Reviewed by Tony Cummings

If you were a big hip-hop devotee when this scorching set was released in 1993 you probably already have this in your collection. But if, by any chance, you missed it you need to check out 'Redeemed Hoodlum'. Apart from a baseball-themed intro which didn't work for me (this reviewer never having been an American sport devotee) everything else here shows Rene Francisco Sotomayor, otherwise known as T-Bone, to be one of the greatest MCs ever to grab the microphone and spit rhymes for the Lord. Some faint souls might object to a track like "Saved To The Bone" where his flows are so rapid you'd need to tape them and slow them down to get any idea of what he's rapping about, but on plenty of other cuts his come-to-Jesus message comes out loud and clear. The trio of cuts which best display his amazing skills are "Jabbin' The Jaw", "Redeemed Hoodlum" and "Rugged Rhyme Sayer" but wherever you listen there are dazzling displays of this extraordinary wordsmith's abilities. And there is a short interview fragment, "Virginia Watson Interview", to give the exhausted listener a little rest from the surging charge of verbiage as our man explains to Virginia his intention to combat the violence on America's mean streets with his crew's evangelistic assaults. There are some illuminating sleeve credits, like those given to DJ Groove - "Thanks for being the world's greatest DJ and friend - let's keep winning souls for Jesus." I have no idea if in 2024 T-Bone and Groove are still out there somewhere doing such a work. I hope they are.

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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