Idiomatic II was released I believe earlier this year in the summer. The album/mixtape is hot and has members of the group that we didn’t see too much of in the previous releases (Elias, MotionPlus and Re:Flex). Here’s a podcast for those who haven’t listened to it yet, to give you a taste of what you’re missing!

Click to Download

Tracklisting

Song (Artist)- Album

Intro feat. Masta Ace (Scribbling Idiots)- Idiomatic II

Make the Call feat. Griffin (Scribbling Idiots)- Idiomatic II

Christ Cypher feat. C-Los, BillyBo and Change (Praverb)- The Gospel Is Free

2nd Time Around feat. Trey-qel  and Scientific (Nomis)- Destined Misconception

Adrenaline feat. Big Rec and ManChild (Cash Hollistah)- The Best of Cash Hollistah…so far

Every Day Ends In Why feat. Deacon the Villain (Scribbling Idiots)- Idiomatic II

Re:Flex the Architect (Scribbling Idiots)- Idiomatic II

Pushing Along (Scribbling Idiots)- Idiomatic II

Just Another Day (LPG)- The Gadfly

Eye to Eye (Lightheaded)- Wrong Way

Tear the Walls Down (K-Drama)- Boombaptism

It’s All About (Scribbling Idiots)- Idiomatic II

Griffin (Scribbling Idiots)- Idiomatic II

It’s that time again people, Christmas and hopefully you have hip hop heads in your family that love to listen to good rap music so here are some albums from this year that you can throw in your loved ones stocking!

Cloud 19 (Braille and S1)- Late last year Braille announced Cloud 19 I was a little skeptical because I wasn’t a big fan of The IV Edition. Cloud 19 came out and I was blown away by everything this album offered. S1 brought banging beats and Braille brought rhymes that made the listener think and made the listener appreciate the art of talented lyricism.

Restocked (TheBreax)- I was introduced to TheBreax early this year on the SphereofHipHop podcast where they played “For What” and “Success”. And yet I still wasn’t entirely sold on them, I ended up picking this and their previous record up because of the guests that appeared on them. And let me tell you TheBreax are legit. They have most mainstream sounding production but it’s still their own and unique. Ruslan is talented and his lyrics are thought-provoking and definitely ask for some introspection.

Black and Read All Over (Sharlok Poems)- Sharlok releases his best project to date in my opinion. This time Sharlok brings Theory Hazit and Oddisee to handle the beats and they we will beat you over the head with the crazy beats they came up with. It has guests Othello, Stro the 89th Key, Propaganda, LMNO, Pigeon John and others. I feel like this release flew under the radar and that people are sleeping on it so wake up and smell the fresh hip hop.

Friends Enemies Apples Apples (Mr. J Medieros)- While I haven’t listened to this album yet, Mr. J has always had a reputation of writing rhymes that dive straight into your heart and soul and make you think about yourself, world issues, the people around you and more. The production is entirely covered by J’s Procussions partner Stro the 89th Key and features guest vocals from Tara Ellis.

Modern Marvels (Theory Hazit)- It’s shipping out in about a week and half and people who’ve listened to it already say it’s sure fire! All the beats are by Toni Shift and features JustMe, Wonder Brown, Tanya Morgan, Aletta and more. Buy it from Sphere and you get the beats from the album a special Illect Recordings shirt and you get a bonus digital album from Theory Lord Fire 2 (which is unreleased Hazit material) for $30.

Honorable Mentions

Guest Room (Cas Metah)
Before the Twilight (JustMe)
Sojournalism (Sojourn)
Kings of Tragedy (Kings of Tragedy…..stop sleeping on this one kids)

Two years ago I remember subscribing to the Illect Recordings email list and receiving the Scribbling Idiots Idiomatic I Mixtape. The mixtape was a classic and introduced a crew that would go on to release their first debut album and most of the members went and released successful solo projects. So naturally when Idiomatic II was released I got that as soon as possible and noticed a couple changes that weren’t seen in their debut album The HaveNots.

Going through the album mixtape you realize there are more posse cuts than there were on the Crew’s previous efforts. Also those same posse cuts and other tracks on the album feature the extended family that we didn’t see too much of in the previous efforts. In an interview with Cas Metah he told there is no more extended family, there’s just the Scribbling Idiots. For those who forgot the Scribbling Idiots are JustMe, Cas Metah, Mouth Warren, Theory Hazit, Wonder Brown, MotionPlus, Elias, Kaboose, MattmaN, Re:Flex the Architect and newcomer MuzeOne. MotionPlus is on a lot more songs, Elias makes a couple of appearances, Kaboose is nowhere to be found and MuzeOne was admitted into SI just before the album finished so he’s only on one track. I talk more about the crew in a moment let’s talk about the tracks.

