Reviewed by George Luke

Remember the skit at the beginning of Kirk Franklin's 'Nu Nation Project' album, where Kirk was in the dock for "trying to take gospel music to the world?" Well, John P Kee and the New Life Community Choir have taken that concept and spread it across two CDs worth of material (they ruin the plot by giving away the ending in , the title, though). I was expecting some sort of concept album or narrative thing, with John pleading his case, hearing all the evidence and then the verdict. What I got instead was a straight choir album with the court scenes merely acting as bookends. Disc One finds the choir in a mellow, worshipful mood, while the more hip hop-influenced offerings are on Disc Two. Fans of '80s soul and funk might enjoy the Partakrew Mix of the title track, which borrows heavily from the oldie "Computer Love" by Zapp (the late Roger Troutman even gets credited as lead vocalist, which is a bit spooky). "What's The Verdict?" is a brave attempt at one of those brash hip hop anthems you hear a lot of these days (think of Nelly's 'Country Grammar' for example), but doesn't quite achieve the same effect. On the whole, a very hit-and-miss album; good in places, but it kind of bored me after a while, I must admit.

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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