Trailblazin Ministries

Lecrae - After the Music Stops

Written by LaRosa Johnson
Thursday, July 20, 2006

"After the show, after the set, after the music stops, what's next?" That is the question that now Memphis native emcee Lecrae is both asking and attempting to answer with his highly anticipated follow-up to his debut Real Talk. Digging into the heart of the hip hop culture and working towards bringing souls into the Kingdom, he looks to answer the question of what happens after the show with his aptly titled sophomore release After the Music Stops (ATMS for short).

Choosing to quickly start the album, Lecrae gives us the title track "After the Music Stops," which in turn sets the tone for the remainder of the album. It is on this track that Lecrae asks the question that I started this review with; after the music stops, what's next? Lecrae wants to know if his set will drive you to want to open your Bible or have prayer and fellowship? With this in your face track, you truly get a glimpse at this brother's heart for discipleship and desire for making sure that we, as Christians, are fulfilling the Great Commission. It is from this point forward that Lecrae goes on to offer up tracks that show what should happen once the music stops. The first track that follows is a bouncy bass-laden dirty south track featuring Trip Lee called "Jesus Muzik." With its chopped & screwed chorus, these two emcees talk about how they ride in their whips with the top down listening to some Jesus music (i.e. Cross Movement, Lampmode, Reach Records, etc.). As far as pure heat and replayability (is that a word?), this is the perfect summertime joint for people who like to bump their music loud for the streets to hear.

With the two tone setters out of the way, what do you get with the rest of the album? That's simple; you get more dirty south flavored heat that is both doctrinally sound and pleasant to the ears. On ATMS, Lecrae really hits on a lot of different subjects from sharing his testimony on "I Did It for You" (featuring Diamone) to giving reverence and praise to the Lord on tracks like "Grateful" (featuring J.R.) and "It's Your World" (featuring Redeemed Thought and Sho). This is primarily what you get with the first half of the album; you get a lot of songs that give you Scriptural truth and honor the Lord. Songs like "Send Me" are where Lecrae compares himself to the prophet Isaiah asking the Lord to send him to reach the lost. It's on this song that he also talks about how so many youth this summer are not doing any kind of missions, but they're just sitting at home "watching Xzibit pimpin' a Hummer" or playing video games. Another notable track is "The King" featuring Flame where these two emcees denounce all of secular culture's self-proclaimed kings and tell everyone who the one true king is, Jesus Christ. This is a very solid track representing the Most High and is good to see these two together on a track again ripping it up for the Lord.

The second half of the album is less focused on doctrine per say, but still is still solely based in the Scriptures. "Invisible" (featuring Diamone) is one of these songs, and it's on this track that Lecrae offers up praise to the Lord and explains that in his ministry he doesn't want people to see him, but desires for them to see the Christ in him; in other words, he wants to be invisible so that Christ can shine through. Two of my favorite songs are also on this half of the album. The first is "Get Low" which is a grungy club joint that at first sounds like it would be something that a secular artist would write. But Lecrae isn't telling women to get low on the dance floor, but he is telling people to "get low" and humble yourselves before the Lord. The next track is called "Prayin for You;" on this song Lecrae is simply offering up a prayer to the Lord on behalf of someone he knows talking about how they don't feel God like they used to and constantly miss the mark. I can definitely relate to this song because it hits home on a lot of the things that I personally struggle with being in ministry. There's even a twist at the end of this song where Lecrae reveals that the person he has been praying for is really himself.

After starting strong, the album ends well also. The last quartet of songs begins with "Death Story" where Lecrae finds himself quickly dying while the doctors try to rescue him. During his fight to stay alive, Lecrae (viewing himself as an unsaved person) goes through all of the major religions to determine which one he should believe in. He recounts all of the encounters he had with people who tried to get him to believe in a different god, before ultimately realizing before he dies that Jesus Christ is the one that he should believe in. This is probably my favorite song on the album as its power and heart just radiates through every single line and word. This is followed by the rowdy track "Unashamed" featuring Tedashii and BJ; as usual this is the track where the emcees represent the 1-1-Six and let the world know that they are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. "Unashamed" is then followed by the mellow "El Shaddai" which is sung by Cam before ending with a bouncy bonus track.

After reaching the end of After the Music Stops, I'm not sure that I want it to. The music on this album is solid from start to finish. There isn't a single track on this project that I would want to skip over. Lecrae did a wonderful job of expressing himself and carrying out his agenda on this project. You can see his heart for evangelism and it translated into a memorable project that is sure to leave people knowing what to do once the music stops; they'll be wanting to read their Bibles, pray to the Lord and have plenty of fellowship.