Reviewed by Stephen Adams

Now let me tell you the story of Knowdaverbs (now known as Verbs). He is an MC with a gift for great story-telling lyrics, clever punchlines, etc, but usually falls into the trap of picking beats that don't compliment his style. Well, he has been cured of this little problem that plagued him for a little of the ‘Syllabus’ and most of the ‘Action Figure’ LPs. He has the same production team that friends and label mates Grits had on their latest LP: Incorporated Elements (who were responsible for all his other albums) and newcomer Kene Bell, but this time around Verbs has been blessed with heat to rhyme on. From the opening bars of "Live To The Music", you know he has hooked onto something special here. Rather than the hit and miss innovation of ‘Action Figure’, his producers have given him a very current and cutting edge, yet radio friendly sound, and it works. From the beautiful Mediterranean folk-sounding "Before And After" which chronicles the spiritual impact of 9/11, to "Expensive", a raucous, double-time joint featuring Grits, or the anthemic "What You Rock Now" encouraging listeners to step into the greatness of Christ's victory, Verbs and co have concocted something that definitely can compete with the secular mainstream. The only drawback is that Verbs seems to have almost dropped his superb knack for clever punchlines as displayed to great effect on the ‘Syllabus’ album.

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