journey and my weight loss!
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