DJ Kelechi : Christian DJ

Artist Title: Kirk Franklin – The Fight of my life

Label: Fo Yo Soul/Zomba

Genre: Gospel

Verdict

Kirk Franklin has produced another masterpiece. Following the same formula he used to great effect in his last full release ‘Hero’, Kirk brings a similar mix of banging RnB anthems and beautiful heartfelt ballads. There is a real sense of honesty as Kirk owns up to the fact (like with many of us) his biggest fight is the battle against himself.

Young people dealing with trails that challenge their faith will connect with the excellent ‘Help me Believe’ whilst the slightly older generation will appreciate being taken back to church when Rance Allen helps out on ‘Little Boy’. Indeed, the lyrics on this track show that Kirk has manoeuvred himself into a position where he can be as ‘real’ (read ‘raw’) as he wants and still be warmly embraced by the church as a whole. The once bad boy is well and truly the golden (read ‘platinum’) boy and I for one continue to welcome each Kirk Franklin release with open arms.

Dancefloor Fillers

I Like Me: There ain’t much more than beat box, hand claps and drums on this beat but it is still a guaranteed club smash. Add rapping from Kirk and the ever eloquent Da TRUTH into the mix and you’ve gone clear!

Still in Love: This is just like ‘Looking for You’, only better. Throwbacks to the 70s / 80s disco funk sound with a sweet vocal arrangement just make it feel like summer.

Praise & Worship Gems

He will Supply: Proper good ‘ol fashioned gospel

Still: Use this one when there’s lots of stuff going on in your life and it’s all getting a bit too much.

Other Standout Tracks

I am God: Toby Mac gets in on the act in this rock enthused screamer of a track.

Little Boy: Stunning vocal performance from guests Rance Allen and Isaac Carree. Also the cheekiest line on the album ‘Let him see yo’ mind, not the crack of your behind!’

Artist – Title: Israel & New Breed – A Deeper Level

Label: Integrity/Provident

Genre: Gospel/Pop

Verdict

There are very few worship outfits with music can transcend cultural barriers and appeal to both the white and black sectors of the church.

With A Deeper Level, Israel does this effortlessly. There is no doubt that this album will top the charts worldwide and further reinforce his position as one of the leading international praise and worship leaders of our time.

Throughout this live recording you will hear songs which have been crafted with Israel’s trademark combination of simple catchy hooks and excellent instrumentation.

This formula is applied excellently to tracts like the rock enthused ‘We Have Overcome’, the anthemic ‘I Know Who I Am’ and the dancehall/reggaeton flavoured ‘With Long Life’. But it will be worship songs like ‘I Will Search’ and ‘Deeper’ which will no doubt find their way into the praise and worship sessions of many a church service worldwide.

Dancefloor Fillers

With Long Life: The verdict is still out in T-bones rap but this is still a huge party track.

Praise & Worship Gems

Deeper: Perfect balance of acoustic guitar, electric guitar and piano combine and you will find yourself crying out ‘God, give us your heart!’

I will search: A worship song of epic proportions. Beautifully written. This one had me and my wife in worship mode for ages on a long drive home recently. It’s one that is designed to usher you into God’s presence.

Other Standout Tracks:

I Know Who I Am: Sing along rock anthem feat Chris Tomlin

Identity: African influenced toe taper/hand clapper

SonyBMG/Integrity
The Gospel music market is not short of compilations, ‘Gotta Have Gospel’ and ‘WOW Gospel’ are both very well established, so this offering needed to come with something different to be worthy of any type of success.
The first question I asked myself was, ‘Does this collection really live up to its name?’  Well… not with the inclusion of Shackles, Mary Mary’s hit of 5 years ago! What’s new about that!  But to be fair, I have to say that SONY BMG and Integrity put in a decent effort and I commend their attempt at highlighting the more progressive side of the genre.
Kiki Sheard’s ‘You Don’t Know’, Trin-I-Tee 5:7’s ‘Holla’ and Martha Munizzi’s ‘Glorious’ have remained firm favourites over the past couple of years.  There are some of the biggest current hits included like Mary Mary’s ‘Believer’, Israel’s ‘Not Forgotten’ and not to mention the huge Kirk Franklin dance-floor filler, ‘Looking For You’.
The most exciting thing about this compilation is the excellent selection of new previously unreleased material from the US and the UK.  (Yes, I did say the UK!).  There is a new piano led ‘Darkchild produced dance track from Virtue.  The UK offers up an intimate acoustic neo-soul ballad Four Kornerz, lyrically brilliant slow jam from Nu Life, and an infectious new groover from Raymond and Co.
There’s even more UK bashment style pressure from Shadrach, but my favourite by far has to be Ekklesia’s foot stomping R’n’B anthem ‘Blessed’.
The overall buzz about this album is one of optimism, and we as consumers in the UK should support it and prove that we have an emerging and vibrant scene here.

Boneyard/Flicker Records
Bone-a-fide is a release worthy of a rapper who has paid his dues and “been ripping mikes since [the days of] tape decks”.  Only the most enduring Holy Hip-Hop fans would know that the MC who is now probably best known for his role as the latino rapper in Beyonce & Cuba’s  ‘Fighting Temptations’ movie has actually been in the ‘game’ for 12 years.  And with this album he makes a power play with a textbook perfect approach to putting a modern day rap album together.
Few would deny T-Bone the credit of being one of the best MCs in the game, with his bi-lingual lyrics, which often shoot out with the speed and ferocity of a high calibre automatic firearm. But this time he has supplemented his wordplay with top quality production from an arsenal of Gospels top producers.
Reporting for production duty are Fred Jerkins of Darkchild, Warryn ‘Baby Dubb’ Campbell, and Teak & Dee Underdone. Teak and Dee combine to create a track that is sinister and bouncy on ‘Let That Thang Go’.  Uncle Freddie is ably assisted by the high- pitched vocals of LeSawn Daniels on the excellent ‘Can I Live’.  Whilst ‘I Been Looking Around’ borrows a vocal sample from Patti LaBelle to great effect in true Kanye West fashion, ‘Follow T’ is three verses of braggadocios  baradoccio ego rap over a banging beat.  Simple.  That is the essence of hip-hop.  How it was always meant to be.

Fruits Productions

That is the question posed on track 3 of this album from Birmingham based rap duo Fruits.  Your answer better be “Really Real” because these rough diamonds of the underground Gospel Rap scene bring the message raw and uncut.  Whilst the production style of Friksun is at times often as dark as a dungeon at midnight, the deep, gritty vocals of HMD bellow out truths with a ferocity that scares my two- year old daughter!
However, the greatest asset of a rough diamond is its purity, and ‘First Fruits’ is a debut album full of hip-hop psalms delivered with a candidness and purity of heart that is quite endearing.
This all goes together to make for some surprisingly powerful tracks, namely ‘Who’s Crackers’, ‘What is Your God?’ and my favourite, ‘God’s Children’.
My fear is that this album will not get the exposure it needs to reach out and touch the hearts of those whom HMD & Fushkin have meant it for. That is exactly what will happen if industry folk take one look at where they are coming from and their style of music without giving the lyrical content a fair hearing.
Don’t sleep on this one. Make sure you check it out for yourselves!