Reviewed by Steve Hayes

Philadelphia's Cross Movement have been described as "the G-Unit of your local congregation" and a "holy Wu-Tang Clan". If you like CM you'll be feeling this. Contemporary in-yer-face gospel message with unparalleled production as you'd expect. But it also has wordplay that will stretch you, smooth flows, easy listening and accessible hooks and lyrics. CM have really stepped up the game on this album. They fire up with "Civilian Affairs", over military beat and theme, reminding us there's a war going on and we should stay in the truth. Other standouts include "Lord You Are", a worshipful R&B roller where we learn "God is sin's antiseptic." The track, "Hip-hop-cracy" calls out the moral void in hip-hop culture, "for hip-hop to be true to life, hip-hop has to be true to Christ." The track "Card Shark" is a clever social commentary comparing cards in a deck to various characters in life and hip-hop. We end looking at the King of Hearts, Jesus Christ, the only one who outshines all and changes lives. "My Life Cypha" makes great use of a soulful vocal hook as we hear life testimonies from The Cross Movement and guests from Lamp Mode. There are also two hidden tracks on the album. Hotness. Get it.

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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