DA' T.R.U.T.H. IS A CHRISTIAN LYRICIST WHOSE SKILL THE SECULAR WORLD WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DENY AND ALL CHRISTIANS WHO LOVE HIP HOP SHOULD LISTEN TO.

The Faith is da' t.r.u.t.h.'s best album to date and quite possibly the best christian hip hop album ever produced. The song Civilian takes you back and shows why the album is da' t.r.u.t.h.'s best work to date. He writes, "Tonic told me to write from my soul/And not to think about the reviews/Or the records I sold/And so I did that/Laid back, prayed, got my focus right/Thought about what the culture needs/Not just what the culture likes." The album sounds like he prayed and invited the Holy Spirit to come and speak Biblical truths through him. From start to finish this album speaks da' t.r.u.t.h. of the word of God, through this spiritually gifted lyricist. In the Intro entitled Welcome to the Faith, da' t.r.u.t.h. writes, "I know the culture will/Teach us to be self absorbed/We aint supposed to be self absorbed," and "Everywhere look the focus is I/But we got to say bye-bye why/'Cause in the Kingdom of God/You know my plus I got to die/Takes more than I to survive/So we stand fortified/Salvation is ours like four to five/Or six to seven/Got to stick to the brethren/Break bread, pitch tents together/And lets gather/Rather than stand alone/Don't stand a chance if we stand on our own/'Cause we're prone to stray...We need each other that's been thrown away/Let's get it back now." The first song entitled Our World invites those who constantly invite us into their world, into our Christ centered world. The hook is "Welcome to our world/No killers, drug dealers/guerillas, no villians/Christ told us that most of them won't feel us/Welcome to our world/No Hustlers, customers/Everybody in the building/Get your hands up with the rest of us." The music behind this song has the effect of getting the listener pumped while he celebrates and pays homage to saints who paved the way for modern day christians through their example and teachings. The first verse reads, "If the Game could give props to Biggie, Pac and Dre/And the whole rap world could give love to "J"/And they could pay homage to Jam Master Jay/And commemorate the heroes that passed away/Then I could proceed with what I have to say/And pay respect to all the godly men that passed The Faith/Yeah, they went ahead of us-now the path is straight/And Died so that we could have life past the grave/From the prophets to the priests-we trace it back to the greats...I'm talkin' 'bout what taught them to stay fast and trade/The pleasures of this life for Ahaz's hate/Now they wasn't perfect but play back the tapes/And history will show how the saints' path was shaped." The second verse reads, "People got questions like-how come y'all don't talk about Martin and malcom/But Y'all always talkin' 'bout Calvin and Luther/'Cause these are the dudes that introduced us to truth/And the fruit produced in us is the outcome/So from now until the day that we die/We'll occupy with the things of God when our mouths run/That's unique to the saints-you know how roots run deep in the faith...We're following after the pioneers leading the way/Apostles like Paul and the others that were labeled the way/It was either all or nothing-there could be no more gray/These are the writers of the Bible we believe in today/I know they're gone but not forgotten-when we read them their sway/Is so strong we say so long so the evil-I pray/That his people would be those leaders who say." The third verse is a very powerful invitation and opportunity for those outside the christian faith to get a glimpse and insight into our world as christ centered christians. It reads, "Since the baton has been passed/We want to write 'em a pass and invite them to our world/Where the mind has been transformed/By the power of Christ/We draw lines in the sand/That would explain the unpopular stance/Like pro-life that wouldn't heighten the chance/Of being liked-do we care-I wouldn't lie to my fams/So, while the wicked sing songs that got them in a trance/We sing songs and hymns like the bottom of your pants/'Cause we're different-we bless those that hate us/While on the West coast they say lets load the bangers...Saints in the foreign land-where the best road to fame is/Playing low-praying and saying no/To our fleshly impulses post weighing the pros and cons/We don't close our eyes-we stay sober/So you know