After Masta Ace gives an intro to the mixtape, you’re instantly beat over the head with a seven minute posse cut featuring a bar verse by every SI member except Kaboose and MuzeOne. After the posse cut we’re treated to Elias rapping and singing over “Welcome to Jamrock”, I absolutely his freestyle here and Elias said that seeing him do that live is even better than it is on the mixtape, which makes want to see him in concert.

To clear up some confusion Griffin doesn’t hold the title of Tunnel Rat and Scribbling Idiot, but he is considered actual family because he’s brothers with SI member Mouth Warren. Put Mouth and Griffin together and you get EDM, the two did a track for Idiomatic II called “All the Data”. The track is fire and will have your head nodding once the song starts, that’s how addicting it is. The two them cover their history and then talk about the hip hop game and how it’s kind of falling apart. The beat is completely left field from the other beats on the mixtape and it’s great.

MotionPlus gives us a freestyle verse and then my second favorite song on the mixtape “Every Day That Ends In Why” which features Cunninlynguists member Deacon the Villain. The song showcases storytelling from JustMe and Mouth Warren. Mouth’s verse is my favorite and tells a story of a guy who’s best friend dated the girl he liked. After the two broke up the guy who liked the girl for so long told his best friend that he liked her, after that the friendship was destroyed. The song has an addicting peaceful but sad beat, but that takes the song to another level. All three emcees verses make the listener think and make the track complete.

“Pushing Along” is my favorite song on the album and has JustMe, Wonder Brown, MotionPlus and Re:Flex on it. They cover the idea of pushing on even when times get tough and things get difficult. MotionPlus kills the chorus on this one and the layout of the song is interesting also. JustMe does a 16 bar verse, Wonder Brown and Motion both get 8 bars and Re:Flex caps the song off with another 16 bar verse.

The Scribbling Idiots bring a great effort on Idiomatic II, however most of the album sounds more like a positive underground hip hop album, rather than a Christian Hip Hop album. The lyricism isn’t always there, “Heads Up” being the prime example. With Idiomatic I you could hear the Christianity, they didn’t stuff it down your throat but it was there. I’m not saying it’s not there with Idiomatic II, it’s just not there as often. Granted the album/mixtape is for every Scribbling Idiots fan on the planet and is a good album/mixtape to put in the stocking this year!

Good

POSSE CUTS!!!

Freestyles from almost every member

Beats are hot!!!

Bad

The Christianity isn’t as evident as it was in previous releases

No Killin’ It Part II

Rating: 4/5 (Get It, It’s by SI Need I Say More)

If You Can’t Buy The Album Download These Songs

Spitting Images

Pushing Along

Every Day That Ends In Why feat. Deacon the Villain

Make the Call feat. Griffin

All The Data (EDM)

Download Here

As I wait for the members of EDM to release their own solo projects I was told on the forums of SphereofHipHop.com that the group released a mixtape called the Def Defying Mixtape. EDM (Every Day Martyrs) is a duo of two brothers Mouf Warren of Scribbling Idiots and Griffin of The Tunnel Rats. Now Mouf Warren is my 2nd favorite rapper of all time and Griffin is 4th favorite rapper of all time so putting them together on one project equals nothing but awesomeness for me. Could this album mixtape be as awesome as I want it to be. One Word: YEEEEEEESSSS!!!

This is another duo album that does most of the things right. The album has guests from their hometown of Defiance, Ohio (which I live in Twinsburg, so I’m assuming Defiance is down south) classic beats from Wu-Tang Clan, Common, Hi-Tek and Just Blaze and others. The album starts off with a hilarious skit, then jumps to the first track on the album “Rulez Cash” using the beat from Wu-Tang Clan’s classic “C.R.E.A.M”. Griffin and a hometown friend of EDM Kaz kill the track. The topic of the track obviously being money and how it clouds the mind of all of us. The beat is hot and the lyrics revive an already classic beat.

So we all know that Mouf Warren and Griffin are brothers, but I didn’t know there was yet another brother with rhyme talent. The song “Cold Food Hot Beer” features the youngest brother Hectic. The track is pretty much saying “Guess what you don’t know the OH-10, but we’re easily one of the best in the game” and I love it. The problem is a lot of the tracks on the mixtape have the topic of saying “Ohio is the place to be for rap”.

