Trip Lee - 20/20 (2008)

01. 20/20 Intro
02. Superstar (Eyes Off Me)
03. Real Vision (feat. Tedashii)
04. Inexhaustible
05. Who Is Like Him?
06. We Told Em
07. Cling To You (feat. Shai Linne)
08. Relief
09. Behold the Spirit
10. Satisfaction (Hedonist)
11. Come Close (feat. Flame & Sho Baraka)
12. Who He Is (feat. Lecrae & Cam)
13. Intimacy
14. True Security
15. Eyes Open (feat. J.R.)
16. Hip Hop

PURCHASE: iTunes, Amazon, and everywhere else.

REVIEW:

There's no doubt about it, this was an incredibly-hyped album. Ever since listeners heard Trip Lee's previous release, "If They Only Knew", they have been longing for more. Being a member of the extremely popular rap group, the 116 Clique, helps a lot as well. Already 20/20 is making a mighty splash only a week after release; especially on iTunes where it is currently sitting at 10th position in the top rap/hip hop albums list with an average score of 5/5 from 70 customer reviews, at the time of writing this, as well as rave customer reviews on other cd/mp3 sites. But is the album really worth all the hype? Let's take a look...

The first thing noticed when listening through 20/20 is that Trip Lee has really improved as an artist since If They Only Knew. His voice sounds more contained and his flow is tighter. His lyricism isn't the best I've heard, but it certainly is well done. It's as good as it can be when rapping from a theological standpoint anyway. And on the theology, whether you agree with it or not, I'm not sure if it works entirely. Now I know I might get shot down for the things I'm about to say but I've been wrestling with this for a long while now, so I'll just get it over with. The thing about Trip Lee's albums (and perhaps several, if not all, albums by 116 Clique artists) is that they can get too deep at times, theologically. What I mean to say is, sometimes the content of songs can get a little to complex for listeners of rap/hip-hop. 116 Clique is all about evangelizing and spreading the gospel yet the terms they talk about sometimes will probably not be understood by most secular listeners. I think more "milk" is needed in Trip Lee's rapping, less "meat". There's no need to go over the top and start speaking like a biblical scholar, especially in the rap/hip-hop genre. That's what I feel anyway.

20/20 covers various topics, most of which only really relate to those who are already Christians, such as, learning to rest in God (Relief), testing things you hear by the Word (Real Vision), the attributes and greatness of God (Inexhaustible, Who Is Like Him?, Who He Is), devotion to God (Who He Is), persuing God (Intimacy), giving glory to God alone (Superstar), and a lot more. One thing is definitely clear, 20/20 is about God, God and more God.


Musically the album is suprisingly diverse with not only the diry south and southern rap you'd expect but also some east coast, soulful and even experimental flavors. Who He Is is an absoulte hit. It's a smashing club-banger with an R&B hook by Cam and features Lecrae who flows through the song smoothly as does Trip himself. Superstar, is basically the first single off the album as it was released to the public before the rest of the album came out, through Trip's myspace, and had been cirulating the net, stirring up quite a buzz. In Superstar Trip Lee conveys the message to all of his fans that the glory shouldn't be going to him but to God, "take your eyes off me, i'm just dust in the mud". It's a grimy, dirty-south sounding track that would be comfortable banging loudly out your car speakers. There are softer songs as well, such as Eyes Open, in which J.R. contributes his melodius voice to the chorus, and Intimacy, a catchy R&B style song featuring Diamone for the chorus. Every track's production is solid and enjoyable.

Overall, Trip Lee has done a great job with this latest project. While it may be a bit too "meaty" for non-believers at times, there's no argument that Trip Lee has a passion for what he does, and the God he serves. This is a great leap above If They Only Knew, so if you enjoyed that you will definitely like this one. I'd recommend 20/20 to any Christian rap fans, but it's probably not a good idea to buy it for your unsaved friends in hopes of reaching out to them.

(If you're looking for evangelical music that non-believers can relate to I'd suggest anything by the Frontlynaz, J. Johnson, Japhia Life, Rob Hodge, etc.. )