B-Luv – Growth

There are times where an artist can be inspired to title an album as a foundation where he/she expounds on it, and it’s well put together, and it ends there.  Then there are times where the title manifests literally into an experience that wasn’t planned, yet defines what it means theoretically and practically.  One album that immediately comes to mind would be Richie Righteous’ R.I.C.H. album, in that he had to literally rest in the hands of Christ to make it through.

The same is true for B-Luv’s debut offering called Growth, which is a journey that was traversed for a few years now; where you can see the excitement for a new artist’s debut album, and then the struggle of recovering lost files, learning your fears, and facing them with patient determination.  I personally would often wonder when, and if, the album would ever even come out, seeing tweets of excitement and single leaks, which ended up in silence for some time.

To get into the album though, one thing I always appreciate about B-Luv is the time he puts into ensuring the quality of his music is never overlooked.  The mix is on point for me and the choice of beats and artists aren’t just haphazard or the whims of an artist wanting big names, but it’s purposeful and directed for an intended end.  Even in receiving this album, I not only got tracks, but they were named (glory lol!) and came along with a personal bio and overview of every song.  I intentionally didn’t read the overview until AFTER listening to the album, and what he explained literally matched what I experienced in listening to it, which was amazing.

The album appropriately starts with “Opening Night,” where he addressed, among other things, the long wait for the album, as well as the normal human feeling of anxiousness in giving a good clear show, but as a Christian pointing to Him.  This was a good start to the album, and I noticed the strong score-like aspect in how he constructed the song as well as the whole album.  The album moves onto “All Of Me,” which is an aspect of growth where you can do nothing else but surrender your heart, words, affections…everything to Him.

One highlight song on the album for me was “Graduation Day,” where Isaiah Tate and B. Reith join him in celebrating his literal accomplishment of graduating from Somerset Christian College, yet also reflecting on the ultimate Day when we move on from mortality to immortality with Christ.  Granted, this has been a common theme in CHH since last year (Tedashii’s Blacklight), but this stood out with the actual graduation melodic tone on the beat, which was tastefully done.  To be honest though, I could have done without the extra nature of Tate’s voice on the song.  It felt overdone to me on many parts, but there were some good things spoken of by him as well.

Other songs that stood out to me were “UnTITLED,” “Success.Fear.Reflections,” “Guidance,” “The Gospel,” and more.  There were some powerful themes in each of the songs I listed.  For example, “UnTITLED” drove home not needing a title to preach the Gospel, which is easy to be caught in while living in this “credential-worthy” age.  With “Guidance,” there was a powerful picture of the mature advising those coming up after them, as Da’ T.R.U.T.H and TWyse spilled valuable wisdom.

One last track I want to highlight is the last track on the album, which is “Success.Fear.Reflections.”  This one track is actually a connection of three separate unfinished tracks and personifies the growth that actually took place in the years it took for this album to come out.  “Success” has B-Luv addressing the feelings of many that experience the low visibility complex, in that if you’re not as visible as Reach Records, you aren’t noticed or appreciated.  I don’t even see it as being expressed in bitterness either, for that would actually show a lack of growth, but it’s just a reality of being in entertainment and dealing with the human flesh that desires to exalt what they want and devalues everything else.  “Fear” speaks to him fearing the reception of this album, and I can imagine why this is the reality.

Even as you listen to this album, you notice that B-Luv isn’t the most complex lyrically, and is simple and to the point.  When you deal with the insecurity that he dealt with, this reality can be stark and hard hitting at times, yet when you experience growth, you realize the foolishness of those fears.  It’s the same way I grew up when I was ashamed of my personality, because I was so quiet and introverted I saw this as a HINDRANCE.  Yet, when you grow in the Lord, you grow in life, and I began to see how in spite of what I saw as a hindrance, God saw as a way to perfect His strength in me.  “Reflections” rounds out this three-part song as he revels in what God has done.

The album, Growth, is the prime example of how art imitates life and life imitates art, and just so you know, before JSon released his album, he originally was going to title it Growing Pains, which he definitely experienced right along with what J’Son experienced.  Aside from some topics being commonly expressed in CHH, this album stands out nonetheless; the quality, intentionality, the feature placements, and the heart poured out.  The album is a well-balanced offering of musicianship, Christ-exaltation, and real life experiences that is sure to bless and shed light on anyone of the household of faith that seeks to grow in life and the Lord.