“Paper Up” features Kaz (who makes quite a few appearances on the album) whose verses on the mixtape are more or less the same “We rock you suck” which is okay only because EDM changes it up a bit. Griffin’s verse has him dissing the mainstream and at the same telling the listener to take a chance with them.

“Def Tole” is the posse cut on the album featuring Kas, Theory Hazit, Cas Metah and another rapper who I’m not exactly familiar with. Every rapper gets 8-bars and it’s pretty much a freestyle track, but it’s cool none the less.

Griffin showcases his storytelling ability in the track “Nightmare on Clinton Street”. No I pray for Griffin’s sake that the nightmare he describes in this track is something he came up himself (then again if he did come up with it himself his mind is something I’ll never be able to understand). Anyway Griffin does an amazing job painting a picture for the listener. Listening to this you can only hope that you never have a nightmare like this.

“Stay True. Motivate” is my favorite track on the album it features Scribbling Idiots member Cas Metah. The beat for the song is from the classic Common song “I Used To Love H.E.R”. Mouf Warren talks about our motivation to do certain things, such as murder and sin in general. Griffin has one of my favorite verses ever with him talking about his struggle to find motivation and how “In weird way I’m…saying the same people that hated me are the same people that motivating me now”. Cas rhymes on how with out motivation we can’t really get anywhere in life.

The Def Defying Mixtape is a solid mixtape that has classic beats, original beats and talented lyrics. That doesn’t mean that there are no flaws with this. One thing I wasn’t feeling on this mixtape was the language of their guests more specifically of Kaz, he tosses around the N-Word in almost all of his verses. Also the fact that most of the mixtape is basically saying how Ohio is the best in rap. I don’t mind songs like that (I mean “Don’t Doubt” from Cas Metah’s Guest Room was epic) just don’t make half of your album like that. Okay, so Mouf and Griffin have released projects with their respective crew, made an album together can we PLEASE SEE A SOLO PROJECT FROM THESE GUYS (unless that whole Griffin and Cas Metah doing a project is true than I’ll till after that’s released).

The Good

Mouf Warren and Griffin=EPIC

Guests from around the OH-10

Beats from Common, Just Blaze, Hi-Tek and others

19 free tracks of Goodness

The Bad

The tracks about Ohio and it being the best are too many

Too much use of the N-Word

Rating: 4/5 (Good definitely Worth Grabbing….I mean it’s free)

If You Can’t Buy The Album Download These Songs

IF YOU CAN’T BUY THE ALBUM YOU’RE AN IDIOT BECAUSE IT’S FREE!!!

Buy Album Here

So earlier this year I’m sitting in my photography class and instead of doing my assignments I spent my time on SphereofHipHop.com (which could be one of the reasons I got a C in that class and because I didn’t try since it was my senior year and it was a blow off class). Anyway during that period of time of March to about May every time I jumped on the site I saw an advertisement for BillyBo’s album A Little Piece of Home and I was slightly intrigued to pick it up, the only problem was I had already told myself I would wait and buy JustMe’s Before the Twilight and Cas Metah’s Guest Room. The entire time though I was thinking I wonder what BillyBo sounds like. Eventually I got my answer when I received Praverb’s The Gospel Is Free mixtape and that sold me into giving BillyBo a chance. A couple months later, I received A Little Piece of Home in my inbox a couple weeks ago and after a few technical difficulties on my part I finally got to sit down and listen.

The first very notable part of about this album from the start is the creative production this album holds. I’d like to say it’s a mix of country and hip hop, but I think the beats are have a little more edge than country. Whoever made the beats for this album did an amazing job in mixing the countryesque beats with the DJ scratches and it has an addicting vibe to it. The point is the album’s sound is one that we’ve either never heard before or haven’t heard in a real long time.

BillyBo actually reminds me of a different version of Change, one that is more personal yet still hits close to home with his lyrics. The second track on the album “Today” proves my point. This track covers what many numerous tracks cover and the idea never gets old: the journey that we’ve taken from the beginning of our lives to the point where we’ve found Christ and even things we go through after Christ has saved us. BillyBo puts everything out there and I think that makes the listener able to relate to BillyBo even more.

