Review – SGR Rhyme Family ‘Prohibition!’

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The-Southern-Gospetality-Records-Rhyme-Family, better known as SGR. Another product of the Houston Holy Hip-Hop movement, consisting of rappers Son of Jesse, Big Nate, female vocalist Alkendria and female rhyme slinger Tragedy. Prohibition is the platform for the SGR family to showcase their skills collectively. Stikk is the main man in charge behind the boards for the LP’s 12 tracks and near 50 minutes of music. The tracks are, not surprisingly, kept within the family with the exception of a vocal appearance from producer Stikk and a verse from Enock, and another female spot in Rock Soul Entertainment’s own Shekinah.

The LP begins with a solo cut from SGR front man Son of ‘Jesse in Last Man Standing.’ Featuring heavy synths and drum kicks, highly reminiscent of a 50 Cent track. Son of Jesse opens up talking about how his life will be, spiritually and mentally, a ‘fight to the finish.’ The title track follows and finds the whole crew getting down and ‘drunk in the spirit’ over a smooth R&B hook. Big Nate shows up solo on ‘Is It Me.’ The beat and the hook wore out fast, and are overlooked by the fact that the song concept is done well, talking about the everyday struggles of unworthiness and temptation in a world without a heavenly father. ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ tells the story of just that as Alkendria lends her voice to the laid back cut. ‘Dirty Man’ narrates a tale of fornication and a man living a two-sided life, one half being ‘spiritually dirty.’ The hook features vocals and blaring horns, which both grew harder and harder on my ears with each listen. “Just like the boys push bricks/I push the! ’66’ (campaigning for Christ like politics)” boasts ‘Son of Jesse’ on ‘Street Tactics’. Accompanied by guitar synths and hard kicks, the track is rather catchy and rhythmic, making for a pleasurable listen. Enock and Stikk show up on The Take Over (Remix) as the grip of emcee’s take their turns confessing their faith in the Most High, this track also provides proof that Stikk is much better suited behind an MPC than a microphone. The Holy Hit Makerz offer a nice track in Pit To The Palace, featuring Shekinah alongside the rest of the SGR camp. The track opens with a nice vocal sample, reminscent of another Kanye West hit, and runs into a four minute span of wordplay with a rather weak hook.

Taking into account that I had heard very little of The SGR Rhyme Family prior to this release I was pleasantly surprised with the LP in a couple of ways. There’s a number of females on the project, most notably Tragedy, which is always a good thing in Holy Hip-Hop. The LP assures me that Stikk is a solid producer, with a few lackluster tracks, and a lot should be expected from the Houston trackmaster in the future. Aside from a few glaring weak spots in vocals and production, and the fact that in the liner notes it says that each song was written by the Holy-Ghost Writer, although I haven’t exactly figured out what that means; I don’t like the sounds of it, if anything it makes it seem as if the artists are not capable of writing their own lyrics, if indeed they did, the LP, for the most part, is consistent. The SGR Rhyme Family, I believe, has a lot of potential and Prohibition is hopefully a sign of good things to come.

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Tracklist:
1. Last Man Standing (feat. Son of Jesse)
2. Prohibition
3. Is It Me (feat. Big Nate)
4. The Take Over
5. Beauty And The Beast (feat. Tragedy)
6. Good Girl Gone (feat. Bad Alkendria)
7. Dirty Man (feat. Big Nate)
8. Save Me (From Me) (feat. Tragedy)
9. Street Tactics (feat. Son of Jesse)
10. The Take Over (Remix) (feat. Enock, Stikk)
11. Pit To The Palace (feat. Shekinah)
12. Horsehead Offer (You Can’t Refuse) (feat. Son of Jesse)

Steven
Steven
Steven is Christian Hip-Hop's Wizard of Oz, breaking more unsigned talent than anyone you know.
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