Looking for something new? Here’s what I’ve been listening to lately…
Artist: Newsboys
Album: Born Again (July 13, 2010)
Style: Modern power pop rock swagger
Calling the band’s current lineup “newsboys” is about as legitimate as saying Paul McCartney’s latest album was by “The Beatles,” but Michael Tait replaces iconic bald man Furler (who was the only remaining original member) for the band’s fourteenth studio album, boldly marching deeper into modern pop territory. This is not your quirky lite-pop 90′s Newsboys. These are tobyMac grooves with Red guitars, Black Eyed Peas beats, and Capital Lights melodies. These are Casting Crowns power ballad chord progressions with Lifehouse power ballad vocals and a little bit of Taylor Swift power ballad country guitar. This is everything that is pop in the new millennium, from the layered synth beats and autotune dance sessions to the softer cell-phone-waving sing-along choruses and everything between. I’m not sure if you’ll like it – hey, I’m not sure if I like it – but I am sure it’s not what you’re expecting – musically, that is; you won’t find many original rhyme schemes here. But there must be some reason the first-week album sales were the highest for the “band” in their 22-year career…
Standout Lyric: Oh the way we build our empires /
Hoping to impress our friends /
We’ve forgotten how to inspire /
Those who fall to rise again
In Case It Interests You: The members of Newsboys are known as Christians.
STREAM THE WHOLE ALBUM: myspace.com/newsboys
Artist: Lecrae
Album: Rebel (September 30, 2008)
Style: Fast-flowing hip-hop beats with solid, challenging lyrics
I indulged in the Top 40 hip-hop scene for a little while once before I got sick of the destructive lyrics and mind-numbing beats. Lecrae fils that void and then some. His lyrics aren’t just non-destructive; they’re a powerful, uncompromising, and inspiring challenge to surrender your life completely to Christ, whether in mocking the gangsta’ obsession with money (“Got Paper”), encouraging imperfect Christians to be patient with other imperfect Christians (“The Bride”), or resisting the devastation of temptation (“Indwelling Sin”). The musical production is top-notch as well; cheesy Christian rap this is not. The beats wind and flow under the music as the layers give and take in an exquisite fashion, rarely making it through any of the long verses without tinkering with something to keep the sound fresh. There’s a lot of featuring, response, and background vocals, including some females, and it’s not uncommon to have three vocal tracks running through at the same time. There’s enough variety to keep this non-hip-hop fan engaged for the hour-long experience, from the slower-rolling Li’l John crunk stuff to the Matisyahu-esque guitar riffing to the ridiculously fast double-bass-supported lyrical flow of I don’t know who. Lecrae wields the name of Jesus in a way that might be over-the-top for some, but that’s precisely his point: without Him, nothing else matters.
Standout Lyric: Money! Dough! Cash! Paper! /
If it was a woman I promise I used to date her /
Now that we broke up, she be callin’ ya boy a hater /
Cause all I do is use her for glorifying my Maker /
…You got money / You got paper /
You got money / You got paper /
… So what? Who cares?
Standout Lyric II: People living life for a job / make a lil money start living for a car
get em a house a wife kids and a dog / when they retire they living high on the hog
but guess what they didn’t ever really live at all / to live is Christ yeah that’s Paul I recall
to die is gain so for Christ we give it all / he is the treasure you’ll never find in a mall
Your money, your singleness, marriage, talent and time
they were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
that’s why it’s Christ in my rhymes / That’s why it’s Christ all the time
my whole world is built around him / He’s the life in my lines
In Case It Interests You: If you can’t tell Lecrae is known as a Christian you’re not paying attention.
STREAM THE WHOLE ALBUM: myspace.com/lecrae
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