Album Overview

It's been three years since we last heard from Christcentric when they released their compilation album City of God. Picking up right where their 2004 release Reformation left off, Christcentric returns with their latest offering called Didactic Music Vol. 1. At its heart, this is an album packed full of truth over hip-hop beats. Notably, this is their first release without Q-Dog, who is currently attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX; but, this also marks the introduction of the newest Christcentric member Israel Felix.

As you listen to this album, it's just what you would expect to hear from Christcentric, solid east coast hip-hop lyricism over gritty beats. "Semper Reformanda" starts off the album strongly as Evangel comes right in spitting bars that leave your head spinning and your finger pressing rewind to catch all of the nuggets that he packed into his opening verses. The hook is super catchy and will have you chanting along saying "Sem-per Re-for-man-da!" From there, the album continues forward with your typical Christcentric type of album, rugged hip-hop that isn't trendy. In listening, Didactic Music reminds me a lot of their debut effort, The Mind of Christ, with their simple & straightforward rhymes over unobtrusive beats. The beats are rugged, yet musical, and crafted in such a way that it allows the listener to focus on the lyrics without the distractions that many complex beats can offer. I will say, though, that if this is a new listener to Christcentric and they're listening to this album blindly, they probably would've guessed that it was recorded around the same time as their first album, instead of 2009. This is by design, as the project has that late 90's kind of vibe & sound, which is part of the Christcentric signature sound. For some, it may be one of those things where you take it or leave it, either you'll love it or you'll hate it. That aside, there are quite a few memorable tracks on this album and plenty that will keep your finger on the repeat button so that you can keep hearing the rhymes until they sink in.

Overall, I was quite pleased with this album. Even though this isn't an album that will win any accolades for its crisp or innovating sounds, it's sure to be one that you'll keep in constant rotation just so you can grasp all of the teaching that Christcentric packed into Didactic Music. Because of the depth of content, I'd definitely have to say that this is one of my favorite albums in 2009. Even with that, I'm sure that this is an album that will have to grow on many listeners; either way, it's at the top of the list of Trailblazin Ministries' recommendations.

Spiritual Significance

Just as the title suggests, this album is meant to provide instruction, which is exactly what didactic means, in case you didn't know. With Didactic Music Vol. 1, Christcentric offers up a meaty album that is geared toward furthering the Christian in biblical truth and doctrines of the Christian faith, while also brushing them up on their church history. As we've already noted, the album kicks off with "Semper Reformanda," which dishes out a pretty heavy dose of church history, along with the adjacent track "The Creed of Nicea." The first offers a run down of the great men of God who walked the earth after the Reformation era of Martin Luther, while also encouraging the listener to continue reforming until they die. The Marines have a motto "Semper Fidelis" that means "always faithful;" in much the same way, this is a cry for Christians to be "forever faithfully reforming." For those unfamiliar with the men named in the song, it serves to give you a very brief rundown of some of Christendom's scholars & teachers that you should add to your biblical library and learn more about. This is followed by "The Creed of Nicea," which is a track giving you the details of, well, the Creed of Nicea. You get a rundown of what happened to spark it, with the hook reinforcing the the thought behind this essential orthodox Christian creed.

After your dose of church history, you then shift gears and focus on other areas of Christian teaching. Next in line is instruction on the attributes of God in "The Trinity" and "The Holiness of GOD." Both are foundational and should make you want to dive into the text of Scripture to learn more about these subjects. From there, the album bounces back & forth between different subjects including: apologetics, a look at the parable of the prodigal, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the book of Acts, to name a few. There are plenty of surprises in this album, so I won't spoil it all; I want there to be something left for you to dig into on your own. All in all, this is a very hearty album that is sure to leave the student of Scripture feasting for days as he unpacks the lyrics and cross references them with the Bible and other works throughout Christian history.

Topics Covered

• Church History (Semper Reformanda & the Creed of Nicea)
• Apologetics (Clash of the Titans)
• The Attributes of God (The Trinity & the Holiness of GOD)
• Bible Teaching (Gethsemane & The Elder Brother)
• The Church (Acts)

and more...

Key Tracks

Semper Reformanda, The Creed of Nicea, The Elder Brother, Clash of the Titans Rounds 1&2