producers: sackcloth fashion, profound of the unction

guests: dirt, prohetics, play dough, e-roc, 7lock, b-twice, ahmad, miss moses, others.

A few years ago, I was watching a documentary on hip hop. And there was one moment, where the commentary voice was talking about white rappers / emcees. His case of reasoning was 3rd Bass, what tells you how long ago that was. Now the statement that was made, that hip hop will never fully embrace white emcess, hip hop being the black artform it is. And the same thing, the commentary said about Christianity, that it doesn't have a valid place among the Rakim's and Public Enemy's, the strong stance the Islam had in hip hop.

Of course by now we know better: Eminem blew up and there have been a truckload of artists, that openly talk about (their) Christianity, Jesus, God. Also few years later, along comes the label Syntax Records, who release records on the foundation of the artists outspoken religiousness. So the statement of the documentary is somewhat proven wrong, despite the question remaining if Sackcloth is able to mix the elements. But no one would try to uphold any restrictions, trying to refuse them entry into this field of music.

The live guitar on "Dang" is having us tempted to reach for the fast forward button. The beat is not motivating us to stay for the lyrics, and the hook being rather corny. But the cut opens with Mr Tru saying "approximately one thousand nine hundred and eighty two years after the birth of the messiah / I realized that I'ma have to try to spread the truth like butter / nice and smooth start on one side then move over to the other / brothers battle I rattle ciphers / on point like venomous vipers", what sets the tone for upcoming lyrics, that also combine the bragging with the religious rhetoric. We then continue to the next cut, not without taking in a statement by Absolute1, who says "this ain't for your average hip hop consumer". We will not try to find out why we might be too common for this here, but rather will check out "Pulling A Fast One", that starts alright with strings, but the quick flow is annoying and the hook is pretty awful. But the rhyming again has something to say: "I've never smoked no marijuana and I really never want to / I warn you / I'm on you / gotten choking like a glass of bleach and ammonia / who owns you / you're thinking you're the king when Satan comes and dethrones you / he owns you". We are still tempted to continue to "Subconsciously" and finally things are just right. The beat is cool and we shall rest and listen. Dirt drops by to spit positive rhymes, that are mismatched with this angry delivery though.

Three's more acoustic guitars on "Two Chords", a sung folk type interlude, that remains rather unexplained. With "Victory Guaranteed", featuring Prophetics, an interesting sample, reflecting on what Sackcloth is doing, opens the track. There are very unnecessary comments in this track, that actually take away from the goodwill we have for these cats. The beat is far too off course and is not helping the cause. So let's continue and party, with the badly mixed, again live sounding "Spoon Fed Gospel". It's very hard to pull off live instrumentation, making it sound dope. This is short and fails. Better is "Liquid Demon". Reminding itself of more regular ways of doing things, the message reaches us, as we do remain at ears length.

The keyboard piano shows that the person is able to play the instrument, the humming on "Family Ties", and the eagerness of the drum, all give a gripping vibe, that results in an appealing track. Changing styles again, "Why" caters to the science sound buffs, and once more works. And we seem to be on a run here, as also "We've Only Just Begun" gets our approval and even the live guitar / bass is not totally taking our nods away from the dialoging "Sibling Rivalry". This is again not hesitating to approach real life troubles and problems, this talking about growing life.

Another guest shows up on "Verbal Eyes", with Play Dough appearing on this outdated thump track. Also "Dead Men's Bones (Classic Mix)" isn't having us reach for the repeat button. The Dirt featuring "It's Just Me", the only track not produced by Sackcloth, but by Profound, is not falling into musical pieces. A little guitar is plucking away, not totally amazing us, but also not chasing us away. And once more the vibe completely switches with the quickly paced "Rising Sons (World Beat Remix)" feat. E-Roc attacking us next, almost running away, making us quick enough to catch up and run along. There's a galloping drum coming with this, some insane chorus, and a different approach, that we can actually enjoy. Then there's a whole flock of emcees rhyming over "The Guest List", with 7Lock, B-Twice, Prophetics, Senaj, Miss Moses, Play Dough and Ahmad dropping by to share their views. And to finally round this album out, we get "Roll Back The Stars". While this is totally not hip hop, this guitar and harmonica track is beautifully composed and shows a versatility that was unexpected, and a talent in a different kind of trade.

Whilst there are many statements being made on here that would be worth to reflect about and debate, with the often lackluster beats and the many people not being tempted to have anyone's religiousness being pushed into the forefront, the question remains how many will look past that and check this out. While we are not force fed and often things are kept subtle, we don't have any reason to restrain ourselves from approaching this. But the stereotypes have to be overcome, and the need for a good beat have to be pushed back, to get to the message, that will find us think. It's like, we have to look past the uncomfortable benches in church, to be able to hear the sermon. And if the priest is inspiring enough, it will be worth it.