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tb1 turn up the radio project
No Compromise Records
by brenton crozier

      TB1 (The Blessed One) is a Christian hip-hop artist on the Jacksonville based No Compromise Records.
      Christian rap, and Christian music for that matter, has earned the stigma of being an inferior imitation of popular secular music. There is always a danger of Christian artists saturating their work to be Christ-centric, compromising artistry in the process. There have been successful crossovers and even musical innovators that come from Christian labels and backgrounds.
      This is by no means a measuring stick of success, but demonstrates a philosophy of seeing the creative process in itself as an act of worship. There is a valid argument that when a person of faith or someone whose foundation is a spiritual one creates music, it is inherently Christian or spiritual.
      Turn up the Radio Project is a song by song experience. Some tracks are well produced, well delivered, catchy and current. Other tracks suffer from pedestrian lyrics, a thin beat and stale production. TB1’s voice has some of the deep tone and a bit of the Southern drawl of Ludacris, with a slight nuance of The Game’s delivery.
      The album opens with ‘The Word (Intro)’ a thumping (see thumpin’) beat that could stand to be a bit more bass heavy and a spoken word performance delivered by Reverend Tywanna Estell. The concept is great for an opening, but simply lasts too long. ‘Road to Damascus’ is next, and captures every bit of the aforementioned Christian stigma with trite lyrics and a stiff delivery. Although being a little Casio crazy, ‘Genesis’ gives the album hope (and should have been the first track . . . it is called Genesis after all) with layered background vocals, a fresh delivery and retro chorus that summons Afrika Bambaataa. The rest of the album has its peaks and valleys, but delivers a positive message that never gets off track.
      TB1 has a lot of MC savvy and will benefit from some industry submersion and innovative production. His passion is obvious and, once he merges that more with his craft and artistic direction, he will be on the crest of the Christian hip-hop world.
      Album highlights include ‘Genesis,’ ‘Changes in the Sanc(tuary),’ ‘Eternal Party’ and ‘The Bait.’ Parents can feel safe that the message is uplifting throughout Turn up the Radio Project. Support this local Jacksonville artist at nocompromiserecords.com. This album can also be purchased online at both Best Buy and Circuit City websites.

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