Now I got this album about a week ago and the only reason this review wasn’t out sooner is because I every time I would listen to the album straight through I would never get past “One More Mile”. I heard the track on the Sphere of Hip Hop Podcast (SphereofHipHop.com) and when I received the album I couldn’t stop listening to this song. The beat has somewhat of a dark feel to it, which is perfect for this song and the lyrics that go along with it. Life is rough for all of us, but the road that we travel is even harder for Christians, we all can personally relate to the idea of “One More Mile”. We all work hard and we all work hard to achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves and the goals that God has set before us. For me this song talks about the idea of “being so close, yet so far”. This song is a classic and is one of the songs that deserve to nominated for “Song of the Year”.

“Daddy” is another song that has a topic that has been covered by the likes of MotionPlus, Wonder Brown, EDM and others. The fact that their fathers weren’t there when they needed their fathers. During the first two choruses of the song I got the feeling that BillyBo had some serious hatred for his father. The lyrics to the song is reminiscent of Wonder Brown’s track “Namesake” (from his free EP The Wake). The chorus changes from “Daddy, I hate you” to “Daddy, I love you” which sends a strong message to the listener: we’ve all been mistreated, but we’re called to love everyone just the same.

A Little Piece of Home is a solid album that’s filled with creativity and lyrics that should hit home to the listener. BillyBo even brings along guests: reSearch, Cas Metah, Change, ManChild, Aaron Paul and Phynite, plus the production the unique. The only thing I can say I wasn’t feeling was the remix of “One More Mile” at the end of the album. Other than that go grab this album you won’t regret it.

The Good

Production is one of kind and unique (wait a minute I could’ve swore we asked BillyBo if he could get the instrumentals for this album in the Sphere forums…)

Lyrics hit home and allow the listener to relate even more to BillyBo

“One More Mile” LISTEN TO IT YOU’LL KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!!

The Bad

The beats from the album while they are creative, sometimes slow down the flow of the album.

Rating: 4/5 (Good Album/ Definitely Worthy Of Your Music Collection)

If You Can’t Buy The Album Download These Songs

ONE MORE MILE!!!

The Records That Changed My Life

Daddy

Yesterday

Chains and Things feat. ReSearch and Aaron Paul

So duos are awesome if you guys didn’t know so I dedicated a podcast to them. This episode features classic duos:

Solseekers, EDM, The Brainwash Projects, LPG, JustMe and Cas Metah and many others.

Click to Download

So I got a chance to interview the founder of The Scribbling Idiots JustMe and here it is!

BigSto: Ok JustMe, even though you’re the third Scribbling Idiot to come through here (Cas Metah & Wonder Brown being the others) it’s a great honor to be interviewing you and congrats on the albums you’ve released the and the success you’ve garnered over the years.

You’ve been part of many classic duos. You’ve been in duos with Sintax, Cas Metah and Capture (if there’s more let me know). What was it like working with these guys?

JustMe: A pain in the butt! LOL! Nah, it has been an honor to work with each one of these guys. Capture and I met in high school, so we knew each other for awhile before we started working together. It was a very good situation because we were both part of a very close-knit crew. We were young, and the guys in Future Shock were like mentors to us. Redbonz (now Ahred) was a spiritual mentor, and we learned a lot about the creative process from Ajax and Sojourn. So we really grew up in “the game” together.

Cas isn’t a lot younger than me, but he was a lot younger in Christ, and a lot less experienced in hip-hop when we hooked up. Cas is a work horse though! He’s a studio rat, for sure. He has a very good work ethic. It’s funny, we really click creatively, but we have knocked heads many times over the past 6 years. He’s like my little brother.

Sintax is the homie! He’s a very good guy, and I really appreciate his friendship. We did the Merciless EP in like two weeks! No lie! From conception to handing it in to be mixed. It was really thrown together, but we were happy with the outcome. I called him with the idea. He was like “if we’re going to do this we gotta do it quick.” I sent him the beats. We brainstormed on the concepts. He recorded his parts and sent them to me, and I finished it off.

BigSto: You’ve been a Tunnel Rat and now a Scribbling Idiot how did you get through all that without exploding?

JustMe: Well, SI wouldn’t be SI if it weren’t for my experience in TunnelRats. I was the baby when I was in TRz, so I got a lot of correction. I learned how to handle myself in the studio and on stage. I learned how to put songs together. I learned from my mistakes, and I think I learned from the mistakes of my elders too. It ain’t easy though. It’s a great responsibility to represent the kingdom of God in hip-hop. I could always tell you that the priorities were Christ, family, THEN hip-hop, but I didn’t always live that way. In fact, I would say that I’ve only truly owned that mantra for the last couple of years.

