Trailblazin Ministries

Phanatik - The Incredible Walk

Written by LaRosa Johnson
Sunday, February 12, 2006

Album Overview

I've been a fan of Cross Movement since the first time I had the opportunity to hear them back in 1999. Ever since then, I've been blessed with the chance to purchase all of their releases, see them live & in concert, as well as have the opportunity to call them friends. And it is with these albums where I have witnessed the evolution and growth of Phanatik as an emcee and rhyme connoisseur. With each album you can clearly see him grow from a humble rapper to one of the illest lyricists in Christian hip-hop. And now it's time for Brady Goodwin aka the Phanatik to take center stage with his debut solo release titled The Incredible Walk.

The title Incredible Walk is a clever play on Marvel Comics' character the Incredible Hulk, as this album chronicles the struggle of the new nature of a Christian to break through and come alive where the old nature (flesh) used to thrive. The album is 18 tracks chock full of lyrical feats and vividly weaved metaphors from Scripture. The album starts off with "B Side" which is a deftly written track where Phanatik tells us that "this album is just the B side/ I gotta say for side A you really need to see me live/ at least I pray that's how it is/ that the real Phanatik LP would be everyday just the way I live." That is then followed by the track "Psych Check" where Phanatik delivers a playful test to see if the listener can keep up with the various forms of communication used in the remainder of the album. If you can get past these first two tracks, then you're ready for the rest of the album.

Once you get past the first two tracks, you're then ready to get into some concept heavy songs that deliver a strong gospel message that depicts the battle to subdue the flesh and let Christ reign in our lives. It starts off with "Me?," which is a self demoting track that uplifts Christ and challenges the idea that someone other than Christ is worthy of taking center stage. Next up is a melodic track titled "Shot Clock (Brand New Day)" that compares the 24 hours in a day to the 24 seconds on the shot clock in basketball, and encourages the listener to play and win in the game of life (by having Christ in your life). Another concept heavy track is "The AmazinGrace." This is a play on the CBS reality show The Amazing Race, where Phanatik and Shabach team up on a lyrical race around the world carrying the gospel; and instead of the prize being a million dollars, their prize is a million souls.

The title track "Incredible Walk" is a lyrical depiction of Romans 7, where the first verse details the actions of the old nature and the second verse details the life of the new spiritual life of a Christian. This is a short track, but the way Phanatik explains the difficult passage of Romans 7 is done to perfection and in a way that even a child could understand. And for all those old heads in the church that feel that hip-hop is not a legitimate form of ministry, Phanatik presents the track "Hip-Hop Music," which shows why hip-hop is a viable form of ministry in today's world. And irony is found at its best in the track "Dirgy Dancing." This is a bouncy club track that draws attention to the fact that a lot of what is being celebrated in today's music is the very thing that leads to our death, yet we still dance to it.

Probably my favorite track on the entire album would have to be "Grieved Again." It's not so much that it's the best track on the album, but the message permeates through so much that it can't help but affect you. "Grieved Again" seeks to answer the question why humanity is so comfortable with living in sin, even knowing that God flooded the earth once because of man's sins. Brady then goes on to ponder why God hasn't been grieved again to the point of releasing flood #2. Then you get "Come Home" which is a modern day telling of the parable of the prodigal son. Next in line is another favorite of mine in "R&R" featuring Evangel of Christcentric. This melodic track talks about the hope of the believer and how we have hope beyond the grave. The R&R in this song doesn't stand for rest and relaxation, but rather that Christ is Risen and Returning. And rounding out the album is "Hope in the Streetz," which is a smooth song, fit for meditation and vibing with the track on the concept of bringing hope to the streets. This song offers a prayer for Phanatik and members of his family by name, as people who can be part of the solution and bring hope to the streets.

To close this review out, I must say that I'm in awe of Phanatik after listening to this album. Any expectations that I had in relation to this album were met and exceeded. The production on the album is solid, and each track fits perfectly with the witty wordplay of Phanatik. It's still early in the year, but I'm hard-pressed to say that this will be one of the best albums of 2005. There isn't anything that I can find to be a flaw in this project; Phanatik just brings it, plain and simple! So, if you're a fan of Cross Movement, or just looking for some quality hip-hop, then you need to have this in your collection.

Key Tracks

B Side, Shot Clock, The Incredible Walk