Derek Minor – Minorville

In 2011, Derek “Pro” Johnson released his third album, Dying to Live, which was his 1^st release since being signed under Reach Records. The album’s solid production, with Derek’s raw and gritty lyrics, quickly established him as one of Christian hip-hop’s elite artists. Since then, Derek has released an RMG clique album and a PSA Vol. 3 mixtape and changed his name from Pro to Derek Minor. Along with the name change, Derek informed fans that his music and sound would be more mature in concept, production, and lyricism for his 4^th album. Minorville is one of the most anticipated albums of this year and follows two very strong releases from Reach Records from Lecrae’s Grammy award winning Gravity and Andy Mineo’s Heroes for Sale.

When I initially heard the title of the album, it piqued my curiosity as to what the concept of the album was going to be. One thing that I love about Reach Records is that they have a creative way of communicating the Gospel without a cliché album name. The titles challenge the listener to go deeper in their understanding of the Gospel and how it relates to the album title and overall concept. With Minorville, the concept is made clear on the opening track, “Lost in Minorville.” Minorville is the perfect place, where there is no pain, there is no hurt, and there is no sin…a place that does not exist.

“No political parties, the gov’t is fair & right/ it’s illegal for fathers not to be in their kids’ life/ marriages are happy, women are not objectified/ and rappers tell the truth in songs instead of lies/ this is the place where there are no black and white churches/ color could never divide us cuz we love each other perfect.”

This song is followed by “IGWT (In God We Trust),” which gives the harsh reality of what life is really like. Derek paints the ugly picture of sin in our society, “that kid you calling a nerd, got a bomb off in his backpack/ plans to get revenge and leave a crater where his class at/ I saw the sickest thing when channel 4 news was on/ a momma put her two year old, inside a stove/.” This is followed by other songs that describe the ills of everyday life. The concept is genius; because we would all like our own Minorville, but the reality is that we live in a fallen world and our only hope in Jesus. I love the concept because it is so abstract yet at the same time so blatant.

The album artwork is an important part of helping to develop the concept of a project. The design studio, Invisible Creature, who designed Lecrae and Andy Mineo’s most recent album covers, designed the Minorville artwork. The cover has a silhouette of Derek’s head with different shapes in it to represent a city. The genius about this cover is that they didn’t simply computerize this, they made a giant silhouette of his face, carved each shape out of wood, placed it within the silhouette and took a photo of it for the cover. The look of the cover is clean and abstract and really is a great visual representation of the sound that the album has.

Derek Minor is one of the premier lyricists in the Christian rap arena, so expectations for the lyrics on this album are very high. Derek is a master of changing up his delivery mid song, speeding up, and slowing down, all while still staying on tempo. On the delivery side, he switches up his vocal inflection with the beat, which give his songs extra emotion and feeling. Derek goes to some dark places that many CHH artists don’t go, on topics from racial marginalization, sex slavery, and drug addiction. He does a great job in taking the listener into the depths of harsh realities of life and where our hope lies. On “Homecoming,” Derek starts out telling the story of a girl who is the homecoming queen and has a perfect future lined up for her, but decisions and struggles in life lead her to substance abuse and ultimately back to the cross. This song is one of my favorites and was very well put together. In “Dear Mr. Christian,” Derek trades bars with New Orleans rapper Dee-1 and Reach Records front man, Lecrae. Derek spits a powerful verse about a girl who has been sexually abused and forced to do pornography and really makes us examine our hearts as Christians regarding the subject of porn and human trafficking. These are just a couple of examples of the heavy subject matter discussed on this album.

The production on this album is very diverse and eclectic. Derek’s sound has matured on this project and the tracks complement the lyrical maturity. There are fast paced tracks like the techno infused “Ready Set Go,” to the Memphis blues influenced “Making Me More,” to the dirty south crunk style “Respect That.” Much like his last project, Derek does a stellar job at selecting beats that fit the mood and concepts well for their respective songs.

Minorville is a great album that lives up to the expectations set by Derek and his label mates. The concept is creative and the lyrics and production are definitely on point. Some of the standout songs are the soulful, “We Are (Champions)” feat. SPZRKT, “Respect That” feat. Deraj & RMG, “Dear Mr. Christian” feat. Lecrae & Dee-1, “Homecoming” feat. Isaac Caree, “IGWT” feat. Thi’sl, & Making Me More feat. Mel Washington. This project has some powerful, thought provoking lyrics that really force us to examine our hearts and the fabric of our society as a whole. Derek continues to progress as an artist, but I give this disclaimer: don’t try to compare this album with Dying to Live. The first album was definitely a classic in my book, but comparing Minorville to it does both albums injustice because they’re really apples to oranges. The concept is different on this one as it’s more analytical towards society and less personal. I believe great albums are created as moments in time. Derek is so successful at creating great work because I believe he doesn’t try to outdo the previous or re-create the previous album, he just creates great work at that time. The only song I can honestly say I wasn’t really feeling was the bonus track, “Deaf.” It’s not that it was a bad song. It’s just that all the other songs were so great, they overshadowed the bonus track. As an album overall, Minorville is a definite classic that is sure to not disappoint.