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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Jesus muzik or edited G-Unit?, July 7, 2008
This CD sounds great - and is extremely catchy - but in the end is somewhat disappointing. The production is amazing and the sound is inspirational - but the lyrics are not always Biblical and the overall message is skewed because of that inconsistency.
Highlights: "Living Clean (My Life)," "Nobody Cared," "Kool"
Disappointments: "The Professional," "24's"
Canton Jones is obviously a talented singer. But some of his lyrics are just off the mark. Look at the song - "The Professional." The hook, "I'm a pro at / watch me go at it" suggests that he is better at praising God than others, that he is a professional - which is confusing and not Biblical.
Look at Matthew 6:5-6 (NLT) "When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you."
The song "24's" is also confusing. This song sounds like an edited version of T.I.'s "24s". "we ride on 24's / we ride on 24's" is continually repeated during the song. It sounds more like the Big Tymers than Jesus Muzik. The song gives the listener the impression that you can - and should - have a sweet ride and salvation. As someone who has struggled with materialism, this message worries me. Because, while we can have nice things and still live for Christ - we are not to be dependent on material goods to find worth and salvation. Our freedom and our true worth is found in trusting Jesus Christ alone. That is a message that is very seldom taught - and is not taught at all in the secular/mainstream. Christian rap should be distinct from the world in lyrics and its message - or else it will lose its effectiveness.
To me, it sounds as if CaJo has tried to separate from the mainstream, but still hasn't completely shed all of the materialism that plagues secular hiphop.
CaJo does have a lot of good tracks on this album. "Vacation," "Living Clean (My Life), "Kool," "My Walk" and "Hater Day" are just a few examples of clean living for Christ and caring for others - and are definitely worth listing to. "Nobody Cared" is an amazing ballad and is deeply inspirational.
"Pimp Hard" is the wildcard. It is an extremely catchy song - I would say a good song - but also has a confusing message.
"I know that yous a pimp and wanna pimp haaard / But in your pimpin you can't never pimp God" - which is true, God cannot be manipulated/mocked.
"nobody gangsta enough / nobody thug enough / you aint that hard" (to get around God) - which is also true, everyone needs God.
So while the message may loosely be there, for me, there's just too much pimp-talk in this song before it gets to the message.
"she's a lesbian you discover. shoot you, then shoots at the cover...," "make a pretty girl feel like a smurf...," "manipulate your mind til your mind is mine..." etc.
It takes until 3:35 until he talks about God. So 1 minute of God and 3:30 of pimp life... My hope is that this song is just targeted towards real pimps, and if this resignates with them - then ok. But, for me, I'm hungry for some scripture - some meat.
Overall - this album is very well produced and lyrically OK. If you're bumping all mainstream - T.I., Usher, Lil Wayne - then you should enjoy this album and its positive message. I definitely recommend this album for non-Christians.
However, if you're a deep-rooted Christian looking for banging beats and in-depth Bible analysis - check out 13 Letters, After the Music Stops and Our World: Redeemed (to name a few).
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Holy Hip Hop Praiser, February 7, 2008
The holy hip hop praiser is back with a new, fresh album for us. I was concerned that this album wouldn't be as good as the last, but he didn't fail. It's just as good as the last if not better.
Well, first let me start off by talking about the song "What You Want". I don't know how many times I replayed this song, especially when I'm driving to work. It's a live praise song with a rock edge to it. I was hoping he would make a song like this because I had liked the song "The Password (Live)" from the last album, The Password: Access Granted.
Since I'm now writing about the last album, on that album there was an interlude called "Nobody Cared (Interlude)" that made an impression on me. When I would hear it I would wish that he made it into a full song. Well, on his new album, he made it into a full song called "Nobody Cared" (of course). I was already enjoying the album but this song messed me up in a good way. I believe this song has an anointing attached to it.
Well, he has a lot of nice songs like "Living Clean" and "My Day." However though, I'm not really feeling "24's" that much. Thank God for the skip button. Other than that one song, he has a good album. It's worth the buy. Don't bootleg the album from those programs like Limewire. Let's not steal but support the Kingdom. So go buy it today.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Stuff, February 8, 2008
I flipped by the religious channel and saw this guy up there absolutely nailing it, performing a tune off this album...an absolutely inspired performance of catchy and infectious music. In one second I could tell this guy was the real deal, and in 2 seconds decided to buy the album. I'm not a fan of this genre of music usually, but Canton creates music with such a passion and purity and love for what he's doing that it makes for a great listening experience that transcends our normal listening habits or prejudices. It is simply good music. In fact, I want to praise with this guy, he's more inspiring than any preacher man I've ever encountered.
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is one of Canton Jones' 
