Sunday, 6 January 2013

Just To Let You Know ABOUT Just To Let You Know - The VERDICT!



Lyricism: 2 / 5
Style of Delivery: 2 / 5                                                           

Content: 2 / 5
Musical Production: 2 / 5

Quality: 1.5 / 5
Arrangement: 1 / 5

Concept: 1.5 / 5

Originality / Creativity: 2.5 / 5
Regardless of what C-Scripture proposes “Just To Let You Know” may be about, I have my own idea: it is a public service announcement that the young rapper has grown and is here to represent the Christ! Having said that, my earlier interview with C-Scripture about what the project is about and what it really is are two different things. I think the concept is lost on the project and it is a little vague. Am still not sure what the “big picture” is all about but I’ll comment on that later - if someone has to explain to me what the concept is then the artist didn't do a good enough job expressing it. The intro was up-beat, it contained qualities that I think skeptics will hear and change any misconceptions they may have about C-Scripture as an artist - he really is that good. It was a proper build up towards the project which I think creatively speaking on an individual basis, was unique; C-Scripture was himself on the project, he did not try to be anyone else. He has a strong personality and I am glad that he does because it gives him a flavor. Furthermore, the features are good. Perfect marvel and Omri did justice to the songs in which they featured and it is fair to say that C-Scripture kept up with them. But I am most impressed because he put in work to get these features with artists that are across the Atlantic Ocean! Whilst a “C-Scripture and Jeremiah” feature is not new, am glad that they switched it up with Jeremiah singing on the hook. The production was “ok”. The musical production is not “memorable” and I did not pay much attention to the mix either because it sounds like not enough work was put into it. I like the project because I see right before my very eyes the genesis of someone and something new and very promising.
Lyrically, C-Scripture has skills but he’s still a complicated rapper – his lyrics are very complex. With rhymes like: “celestial seizures and not medical/the end of ancestral leisure free from the bondage/living lavish, acting savage…” (60 Barz) meaning (according to C-Scripture himself) “a divine stop not a medical stop – where everything I knew and held to be “life” from the old days, things that worldly people around me believed...has come to an end.”  First of all, the Word of God is already a veil to unbelievers, a group of people that I believe are one of the target audiences of this project, and to hit them with lyrical gymnastics of this kind is an over-kill. Even belivers would get confused. Rap how you speak and keep it simple. I think David does this well but we don’t want another David – I want a C-Scripture who is simple, who would rap the way he would talk if he were to engage in conversation with you. As much as I believe C-Scripture's delivery is good in respects to projection and confidence, I think he either comes short of his bars or flows over them at times and it is imprecise. However, “Changes” and “Intro” are examples of precise flows and I appreciate “Changes” in particular as a flag-post of precision. In “Just To Let You Know”, on the other hand, C-Scripture’s first three bars are on point but thereafter he jumps all over the place. Please understand that keeping to bars is not a strict requirement, in-fact, it is most welcome to come short of them or flow over them because it tends to give the flow life and vitality BUT only when it is intended (an example of a rapper who does this perfectly is S.O, and I think a direct opposite is MC Jin who keeps to bars strictly). I think it is either the way C-Scripture writes or due to his delivery that this tends to happen, and as I write this am beginning to think it may be his style – in which case it will be hard for me to evaluate because that is who he is; if it is a case of personality then the precision element will be established in time, consistent with his uniqueness. Keeping to bars is like being able to know where punctuation marks are needed in an essay or speech, allowing your listener or reader time to digest and understand what you are communicating to them.
C-Scripture is smart; he has biblical knowledge without the compromise. Secondly, he is a serious rapper – he does not take his platform for granted. But concerning the concept, in our first interview with C-Scripture I got the impression that the album will have a lot of personal elements about his life and struggles especially those concerning his family. However, I did not pick that up when I listened to the project - and if it was in there then it as too heavily veiled for me in cryptic lyricism. So he did not actually let us know that which he intended to let us know in the first place. Thank God for this project though, it was a breath of fresh air for me! I hope he can really ride out this project: radio, concerts, outreach programmes etc. It really is a very good eye-opener to what C-Scripture is capable of and what he potentially can be. Lastly, here is the genesis of someone and something awesome and I encourage everyone to keep a watchful eye on C-Scripture because if he continues to grow then he will be a well-rounded rapper.
Follow On Twitter:
Michael “C-Scripture” Chiphwanya @scripture39
Rowland Masi @rowmasi
·         To see previous articles by Sharp Iron Review that feature C-Scripture please see:

·         To download the "Just To Let You Know" ep:
www.dropbox.com/s/hz3kg54h2cq0qm4/Just%20to%20let%20know.rar (please note that you will require win-rar, 7zip or similar to open the file once you download it – but this link offers you a convenient download of the entire project).

1 comment:

  1. word..."the genesis of some one" thats my bro right there_eQ O'dala

    ReplyDelete