When you’re in a crew, everyone’s in different places as far as their walk with God. I’m reminded just how important the accountability is within the crew dynamic. It’s important to always keep the main thing (Christ), the main thing.

BigSto: One Man’s Trash was the first Christian Hip Hop album I bought after my cousin introduced me to it about three years ago, tell me what that process was like and what message you were trying to convey with your first LP?

JustMe: Props to your cousin! I started working on One Man’s Trash before Scribbling Idiots even existed. When I met Cas, and we started working on our first record, I made that the priority. After we put out Scribbling Idiots Presents JustMe & Cas Metah, we immediately started working on Idiomatic Volume 1. Once the mixtape dropped, I finished One Man’s Trash.

If you listen close, you can notice that the album is like a reality show. It’s like Ed TV. OMT is two days in the life of Justin Long. In other words, it’s just real life situations: day dreaming, a bad day at work, being a father and a husband, and seeing God working it all together for my good.

BigSto: I think JustMe and Cas Metah Are Unemployed is the epitome of a duo doing an album front to back. Everything was in that album, battle raps, serious raps, guests and most importantly the chemistry between the two of you shined in that album. How’d you guys do it?

JustMe: My family had just moved into a new house, and Cas was living with us. I lost my job, so I had a couple weeks off. We did the album during those two weeks. There is a lot of emotion on that record. We were both going through some junk, and God was breaking us. Recording the album was a great outlet.

BigSto: When the listener puts down a JustMe project what do you want the listener to feel or think when they’re done?

Um, I want people to feel inspired after listening to my music. I want people to think about their purpose and what they’re doing to fulfill that purpose. BUT…sometimes I just want the listener to think I’m dope. LOL!

BigSto: You just released Before The Twilight which was entirely produced by Commissioner Gordon, how did you and Comgo come to make this project and why did you choose him to produce your album?

JustMe: We met ComGo on myspace when we were making Unemployed. He had two of the best beats on the record.

I knew that I wanted my next album to be one producer and one emcee. Initially I was going to do everything by myself, but it would have been too much for me, so I went to a dope producer that was fairly unknown. I think that way it is mutually beneficial. I got to make songs with dope beats, and he got his name out there some more.

BigSto: Before The Twilight is your best work so far in my opinion what message were trying to send with this album?

JustMe: There are two times, that I recall, during my rap career, when I have written something without fully comprehending what I have written. That was the case when I named my new album Before The Twilight. I had my reasons:

“Before the twilight is when the sun shines bright
and before your twilight is your prime”
- JustMe from “Twilight”

Recently though, as I studied the parallels between the Jewish Feasts and Jesus, God revealed to me a much greater meaning to this title. In chapter 23 of The Book of Leviticus, YHWH instructs Moses on how the Israelites are to observe The Feasts of the LORD. These feasts are of great prophetic significance!

‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD’S Passover.
Leviticus 23:5

Passover is a feast commemorating Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. A lamb is sacrificed for each family to symbolize how the blood of the lamb saved them from God’s wrath.

Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
1 Corinthians 5:7

Jesus, The Lamb of God laid down His life to save us from God’s judgment on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight! The suffering of Christ between The Last Supper and His death is commonly known as His passion, so His passion took place before the twilight! Okay, maybe it’s a stretch, but Before The Twilight is my passion! The album is an expression of my passion in the relationships that define my life: my relationship with Christ, my relationships with my wife and son, and my relationships with my friends.

BigSto: With this release behind you what’s next for you and the SI crew?

JustMe: We just dropped Idiomatic 2, which is like a hood album, part mixtape, part album, all grimey hip-hop.

We have some big plans for the immediate future. We’re going to be offering a subscription service that fits in great with today’s technology advances. Be on the lookout for that.

Personally, I think that you may see me moving into more of a teaching role. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to do many of the things I dreamed of as a young hip-hop head. It’s time for me to help the next generation understand what it’s really all about.

BigSto: Speaking of SI you guys just added MuzeOne to the crew, how exactly did that go down and why did you guys recruit him to be on the team?

JustMe: Wonder Brown has been friends with muzeOne for a minute. He had mentioned him a couple times to me. We weren’t looking to recruit new members, we just thought if someone comes along that just belongs in the crew, we gotta let it happen. Then muze signed with Illect, then we got to spend some time with him during GMA week in Nashville. It was a no-brainer. He’s a dope emcee, a pretty good producer, and does his thing on web design stuff too. Most importantly, his heart is in the right place. He was already a Scribbling Idiot before we asked him. We just made it official.

