Praverb The Wyse - The Gospel is FREE 2: The Rebirth [FREE DOWNLOAD]

01. Intro
02. Back With Heat (ft. Nametag, DJ Grazzhoppa)
03. CJ The Genesis on the BEAT
04. Rock On (ft. Blame One, Theo 3, DJ Grazzhoppa)
05. Dependant On Me
06. Reason I Rise (ft. C.B. News, Jo Blunt)
07. Tru Master Freeverse
08. The G.OD. (feat. ReuM)
09. We Are All One
10. 1Mic
11. Blessed With the Gift
12. Very Lyrical (Cuts By DJ cazz)
13. The Conculsion

Phil “The Voice” Roberts’ Debut Album “Loud And Clear” Releases November 11, 2010

Vine Style Records is proud to announce the debut album of Phil “The Voice” Roberts, entitled “Loud and Clear” on November 11, 2010. You can get a free download of the single "Pour My Heart Out" & see the new video at www.vinestylerecords.com

Full press release and bio is below:

90K Watts - Los Angeles, California, September 16, 2010 – Vine Style Records is proud to announce the debut album of Phil “The Voice” Roberts, entitled “Loud and Clear” on November 11, 2010. This is a lyrically potent and musically original project. The album displays the Voice’s trademark passion as he weaves in and out of beats with the expertise of a veteran while maintaining the freshness of a newcomer.

In February 2010, The Voice dropped his lead single, “Pour My Heart Out”. “Pour My Heart Out” was included on the “Best of TWRS” episode on The Wade -O Radio Show. This “feel-good” Los Angeles Anthem has received some serious radio attention and has raised hopes for a fresh, new Los Angeles hip hop sound. Other Radio shows like; FNF LIVE with J Blaze on 88.3 FM in Miami, Holla Fest Radio in New York City, Rek City Radio with Mpax in Houston, The Gospel Mix Show with DJ Elvee on 102.3 FM in Los Angeles, and others have spun The Voice’s music in 2010.

“The Voice brings a sound, passion and level of ministry to Christian Hip Hop that is missing and very much needed on a national level. He’s representing the West Coast very well." -DJ Wade-O

“Loud And Clear” is his life’s work and it truly lives up to its name. It is a project that walks the listener through a passionate and philosophical journey toward God.

About The Voice Phil “The Voice” Roberts is an MC, producer, and record label owner with a bachelor’s degree in religion from Vanguard University. He is an Ordained Minister with the Assemblies of God and currently serves on staff at a Los Angeles church, working with at-risk youth. His passion is to bring the message of God’s love and purpose to everyone who listens.

The Voice is also a former host of the KING FM Radio Show with Reyna Day and Sammy Sayso on 99.5 KKLA. He has been involved in the rap industry since 1993. He has worked and performed with many notables in the gospel hip hop community. This is his first full-length project.

Hip Hop Video of the Week!

This is the official music video for "Background" ft. C-Lite off Lecrae's new bestselling album, Rehab. The video features top quality production values. The cinematography is beautiful and the cityscape setting is incredibly pretty. Check it out.

Flavor Fest X Live Streaming!

Big news! Annual Christian Hip Hop conference, Flavor Fest will be live streaming on November 7th for the world to see! Viewing is free but donations can be made that go towards Crossover Hip Hop church's new building. This is a great opportunity for the ever growing global community of Christian Hip Hop followers to check out it's most important gathering. So if you can't get a ticket or you live on the other side of the globe, you need not worry any longer. Sit back relax and check out www.flavorfest.org or www.crossoverchuch.org on November 7th to stream the event straight to your PC. There is more information below about what Flavor Fest is for those who don't already know.

(source Sphere of Hip Hop)

Flavor Fest info:

"The first Fla.vor Fest was launched in November of 2000. Our mission statement is "To train, network and resource emerging leaders to impact hip-hop culture for Christ." The conference targets pastors, youth pastors, church planters, youth and church leaders, and artists. Fla.vor Fest has become one of the largest, well known events in the Christian Hip-Hop Community. Over 10,000 people have been a part of the event over the years. Several TV stations, newspapers, websites and magazines have done exclusive reports about the Fest. The INSP (Inspiration) Network sent their Steelroots crew to capture live footage for their TV Shows. Jaq Thomas, who does marketing for Steelroots, was quoted by The Tampa Tribune saying, "Tommy is a true pioneer in every sense of the word. He has set a standard, pushed it out there, and now the world is paying attention. Last year the show's producers spent $35,000 to film Fla.vor Fest. We're willing to spend that kind of money because it is an awesome conference. A lot of people are being changed by this ministry.""

(source Flavor Fest)

REVIEW: Poems N Dust - Dirty Words

01. Power To the People
02. Listen Up
03. Oz
04. Grace
05. Change
06. If You Wanna Know
07. Man vs Machine
08. Lonestar
09. Will Not Be Sold
10. Fly
11. Give Thanks
12. Dig Deep

(includes instrumentals for all tracks)

Poems n Dust is a newly formed duo of old favorites. It combines Dust, producer of Mars Ill fame who has made some of the most famous and memorable beats in christian rap (many will remember the incredible Sound Off among others) and and Sareem Poems (formerly known as Sharlock Poems) out of the widely-known rap group LA Symphony. Initially the combination of these two well-known artists had me very interested and I was expecting something incredible from the duo.

Power to the People starts off the album bombastically with rolling drum beat samples throughout the track and that iconic 80s funk style vibe that is so promiment in much of Dust's work. Listen Up features Rawkus 50 artist Sev Statik, on yet another funk style beat. These tracks provided a sense of security in my expectations and had me eager to hear the rest. I came to realise these were exceptions and not the rule to Dirty Words.

