i-witness – “Free”
Released: 11/11/2011
Reviewed by: WyldBill “The Khalifa”
Rating:  6.9 (Out of 10)

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Heath Honzell who is known by his moniker, i-witness, is from Pittsburg, TX, a small town of about 4,000 people, but currently resides in Whitehouse, Texas. He started his mission for Christ after meeting his future wife in 2009. Heath always loved music. Because of the negative impact it had on his life, he started using the mic to impact people’s lives in a positive way. This album titled, “Free” is his debut album that combines real life experiences with urban/underground music. The album features collabs with Manchild (of Mars ill and DeepSpace 5), Johnny Bishop, Redd Lettaz, and Rapture. The Producers on this record are Johnny Bishop, Anno Domini, & The Unbeatables.

Now let’s get into the album. It opens with the “Free” intro that sounds like a well known ministry’s commercial off of The Word Network. I like the quote off the intro “You can’t testify off the stuff you heard, you can only testify off of what you know!”

Longevity Music – “Exposure Compilation”
Released: 2011
Reviewed by: Joshua Dwight
Rating: 7.01 (Out of 10)

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Buy: iTunes | Amazon

expose |ikˈspōz|
verb [ trans. ] (often be exposed)
make (something) visible, typically by uncovering it

Exposure has a theme of exposing people to Christ, Truth, and Real Life Issues like the consequences of selling drugs, etc.

The Compilation project from Longevity Music (founded by Corey Hicks) features artists: Joint Heirz, Moon Man Clique, and Corey Hicks himself. The production is enough to make anyone want to jump to preview the album. The Production is from: Marv4mobeats, Tee Wyla, Chrysbeats, Levester Whte, Higher Innerprice, Esso, Corey Hicks, B. Wright, and Jaleel.

First things first, if you are a Corey Hicks fan… You are delivered the same music you came to love in the first place. Corey Hicks flipped his style of music that most fans are used to (and love), and that’s that grimy, bumping, southern style New Orleans rap.

The tracks that stuck out the most to me on this compilation were: Exposure, Whole 9, The Game, Bold, and My Everything. However I did think that the entire album was fairly decent and noteworthy.

NickdoG – “Disciple of God”
Released: 2011
Reviewed by: Bradford Davis
Rating: 3.1 (Out of 10)

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NickDOG (Disciple of God) has a great story. A man in love with the allure and fantasy of street life, God brought him into His marvelous light. God used the pain from his words, not mine “violence and addiction” reemerging in his life was used to bring him into repentance, truth, and a desire to exalt Christ in his music.  Unfortunately, the artistic quality of Nick the MC, at least in “Disciple of God”, fails in providing a strong backdrop for his faith.

Nick runs into many of the troubles that plague second-tier Christian artists.  He has an interesting subject, sure. He actually has the most interesting Subject in the universe! But, there’s an inability to express the glory of Christ with high quality art. His lyrics just aren’t interesting. Not “bad”, but definitely nothing to get you excited. Important, no necessary elements like skilled wordplay and vivid imagery just aren’t there. His flow falls into the same issue. Decidedly mediocre, Nick’s flow never catches; his timing or cadence, never unique.  In fact, his cadence remains so leveled and similar through much of the album that his delivery could easily be confused with an all-out deadpan. Combine that with Garage Band quality mixing, and you have a weak sound that dampens any MC personality he currently possesses.

D4C – “Unite”
Released: 2011
Reviewed by: Joshua Dwight
Rating: 6.13 (Out of 10)

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A rapper from “Down Under” better known as D4C (Disciple 4 Christ) puts an Australian touch on Christian Hip-Hop bringing a positive message of peace, hope, and love with the release of this project: “Unite”.

Unite is a clear presentation of “The Gospel” and D4C shows how his boast is in the Gospel. It might not be the best album, or album of the year, but it definitely reflects the heart of D4C and paints a picture of who he is, who he wants to be, and his love for God. I was surprised when I found out that all the profits from the album were being given to Diamond Pregnancy Support for awareness and to help women going through pregnancy and thoughts of abortion.

The features on this album are: Sevin, Mark Ant, Genesiz, Tim Turner, Purified, KamBINO, Disciple, Prolifik, R-Swift, Praze, thagoodshepherd, Silaz, Zion, Limerick, and Anneleise Meywes.