BigSto: So when you’re not killing tracks what else does JustMe do in his downtime?

JustMe: What’s downtime?

I spend time with my family. I study and read a lot. I serve at my church. Stuff like that.

BigSto: One thing I’ve always wanted to ask a Christian Rapper is what is your true opinion of the mainstream hip hop business?

JustMe: I don’t differentiate between the “christian market” and the “secular market”. The business works the same way on both sides. I would say if you’re not good enough to rap in the local scene, then don’t rap anywhere. I know there’s a lot of cats out there that feel just fine rapping at there church for youth group kids, knowing darn well they wouldn’t take that weak stuff to an open mic. That’s unacceptable. I do the same songs at my church that I do at the bar the night before. The message is the same: love God and love your neighbor.

BigSto: Now the world isn’t in the best place right now, do you believe the world can get out of it even though the majority of the world aren’t exactly followers of Christ?

JustMe: No. The world is in a constant state of entropy. That means stuff is breaking down, falling apart, dying, etc. The only way to stop death is to start living. You start living by being born again. Jesus said that He is not of this world, and likewise His disciples are not of this world. This world will pass away.

BigSto: You obviously have the talent to make it in the mainstream have you ever considered it?

JustMe: I don’t think you choose whether to stay underground or not, it chooses you. I won’t compromise, I know that.

BigSto: We’re trying to do right in a world surrounded by wrong doing, what can we do to not only focus on doing right, but making sure that we share the gospel with as many people as possible?

JustMe: If you live your life to honor God, those opportunities will come. If you do not “do unto others”, then what you say to others is useless.

BigSto: This is more of question for my own benefit, but I think one of the hardest transitions in life is leaving home and still being able to stay focused on Christ when you don’t have parents on your back the whole time. How did you do it and what advice can you give to other teens about how to make that transition?

JustMe: I decided that I was going to serve Christ when I was about eighteen, so I’m glad you asked this. I was blessed to be part of a crew that kept me accountable. I think the best thing that a young adult Christian can do is surround themselves with like-minded followers, and wise counsellors.

BigSto: I think one problem that is thrown on the back burner is our problem with Confidence more specifically our lack of it. Why do you think a lot of us have a problem with Confidence and how do we solve it?

JustMe: I’m probably not the best person to ask about this. I’ve never really lacked in confidence. In fact, I had to be broken of my confidence in myself in order to put my confidence in The Holy Spirit. I do think that those who are in a position to lead need to put others in a position to succeed.

I promise you this: if you ask God to use you, He will.

BigSto: Abortion…a subject that causes controversy on all sides, some say it’s ok because the baby isn’t technically alive yet, others say it’s alive in the womb thus making it wrong, where do you stand? Why?

JustMe: I have a son. I was there for the first sonogram at ten weeks. My son had a heartbeat. He was alive. A new study was performed recently that showed that a baby, seven weeks in the womb, reacts to changes in the rhythm of a drum. That means they’re not only alive, but cognitive. I think abortion is murder. I think that when a young lady, or any lady for that matter, makes the decision to have an abortion, they’re usually trying to reverse the effects of a poor decision by making another poor decision. It doesn’t make sense. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

BigSto: OK JustMe thanks for stopping by, anything else you want your fans to know?

JustMe: Thank you, it was fun. I appreciate all your support. Peace and God bless.

Praverb, while he’s brand new in my eyes the lyrics he uses are that of a talented veteran. Those how’ve been picking this year’s recent releases he was on Cas Metah’s Guest Room and Change’s The Stimulus Plan EP. After “Dedication” on Change’s EP I was intrigued to see what this artist had released in the past. In the year 2007 Praverb released Center of Attention and while the beats aren’t on the level of a Theory Hazit, S1, 9th Wonder, Ohmega Watts or Dert, the lyrics are on point.

While I usually hate comparing albums to other albums, I’d compare this album to the Surreal and The Sound Providers album True Indeed and Playdough’s Don’t Drink The Water. It’s a great album to listen to from front to back, but it’s missing something and in this release it’s just missing more energy (ala DeepSpace5’s first release A Night We Called It Day).

