Reviewed by Alastair McCollum

Paris-born, North East England-based, Lilas 'LaFleur' Mukendi has a message of God's love and acceptance which she is keen to share, in English, French and Lingali (her parents are Congolese)! This CD of mainly English language material (with some excellent rapping in French) comes from a background of worship leading, gospel music, soul and R&B along with some dance and hip-hop/rap influences too. The songs are sung with passion and conviction led by Lilas' distinctive, vibrato vocal style and are divided into four sections 'Praise', 'Worship', 'Prophecies' and 'Evangelism' which reflect the lyrical content of the songs. Highlights are the opener "Praise Him", an uptempo, gospel-styled groove, and her previously released single "Don't Worry", a keyboard-led, funky bassline reflection on Scripture which comes from her own experience of God's blessing despite her failings. Both the strengths and weaknesses of this disc are bound up with the fact that it is a relatively low-budget recording - strong because of the passion and power of Lilas' songs and expression, weak when her voice seems to go beyond its limitations, and when some of the songs seem to lose their way musically and lyrically - something which could probably be remedied by a bigger budget and strong production. Some of the songs are quite difficult to listen to because of these shortcomings, but if you take this CD on its own terms, as a self-produced debut album, it is pretty good.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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