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OK, kiddies. I've decided to use the new Everyday Process album to teach you lesson number one in doing Christian Hip Hop: You don't have to water down the Gospel to sound great and have quality music! Please learn this lesson as quickly as you possibly can. Once you've spent a few years being discipled and building a firm foundation in your new Christian faith, it's absolutely essential that you learn this promptly. Don't be like many others, who often implant themselves in one extreme or the other. This type either spits gloriously the things of God but utilizes wack production and beats, or selects wonderful instrumentation but rhymes lyrics that show a lack of regard for the glorious eternal Christ. Don't fall into either category, kiddies. And in order to effectively teach this principle to you, I'll run through Everyday Process: The Process of Illumination & Elimination and give you several attributes of this superb project by Everyday Process.
Let me start with a listing of general elements this CD brings to the table and provide you guys with some pointers important to your own pursuits. From the very first song, you'll see that the style Mac the doulos and Iz-Real use to spit the Truth is unique and true to their own style. Granted, some people may not gel well with the gritty, energetic flows they bring, but this duo insists on being who they are. Such should be the case with you. If your style is rough and rugged as is theirs, be rough and rugged! As I listened to this project, I was assured I was getting genuine artistry from these brothers, and I enjoyed listening all the more. You'll also notice that these dudes go hard for the Gospel. There's no question in the mind of the listener what their message is and Who they advocate. This album doesn't have to worry about being ambiguous in its content. Clearly, this attribute is another worth emulating. Whatever is worth communicating is also worth grinding out through the process of writing and producing an entire album. Go hard for it like they do, kiddies. Speaking of which, Mac and Iz-Real spill a complete urgency for the Gospel of Christ. They realize time is being wasted and souls lost as time progresses. Their urgency shows they have a passion for Christians living their faith through a proper understanding of the Word, and unbelievers coming into the knowledge of the Truth as soon as possible so their lives of futility can come to a rapid end. Their rallying-cry music gets the listener pumped up for their life's purpose. This album might just stay in your CD players for days on end. As for the lyrics, kiddies, let me be clear. Their hooks are catchy, their lyrics are biblically sound, oftentimes their word usage is clever, and their production sends this entire project into the realm of the exceptional albums of our genre. This is also something to take note of. Be sure your writing goes beyond third grade rhymes. Try and put thought into how you present your content. Be creative and have fun, as I'm sure Mac, Iz-Real, and their other album contributors have done here.
Hey, kiddies, let's take a listen to a few of the tunes on this CD. Yeah, I know: every last one of them is delectable, but we only have time for a few. Ah, check this out. This one is called "All I Need," featuring vocalists La'Tia and Keran. Isn't it gorgeous? I don't know that I've heard too many such love songs to the Lord of this caliber since Christology. What a wonderful illustration of intimacy with a God Who is literally all we need. Oh, and in a similar vein, take a listen to #5, which is appropriately entitled "Grace." This song forces listeners to acknowledge the utter depravity of the flesh and realize we'd literally be a hopeless mess without Christ. This is both a transparent and illuminating track that suggests what few would dare to utter: that all manner of filth would describe our existence without God's amazing grace, including the wretchedness of homosexuality, alcoholism, irresponsibility, drug abuse and insanity. Where would you be if God withdrew even an ounce of His grace from your lives, kiddies? That's what this song dives into. Yo, peep this bangin' example of a beat that goes nuts on your eardrum. "The Afterparty" is a hype jam that gets your body parts wiggling! The chant, "After Earth's the afterparty" makes you celebrate throughout. Its percussion and lyrical combination will have you delightfully focused on your heavenly destination. Ah, and another stylistically superior tune is the one with the southern flavor, called "Holla At Me," featuring Trip Lee. "I guess it's safe to say the Rock's in the building / 2000 years flawless He's still rocking His children," continues the grimy lyrical style of this album but brings some southern charm into the mix. As you are well aware, kiddies, I could go on and on and on. This album has hardcore hits like "Resist the System," which implores the thug dude on the street corner to "Understand it don't matter how much dough you get, dude / when you go ain't none of it going wit' you;" passionate head-nodders with unique flows like "Give 'em The Gospel;" and one huge cypha at the conclusion of the project, called "Everyday All Day Cypha," which includes the likes of Lecrae, the Ambassador, FLAME, Phanatik, and R-Swift. I happen to love well-constructed cyphas in Christian Hip Hop, and this one doesn't disappoint.
Well, kiddies, hopefully this lesson has been successful in encouraging you to produce your artistry with excellence, be deliberate in writing advanced lyrics, infuse passionate and meaningful content, and to be true to your own style. This debut Everyday Process effort has done these things with excellence, and it is a worthy example to those of you who are making your way to the Christian Hip Hop scene. Don't forget: your permission forms for the release party are due next week! Class is dismissed.
Label: Cross Movement Records
Release Date: March 20 2007 Track Listing:
1. Intro (Straight To The Point)
2. Build Up
3. Resist the System
4. Give ‘em The Gospel
5. Grace
6. All I Need featuring La’Tia & Keran
7. Amazed
8. Bangin’ Defined (interlude)
9. Bangin’
10. Holla At Me featuring Trip Lee
11. Live It Up
12. The After Party (interlude)
13. The After Party
14. As Real As It Gets
15. Hey Girl featuring Badia Jeter & J.R.
16. The World Needs Jesus
17. Shine Bright
18. Illumination & Elimination (interlude)
19. Everyday All Day Cypha featuring Lecrae, The Ambassador, FLAME, Phanatik, R-Swift
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