But like I said Praverb’s lyrics are what sell this album and what should get Christian Hip Hop fans ready to buy this album. “Dead 2 Sin” is my favorite song mostly because Christians should easily be able relate to the subject of this song. One of the things Praverb does really well, is show his ability to relate to the listeners. It basically tells of the change that we all go through after we’ve been saved by the grace of God. A lot of us don’t realize the drastic change, in behavior, language and faith towards God. The chorus of this song tells the message and questions we should all ask:

Am I dead to sin, alive in Christ
Do I follow the land, do I strive for life
Do I do what I can, do I fly with sight
Am I dead to sin, I might raise tonight

This song should be the anthem to Christians everywhere who are walking with Christ, we should all strive to do our best to promote God’s Word with the way we walk and the words we say.

“I Grind” is another great track on this album that has a vintage feel to the beat. It’s about how we’re all on the grind, we all have to work hard every single just to make it in this world. Praverb raps about how he’s on the grind, he’s working hard, doing the right things and it’s still a challenge to pay the rent. What sticks out the most is he’s not chasing the money, not looking for fame and still things aren’t going as planned, which explains our lives as Christians. The one thing Praverb never does though is give up and we should follow that example.

“Tatianna” is the track that got emotionally involved in this album and showcases Praverb’s storytelling ability and I promise you it doesn’t disappoint. The track tells a story of a girl who was abused and…..you know what I’m not gonna ruin the story for you, but it should have your attention from the minute the song starts, till the track ends. The track should remind some of Braille’s “He and She” from his Scatterbrain album or I think the best example would be Change’s “She Sings” from his Same As It Never Was album.

Praverb brings a solid release with Center of Attention, like I said the only gripe I have with this album is the lack of energy from a production standpoint. The beats are ok some standouts include “Tatianna”, “Dead 2 Sin” and both remix tracks at the end of the album. What makes this album a talent is Praverb’s lyrics, he makes sure the listener knows that he goes through the same things we do. Lyricist fans will fall in love with Praverb’s lyrical style. Now Center of Attention was released 2 years sounds like cough….it’s time for….cough….another release….cough….oh sorry sinuses.

The Good

Praverb’s lyrical style=WIN!

Praverb’s ability to relate to the listener is always pleasing to the ears

“Tatianna” the listener can’t help but be emotionally attached to this track

The Bad

The beats are hit or miss

Where are the guests?!

Rating: 4/5 (Good album/Go Get It You’ll Like It)

If You Can’t Buy The Album Download These Songs

Dead 2 Sin

Tatianna

I Grind feat. Trinidad

Time Is Ticking

Represent

As some of you have noticed I reviewed Change’s The Stimulus Plan and the album is featured on this podcast along with other tracks that a dark sound production wise, but a very strong message lyrically…I call it The Lyrical Stimulus Plan! Take A Listen!!!

Click To Download

Track (Artist)- Album

Family Ties produced by Anno Domini (Change)- The Stimulus Plan

Crippling feat. R.U.S.H (Cas Metah)- Providence Road

If I Don’t Make (DeepSpace5)- Unique Just Like Everyone Else

Mama Don’t Cry (Surreal)- Pardon My Dust

Savior (Change)- Same As It Never Was

Dedication feat. Praverb (Change)- The Stimulus Plan

Inside Out (Mars ILL)- Backbreakanomics

Remember (The Tunnel Rats)- Tunnel Vision

American Fado feat. Renee Alston (The Procussions)- 5 Sparrows for 2 Cents

Forgive Me (Sharlok Poems)- Blooming Sounds

An Excellent Few feat. Sintax and ManChild produced by Mouf Warren (Change)- The Stimulus Plan

Perspective (TheBreax)- Restocked

Girl, Interrupted produced by Flynn (L.A Symphony)- Unleashed

Together (Theory Hazit)- Lord Fire produced by Vintage

Bonus Track feat. 3rd Degree (Cas Metah)- Guest Room

Seasons produced by JustMe (Motion Plus)- The Sound Protest

Not A Stranger feat. Elias (Change)- The Stimulus Plan

In 2003 The Tunnel Rats released Underground Rise: Sunrise/Sunset with quite possibly the most guest appearances on a Christian Hip Hop album ever. Now six years later Cas Metah has released Guest Room with over 40 guest appearances from artists all over the Christian Hip Hop world, East Coast, West Coast and everything in between, Cas even brings some underground artists from the OH10 to join the party. Guest appearances from members of the Tunnel Rats, DeepSpace5, The Remnant, The Scribbling Idiots, Lightheaded, Future Shock and other artists. Production is also done from all whole spectrum of producers, Dust, Playdough, Vintage, Theory Hazit, Dert and once again many others. So Cas brought the guest appearances (which is a plus in my book) but do these guests deliver on this album?

