Best Gospel CD Of The Year!!!
This was one of the best (if not THE best) cd I've gotten this year! The lyrics, production, and singing are outstanding. Canton could easily be a superstar if he went mainstream which makes me admire him even more for doing the gospel music thing. My top 3 songs are "Hater Day," "Kingdom Business," and "My Day" but all of the songs are definitely worth a listen. If you're in to good hip hop and r&b you definitely won't regret getting this one! Positive message + positively good talent & faith = a hit cd.
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WOW!
This is one of the best albums I have heard in years. Every song is great. The sound quality is amazing and the lyrics are clever. "I Won't Stop" - is great track about keep doing what you are doing for Jesus even if you are not famous. You can feel is heart on this one. He is so detailed you can picture is "truck in the muck" and him walking around with his "black backpak." "Hater Day" - is a terrific song about loving your enemies. It puts it in todays terms. "Vacation" - is a track about everyday with Jesus is a vacation. Even the music make you think you are sipping some pineapple juice. I love "Kool" - this song is about a woman praising the Lord. This song is kind of out the box. It makes me thing of what you say to your self when watching a group of praise dancers. I call it "U can do it too. part 2." because in the background he is saying "you can do it too". (See Mr. Dell's track on his album Hope Dealer for the original U can do it too.)My least favorite song is "Pimp Hard." It is as real as the others but the content is not where I am. It is about people who think they are pimps but in the end they get pimped. And, yes, this song has those classic hip hop sound effects of gun shots and ambulance, so don't look for them if you are driving in your car. But these sound effects go with this song. But this CD in any time when you just want to relax and listen to some great clean music.
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Jesus muzik or edited G-Unit?
This CD sounds great - and is extremely catchy - but in the end is somewhat disappointing. The production is amazing and the sound is inspirational - but the lyrics are not always Biblical and the overall message is skewed because of that inconsistency.
Highlights: "Living Clean (My Life)," "Nobody Cared," "Kool"
Disappointments: "The Professional," "24's"
Canton Jones is obviously a talented singer. But some of his lyrics are just off the mark. Look at the song - "The Professional." The hook, "I'm a pro at / watch me go at it" suggests that he is better at praising God than others, that he is a professional - which is confusing and not Biblical.
Look at Matthew 6:5-6 (NLT) "When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you."
The song "24's" is also confusing. This song sounds like an edited version of T.I.'s "24s". "we ride on 24's / we ride on 24's" is continually repeated during the song. It sounds more like the Big Tymers than Jesus Muzik. The song gives the listener the impression that you can - and should - have a sweet ride and salvation. As someone who has struggled with materialism, this message worries me. Because, while we can have nice things and still live for Christ - we are not to be dependent on material goods to find worth and salvation. Our freedom and our true worth is found in trusting Jesus Christ alone. That is a message that is very seldom taught - and is not taught at all in the secular/mainstream. Christian rap should be distinct from the world in lyrics and its message - or else it will lose its effectiveness.
To me, it sounds as if CaJo has tried to separate from the mainstream, but still hasn't completely shed all of the materialism that plagues secular hiphop.
CaJo does have a lot of good tracks on this album. "Vacation," "Living Clean (My Life), "Kool," "My Walk" and "Hater Day" are just a few examples of clean living for Christ and caring for others - and are definitely worth listing to. "Nobody Cared" is an amazing ballad and is deeply inspirational.
"Pimp Hard" is the wildcard. It is an extremely catchy song - I would say a good song - but also has a confusing message.
"I know that yous a pimp and wanna pimp haaard / But in your pimpin you can't never pimp God" - which is true, God cannot be manipulated/mocked.
"nobody gangsta enough / nobody thug enough / you aint that hard" (to get around God) - which is also true, everyone needs God.
So while the message may loosely be there, for me, there's just too much pimp-talk in this song before it gets to the message.
"she's a lesbian you discover. shoot you, then shoots at the cover...," "make a pretty girl feel like a smurf...," "manipulate your mind til your mind is mine..." etc.
It takes until 3:35 until he talks about God. So 1 minute of God and 3:30 of pimp life... My hope is that this song is just targeted towards real pimps, and if this resignates with them - then ok. But, for me, I'm hungry for some scripture - some meat.
Overall - this album is very well produced and lyrically OK. If you're bumping all mainstream - T.I., Usher, Lil Wayne - then you should enjoy this album and its positive message. I definitely recommend this album for non-Christians.
However, if you're a deep-rooted Christian looking for banging beats and in-depth Bible analysis - check out 13 Letters, After the Music Stops and Our World: Redeemed (to name a few).
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His Best CD Yet
You all must cop this cd. I love this cd so much. I listen to it all the time and I have so many favorites I dont think that I can list them all. But heads up this cd is different and you do have to approach it accordingly. No this is not a praise and worship cd so dont expect to have that type of element. This is for all those who like to listen to tight beats, nice production, witty lyrics, and blasting vocals, and not compromise the Gospel. Yes it is all of the above. You can put this in your ride and blast it all the way up and have your very own jam session. This cd will not disappoint.
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