If You Wanna Know can be best described as annoying. It's basically Sareem rapping fun facts about himself. It's pointless, incredibly boring and the beat is not easy on the ears. This was my first major letdown from both Sareem and Dust. The lyrics seem as if they were just thrown out with little to no thought. It's presented as an insight into Sareem's thoughts but comes out as random and incohesive. If that wasn't enough Dust lays down a beat that sounds like the backing track for a circus act. I honestly don't know why If You Wanna Know was included on the album.

Dig Deep was another shocker as Dust failed to deliver again. It's the last track on the album and is probably the worst note they could have ended it on. The beat is quite strange, there are parts where the instrumental fades out randomly and the beat timing even goes out of time. My mind was blown at what I was hearing. I was extremely disappointed to hear something like this from a producer of such calibre.

There are definitely songs that are worth mentioning on the album however, but for all the wrong reasons. Hearing Dust's former companion, Manchild and one of my favorite rappers Theory Hazit, all on the same track on Fly was great. Unfortunately both Manchild and Theory outshine Sareem even in the little time they are given on the track. Both are incredibly talented artist with unique style. Manchild has his quick, witty, wordsmith style and Theory Hazit brings his classic battle-rap style swagger. Sareem on the other hand just ends up seeming even more blander than usual in comparison.

Give thanks is a mellowed out track with a beautiful instrumental containing light guitar stings. Sareem flows over the beat smoothly. It's a great track to sit back and relax to. But other than that it's not very remarkable. Half of the songs on Dirty Words can be described likewise. Not oustanding, but smooth, toned down and relaxing.

To hear Sareem over Dust's trademark funk-infused beats should be a real treat for me as a fan of both Sareem's previous work and Dust's production from his days in Mars Ill, at least in theory. Unfortunately what we end up with is lyrcisim that is neither fantastic nor horrible, but simply does its job for most of the time. There are a few tracks that are definitly worth considering purchasing (such as Fly) but for all the wrong reasons. The best songs on the album are the ones featuring great artist which outshine Sareem everytime. They made me want to switch this off and go listen to their albums. Then you have the few tracks which boggle the mind in terms of their choice of beat, content matter and tone that'll have you scratching your head.

Fans of these artists will probably be disappointed by this album. I know I found myself rather surprised at the lack of anything substantial or exciting from the duo. What we have is too much mediocre and not enough stand-out tracks. Sareem feels like he's being carried by Dust's famous production values half the time. And Dust does not lay down much of anything spectacular himself. These artists have set the bar high in the past and unfortunately haven't been able to reach past that for Dirty Words.

Hip Hop Video of the Week!

Fans of the Gospel Gangstaz will be highly anticipating their upcoming music video for the single Testify off the Luvv to Dance compilation. It's been many years since the GG'z have done anything in the public Christian Rap scene so I'm really looking forward to this music video. Hopefully this is a sign of the GG'z coming back to the forefront and we get an album or some singles in the future from these highly talented pioneers of Christian Hip Hop.

REVIEW: Applejaxx - Jesus High EP

01. iLive feat. Ashleigh Nickole

02. Future feat. Int'l Show

03. Jesus High feat. Odetta

04. App For That feat. Trini

05. Fear Factor Remix feat. Mr Coldstone

If you've heard much of Applejaxx's music in the past you know that he likes to focus on futuristic/technological themes in his music. This EP is another example of this as you have probably already noticed from the track titles above.

It all starts with a bang with iLive straight away, G-Styles on the beat, and right away Applejaxx kicks in with his uniquely styled lyricism. This is one of those straight up celebratory, "happy-to-be-alive" party tracks. Ashleigh Nickole chimes in on the chorus perfectly complementing the carefree celebration of life in Christ. Future, a thumper with a unique mix of tribal drums and futuristic samples, illustrates living with the knowledge that Christ has won the victory and the anticipation of his second coming.

The title track and single, Jesus High, is where this EP really starts to stand out. The single has been gaining popularity on place like iTunes and is one of Applejaxx's most popular hits. And it's not hard to see why after a listen. Produced by G-Styles, the track has undergone a bit of a revamp since it was released as a free download early last year. The major difference fans will notice is the prominence of vocal artist Odetta in the chorus. Her addition freshens up the track and give it a smoother sound. The meat of it all is Applejaxx's fantastic lyrics which overflow with quirky metaphor and references. It's really a worship song in rap form that focuses simply on uplifting Jesus.

App For That is that typical Applejaxx song. Futuristic feel, laced with synths and technologically themed. This time round Applejaxx, who self-produced, takes advantage of the modern app culture, made famous by Apple, where an app is ready to download for any and every imaginable thing you can think of. Words like "app" and "download" are used as metaphors for receiving the word of God and fruits of the Spirit. Sometimes these types of song can be overdone and cheesy (an example would be half of KJ-52's latest work), but here it just works. It's handled lightly and fits into the overall theme of the EP.

Fear Factor is a classic hip-hop centred swag track. It focuses on battle rap style punch lines and has a nice feature by Mr Coldstone. If you've ever doubted Applejaxx's lyrical ability, this is the song to check out. It serves as a warning to wack rappers and haters and is a strong way to end the EP.

The Jesus High EP is a burst of energy only Applejaxx can provide. His style is like nothing else in the industry today and that's what makes him special. Any time you hear his songs you notice something different about them. Something catches your ear. Whether its the unique production or the eccentric metaphor choices in his lyrics. It's a breath of fresh air and one that should be experienced by fans of hip hop tired of the same old same old.

The Jesus High EP is a prequel to Applejaxx's upcoming sophomore album entitled "The Outsider", due Spring 2011.