So after listening to a message from Playdough (where Play-Doug-H calls Cas out on his “frail” body) we are introduced to the first track on the album “I Strain” featuring Cas Metah’s partner in crime JustMe and an appearance from the Cunninlynguists. The track at least in my eyes is about how we have to struggle to accomplish the things we want to in life. JustMe handles a verse and the hook on the track, but most importantly the production is solid on this track (and most of the album for the most part).

The track “Front Runner” is the first out of three tracks that has a whole slew of guest appearances from all over the Christian Hip Hop world. “Front Runner” features Ahred, Sojourn, Ajax Starglider (Future Shock), Sintax The Terrific (DeepSpace5), Sev Statik (DeepSpace5/Tunnel Rats), Griffin (Tunnel Rats) and JustMe (Scribbling Idiots). It’s basically the mainstream rap beat down track and I love it, Griffin’s verse is my favorite verse on that track where he acts as a tour guide and mentor for those who want to be “Front Runners”:

“So you want to be Front Runner huh, be a vicious contender
My name is Griff, let me aid you in your business venture
Any rumor you heard about it is nonsense
Acquiring the title is a serious process”

The “Told You So (remix)” is produced by Theory Hazit and features Masta Ace (who was on the “Told You So” original which is on The Have Nots), JustMe and we also get a verse from Theory Hazit. This is one of my favorite tracks from the album, it’s pretty much a battle rap track and all the emcees kill their verse. Theory lets you know “that there’s no punk in my DNA”, Masta Ace that even though “I’m old in age I control the stage” and Cas Metah has one of my favorite lines on this album “Now I’m rocking on the stage, already waiting for haters to fall in line…got them mad at Cas for collaborating with greatest of all time”. After listening to the entire album (Because I was so happy just to have the album) I went back and listened to this (and a couple other songs numerous times….after finally moving on to listen to JustMe’s Before The Twilight)

Since there space constraints with this I have to skip a couple of memorable songs on this album (“Real feat. Mouf Warren and Holmskillet”, “Rhyme Life feat. Listener and Ruffian”, “Die Trying feat. Chapter 13”, “Find Time feat. BC and Playdough) which brings us to “2nd Second (see what he did with the title HA!)” this features Every Day Martyrs (Griffin and Mouf Warren) and Deuce Complex (who I’m not exactly familiar with, but I do know him and Cas made a mixtape a while ago). I can’t remember who produced the beat but the beat has kind of a dark feel to it. I love the hook that Cas used for this song it fits the beat perfectly.

Hopefully by now you’ve been convinced that this album is worth buying, but if you haven’t been convinced yet, the track “Don’t Doubt” featuring Theory Hazit, Wonder Brown, K-Drama, Kaz, Mouf Warren, Griffin and Intellect who all happen to be emcees from OHIO. I love this track, but my opinion is somewhat bias since I live in Twinsburg, Ohio but the production is also solid. This song is all about Ohio Pride and is just a fun track to listen to production and the lyrics are solid.

Guest Room is the Christian Hip Hop catalog that people that are on the fence about whether or not they should listen to Christian Hip Hop need to listen to. I highly doubt that anyone will be able to top the number of guest appearances on this album and it was nice to hear different voices from all over the Christian Hip Hop world. Go pick up Guest Room LIKE RIGHT NOW!!!!!

The Good

OVER 40 GUESTS!!!
Production from all types of producers
Memorable verses from just about every song on this album
The Bonus Track!!!
The beats from Theory Hazit (“Told You So”) and Muneshine (“Laying the Foundation)

The Bad

The album kind of loses steam towards the end of the album

Rating: 4.5/5 (ALMOST CLASSIC GET THE ALBUM KIDS!!!)

If You Can’t Buy The Album (and you better) Download These Songs

Told You So (remix) feat. Theory Hazit, Masta Ace and JustMe produced by Theory Hazit
Real feat. Mouf Warren and Holmskillet produced by Vintage
Laying the Foundation feat. Lightheaded produced by Muneshine
Don’t Doubt feat. Theory Hazit, Wonder Brown, K-Drama, Kaz, Griffin, Mouf Warren, Intellect
2nd Second feat. EDM and Deuce Complex