Reviewed by Stephen Adams

Green Jade have already created quite a buzz for themselves with underground singles (classics in the UK Christian hip hop scene - in my opinion anyway) such as "One Time Ta Die" and "Heaven Presents" which are rerecorded and perfected for the LP. Firstly the lyrics. Very original: my "secular rip-offs" counter was on zero, and every member of the Green Jade - which is by the way, made up of Judah, 3rd Son, Practical Wizdom, Wei the Gatekeeper and Logikal - is pretty much on point with humour (check out Wei's sing-along line on "Best Kept Secret") and lyrical gems (eg, 3rd Son's verse on "Check One-Two"). The themes range from the crew's reasons for rocking the mic to salvation messages to lyrics of praise directed towards Jesus. Secondly, the beats. As beats can kill or build a project, it's safe to say that these beats - primarily handled within the team by WizWei Productions with guest production from T.Jay and Emmanuel - are banging. Underground stuff that doesn't forget the need to make your head bob up and down to the downright emotive and beautiful. For example, contrast the anthemic classic "Heaven Presents" with it's movie soundtrack strings sample to "Windz Of Amnesia" which is blessed by a beautiful beat courtesy of Emmanuel perfectly matching Judah's lyrical imagery. The Green Jade can even rock more commercial R&B influenced stuff like "Holy Boots" and still come off sounding perfect. The only misstep here is the track "Backslide", which sounds like an attempt at
blending R&B with hip hop circa 1992. Apart from that, all I have to say is, Green Jade are one of a few groups that are constantly proving to the secular hip hop fans that British Christian hiphop is NOT sub-par and are challenging all other artists to improve their artistry.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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