that we're opposed to wine/Or at least getting drunk-we propose to our wives/And say I do before we close the blinds/No boasting and pride, no boasting and I/Pray that you and I would be a poster child/In the kingdom of God where Christ is Lord/We submit unto his authority-His righteous word/Life in Christ-otherwise life is a bore/So we abhor evil-that which is a sight for sore eyes." I have always thought that in order to get the secular world's attention and respect and get them to listen, the christian artist has to be as good if not better than all the secular artists out there. The problem is, however, that the christian artists don't get the exposure that the secular artists get-for the most part they don't get play on secular radio, on mtv, or bet-which is exactly why i'm writing this review in the first place. my prayer is that anyone who stumbles across this website might be curious enough to read this review, check out da' t.r.u.t.h., and find out that there is a great alternative out there to the secular hip hop artists out there who fill the minds of their listeners with the darkness of this world. When i started listening to christian music i found the difference to be like night and day. christian music built me up and encouraged me to stay strong in the faith, and worshiping the one living God gives you a high that those you share the gospel with wouldn't believe until they experience it for themselves. In short christian music is life. Secular hip hop especially, but also any other secular music as well, is death. It is either dark and leaves you feeling angry or depressed, wanting money or material things you can't afford, teaches you to worship the opposite sex the way you should be worshiping God, or at its most harmless it is a distraction that keeps the listener from thinking about deeper things such as if there is a God and why we are here on this earth. I used to listen to the darkest of the darkest hip hop, N.W.A.'s "Niggaz 4 Life, Dr. Dre's "The Chronic", Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Doggy Style", and The Gheto Boys albums. Then I started listening to the conscious hip hop like Mos def and Talib Queli. I am proud to say that lyrically speaking da' t.r.u.t.h.'s The Faith is the best album i have ever heard, christian or secular. I can honestly say that in order to do this album justice with this review i have to cite his lyrics here in order to show you what i mean. On the song "Legacy" the second verse comments on how many who call themselves christians today do not live their lives the way Jesus called them to live but try to have their cake and eat it too. You'll see what I mean when you read this verse. Da' t.r.u.t.h. writes, "frustrated by the snares and the toils, parents annoy you/truth of the matter is we're arrogant, spoiled/America's soil has soiled us, sort of/And pastors insist on declaring us royal/And its true that we are but we take it too far/TO THE POINT WHERE WE BREAK AND WE TAKE DOWN THE BAR/AND FORSAKE ALL THE PARTS OF THE FAITH THAT ARE HARD/TO EMBRACE, AFTER ALL WE'VE OUTSMARTED THE MARTYRS/We race up the charts-if you trace it to the start/You will find that the way to escape from the dark/And your wake is to carve off the weight and the heart/Of the truth,UNTIL EVERYBODY LOVES YOU/JESUS SAID WOE TO SAINTS/THAT HOLD THE VIEW THAT YOU CAN GO THROUGH THE FAITH/WITH NOBODY LOATHING YOU, THAT'S A VIEW YOU ONLY CAN HOLD WHEN YOUR HOME IS THE STATES." I wrote some of the lyrics in capital letters to highlight them because it is a powerful and truthful admonishing of American culture. The last verse is about the early christians and their persecution, it reads," The aromas-a stench so they rose up against them/At home and at Rome-throwing stones at the christians/got a hold of them-gripped them, kicked them, scarred them, saw them, sawed them-them were thrown in a pit, with the toads and the vermin-i'm rolling the clips/its urgent the scourges-the groans from the licks/ The anger, the stranglers, the hangers, the danger/For all of the christians that rolled in a clique/Ended up in the teeth of the beast who would feast/On the saints that would preach-they were thrown over cliffs/This is not known to exist in the states/Or the place where home is just bliss/This song is intense-'cause its truth/And i'm trying to convince you that no ones exempt/Yet no one's equipped/Got our phones on our clips/Our focus is both