Knowing Sevin, KamBINO, and R-Swift were on the album definitely sparked my interest, but when I heard Zion tearing it up on the song “Repent” I had to say that this song probably was one of the ones that stick out the most on this project.

Timmy P – “The Prologue
Released: 2011
Reviewed by: Joshua Dwight
Rating: 6.86 (Out of 10)

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Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Timmy P linked up with Hells Most Wanted Records out of Southwest, Florida in 2009. Now in 2011 he releases “The Prologue”.”The Prologue” is the EP to an upcoming album coming in February entitled “A New Chapter.” This project covers a lot of who Timmy P is, what he represents, where he’s from, what he has been through, and how he was able to overcome a lot of various circumstances. Overall this project tells a story of a man that turns to God for guidance to make it through life.

This album has a pop-rap sound which lately has been an ever-growing genre. Timmy P has a sound and style similar to B. Reith, but yet he has his own unique sound as well which happens to be one of the qualities he strives for. The album is about average, but has one part in which in my opinion places it below average due to a lower appeal.

In the song “Soaring” at about 1:19 he states “Wonder If I Change, How many will I P*** Off”, and even though he may be raised up in an environment where that isn’t considered a swear word there are parents who may be offended by this usage, and may not want their children listening to this. So speaking to the parents: In this song Timmy P uses the “P-Word”. As for stating “Below Average”. I speak on this because out of 20-40 average albums I don’t find content like this.

Rsa – “Fighting Relapse”
Released:  11/01/2011
Reviewed by: WyldBill “The Khalifa”
Rating: 8.45 (Out of 10)

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Corissa Stubbs, known as Rsa (pronounced Rissa) was born in Freeport, Bahamas in 1987. Rsa was raised by her mother and grandmother in the ghetto of Hawksbill. She began writing songs in the 7th grade and by the end of her high school years, she was known for her musical attributes among her peers. In 2005, Rsa began to pursue music seriously. Over a period of time Rsa’s music evolved and touched the hearts of many. Since 2006, Rsa released her first album entitled, The ReBirth. In 2010 she released two mixtapes, Life After Dark and its sequel. Rsa’s Fighting Relapse is a prelude to her forthcoming studio album, Perfection, which is based off of 1&2 Timothy.

Rsa is now, Ark… a Carrier of God’s Glory. Rsa is who she always was… A Child of the True & Living God. Rsa is a Carrier of the Gospel!

Alan C. Duncan & Foster – “Eyes Like Fire”
Released: 2011
Reviewed by: Neil Christian
Rating: 7.8 (Out of 10)

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Music has a timeless quality to it. People who concede that music is subjective often miss the glaring fact that good music touches every soul, regardless of their individual taste and is often universally acclaimed as such. In our little corner of hip-hop, it is a universally agreed upon fact that the 90’s era was the golden age of hip-hop and at the forefront were albums that often featured one emcee/one producer combo. These types of albums, although once a staple in hip-hop from the east coast to the west coast, have seen a steady decline over the years. However, good music never dies and Alan C. Duncan (rapper) and Foster (producer) prove that splendidly.

Kicking this party off is the theme song, appropriately titled Cinémathèque. The sample that kicks things off escapes me. I think it’s a sample from a movie soundtrack (maybe Alan or Foster can confirm?), a well-produced joint that both gives a solid introduction to the rapper and gives breathing room for the producer to showcase his talents as well. A great start to the album. Keeping the great music flowing, the title song, Eyes like Fire, features a great live flute. This is just great music. It also seems that Foster has been heavily influenced by 9^th Wonder which is a marvelous thing to hear.

In fact the whole album is produced well. There are no cotton candy tracks here. Just take That Vibe (So Live) which is a pure hip-hop record with chopped up looped strings quite reminiscent of ^th Wonder. Or consider the Let the Minutes Pass which feels like it would be perfectly at home on Pete Rock record or a ^th Wonder record. In fact, the whole album is like a tribute to classic hip hop. This is so rare in CHH these days and it is a breath of fresh air. Much of CHH sounds the same with no variety in the top 10 tracks, from the beat to bpm to the synths; much of CHH is just music.