The beeping sound of the monitor in a hospital displays your heartbeat, and it’s an important indicator of whether or not you have life in your body. Da’ T.R.U.T.H. brings us his latest offering, with the purpose and hope of us understanding the pulse of his life and give us indicators of what makes him move.
On the heels of a new record label called Mixed Bag, along with a few signings, Truth starts the first release from the label. The album begins with “Gray,” featuring longtime friend, former label-mate with CMR, and executive producer for the album, J.R. This was a strong way to start the album and just reminded me of how well these two work together. From “N.F.L. (New Found Love)” till now, there is a natural chemistry with those two, and you get to see J.R.’s influence on production for many tracks on the album. The next track “Press On”continues the momentum, featuring Papa San and Canon. I loved the beat on this, and the features truly came off strong! I was kinda disappointed with Truth on this track, however, the features honestly bested him on this track, but the message overall came through well as they encouraged us to press and trust the Lord, or as Papa San repeated in the hook, “Tho He slay me, tho He slay me, me ah go bless Him!”
Another track that felt good as I listened features Black Knight who produced the track, and label mate TC, called “I Made It.” I’m truly a fan of Black Knight’s production, for he has consistent quality, and he brought a cool verse as well. This was my first intro to TC, and based on what I heard, I would like to hear more from him in the future. Then Truth came with a verse that was much better than “Press” for me. As I continued to listen through the album a few times, the track “Compare” kept coming up as a favorite for me, whether it was the feel of it or the lyrics, it was something that stuck with me. I feel that the heart of the whole track is summed up in the first verse where he says, “Pause for a minute/take a step back/slow down, get ya breath back/get ya mind right, you can trust that the life that you dream is a death trap/Proof? Nicky said, ‘I’m on the Billboard, I’m killin them, but I’m still bored/yeah..and that’s the life that you kill for? I pray that you can see He’s not a killjoy.” There’s truly no comparison to Jesus in any way, shape, or form. This is a clear picture of the heartbeat of Truth, for even if you go back to his first album, he’s had a heart for those that are enthralled with the big name and lights. If you even remember the way Truth fell into sin, was exposed, and fell from a prominent place, you can see that whether it’s the mainstream or Christian circles, no accolade, shine, or praise can compare to knowing Christ and being known by Him. Alexis Spight provided a great sound for the chorus, and even at the end, I was reminded of Kierra Sheard, as she rounded out the track.
While I felt the majority of the album was a pretty good offering from Truth, as I listened to the different tracks and saw how he expressed himself through the different production choices, I felt that the lyrics had a very consistent heartbeat, but the beat choices gave a more irregular heartbeat. I understand that there are many who desire Truth to go back to the Moment Of Truth era of musicality, but I also know that an artist has to grow, which I support, but I do see more room for growth in the area of beat choices.
One of the very noticeable ways that Truth is consistent lyrically is his ability to approach very important and controversial topics head-on. From the whole Da Vinci’s Code dealt with on “The Portrait” from his album The Faith, to “Price Tag” from his album Open Book, he certainly addresses the things that burn on his heart and is a battle culturally. On this album, that song is “Bully,” which deals with the toxic climate that exists today towards those who oppose homosexuality on Biblical grounds. There is this tense undercurrent that comes with the whole move to be politically correct where nothing can be said to offend, and Truth calls out the double standard, while assuring that the beef is mainly with the system, not with individuals.
Having mentioned “Price Tag” earlier, I wanted to point out how interesting it was to see S1 produced the track “Standing O,” knowing of Truth’s very strong stance expressed in the past towards those who produce for secular artists. The greater irony is the mention of unity in spite of the differences between different groups within Christian music, and Christians who do music, that came on this track. I appreciated the homage he paid to folks like Mike Peace, D-Boy, etc. on a really dope track.
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This album was an offering of variety, experimentation, and A LOT of features. I’m just now highlighting the title track, which featured Lecrae expressing his own heartbeat, and while he did stick to the purpose of the track and album, I think the addressing of critics from him can now end. There were many other features, even surprising ones by James Fortune and Chris August, as well as the label mates and others I have been introduced to, which the amount of them for some may take away from the album. What also may take away from the album are some of the repetitive flows from his previous album (“Change The World” sounds like “J.I.F.E.” from Love, Hope, War flow wise), and even some may notice his tendency to copy secular artists on a song or so. Aside from those drawbacks, I can actually see these tracks working well in a live setting, especially with a band, so that may be the positives that can be drawn from what will be a drawback for some. Ultimately though, there is no question as to what moves Truth and his ability to convey his heart continues to be consistent, no matter how much he is different musically or spiritually, and there will always be a need for an artist who speaks from his heart. And speaks the truth.