on our loans and our cribs/Our fitness-our business has grown in a pinch/Would you fight would you fall/Would you ball up your fist/WOULD YOU FALTER OR MARCH TO YOUR GRAVE 'CAUSE YOU'RE SAVED/AND YOUR LIFE IS IN CHRIST AND TO DIE IS TO GAIN/WOULD YOU DIE IN HIS NAME/FOR THE RISE OF HIS FAME/DESPISING THE SHAME/'CAUSE YOU'RE PROMISED TO REIGN." There are still more lyrical highlights on the very next song entitled "Go." Da' t.r.u.t.h writes, "Now THERE'S A CROSS THAT I TAKE UP/EVERYDAY THAT I WAKE UP/Its good just to know that I'm saved/That puts a smile on my face/Just thinking about His grace...IT'S ONE THING TO TALK/IT'S ANOTHER THING TO LIVE/LIKE CHRIST WHEN YOU GET WITH YOUR FRIENDS/SO YOU CAN SHOW THEM HOW CHRIST CAN TRANSFORM A LIFE/IN ADDITION TO FORGIVING YOUR SINS." The second verse is also a very powerful commentary and admonishment of the American church, but da' t.r.u.t.h. also encourages christians to share their faith with their friends if they truly love them. It reads, "Sometimes it's beautiful/Other times I'm fuming/When I go to funeral-why/Because the preacher that's ruling/The pulpit is fooling them/Pulling the wool over their eyes/So what's a man to think when in every single case/The preacher boldly exclaims/Though he never claimed to be saved/And he died from AIDS/That he's still in a better place/Now i leave confused/And the people leave confused/And the family is comforted, but/IT'S ALL UNDER THE PRETENSE/THAT ONCE A WEEKEND/IS ALL THAT JESUS WANTS/SO YOU KNOW ITS OUR JOB/TO OPEN UP THEIR EYES/WITH THE TRUTH THAT'S FOUND IN THE SCRIPT/SO WE CAN'T AFFORD TO HIDE/THE TREASURE THAT'S INSIDE/LET'S BLESS THE WORLD WITH THIS WONDERFUL GIFT." The third verse reads, "CAN'T BE ASHAMED/OF GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN/GOT TO PRAY LEAST WE FALL INTO SIN/YOU KNOW THE SIN OF NOT/SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN THE WORD OF GOD/'CAUSE YOU'RE AFRAID OF LOSING A FRIEND/Now if you saw your friend/About to get hit by a car/you would run and push them out of the way/Because you love him/You would shove him/To keep the taker from shoveling that brown dirt over his grave/Now if you would go to great lengths/To save a man's life/'Cause you don't want to see them die in the road/Then tell me how much more/Should you tell them about the Lord/Because you care about the state of his soul...SO KEEP TEACHING-KEEP PREACHING/THE WORLD THEY NEED JESUS/MUCH MORE THAN WE NEED TO BE LIKED." The song "conversations" is a Beautiful song about the intimacy of the christian relationship with God. The opening line simply states, "We can't believe you're mindful of us,"-meaning the one true God of all Creation-da' t.r.u.t.h. continues with,"Your God and we're all reminded we're dust/Got to seek your face/We're gonna go and meet the Father in the secret place/We're His family, man/It's so clear that Yahweh's a family man/So even if you're in Japan/We all talk at the same time like a family plan/He already knows what we need/We talk plain-we aint got to fall on our knees/WHEN YOU STRESSED-YOU AINT GOT TO BLOW ON THEM TREES/JUST REST IN HIM-YEAH, GO ON AND BREATHE/TALK TO GOD TODAY/THERE'S ONLY ONE GOD THAT CAN HERE WHAT YOU SAY/YAHWEH GOD divides night from day/SO GO ON AND TALK-HE PROVIDED A WAY. The third verse reads, "WE CONVERSE LIKE FRIENDS/WITH THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH LIKE THE FIRST AMENDMENT...WE COMMUNICATE WITH THE KING/GO BOLDLY MAN-WE AINT GOT TO WAIT IN THE WINGS...WE CAN TALK TO HIM CORPORATELY OR GO ALL ALONE AND ITS ON...WE GOT TO BOW THE KNEES OF OUR HEARTS/YOU KNOW THE DAILY GRIND IS THE REASON TO START/THE DAY IN HIS PRESENCE-SO EVEN WHEN ITS DARK/WE MUST BE EAGER TO PRAY-IGNORE THE REASONING OF MARTHA/THAT'S THE ONLY PART THAT'S IMPORTANT/AND NECESSARY FOR US TO KEEP AT THE FOREFRONT/WE WANT TO KEEP FULL THE CUP THAT WE POUR FROM/SO WE TALK TO THE FATHER THROUGH JESUS THE LORD'S SON-THAT'S AWESOME!" The only weak parts of the album are because of the music behind the lyrics. The lyrics are extremely skillful and the message is powerful throughout the entirety of the album. The songs "On Duty" and "Turn You Around" for example, though they are backed with unimaginative music and may not be da' T.R.U.T.H.'s strongest offerings lyrically, still contain important biblical truths. The same can be said for the song "Stand" except that the music is absolutely obnoxious and annoying to listen to.