Trailblazin Ministries

shai linne - The Atonement

Written by LaRosa Johnson
Friday, 25 January 2008

Album Overview

It was back in 2005 that the lowercase emcee, shai linne, gave us his debut album titled The Solus Christus Project that was aimed at letting the listener know that it is through Christ alone that we receive such a great salvation. It is now some years later and his album is still in constant rotation, but now he's offering up some new heat, the first of supposedly two releases this year. Again, and appropriately so, this album is focused on Christ Jesus. Instead of focusing on the many attributes of our Lord, shai linne chose to focus on the most important aspect of His person and ministry, on which our salvation hinges, The Atonement, which happens to be the name of this album. I will touch more on its significance later.

Musically, this album is exactly what you would expect from Lamp Mode Recordings and their artists, and nothing less. The Atonement is nineteen (19) tracks deep, containing eight (8) interludes, including the Intro & Outro. So that leaves you with eleven (11) tracks of doctrine-heavy lyrical theology that is sure to leave with either a greater understanding of the doctrine of the atonement or all the tools necessary to know why you need to repent of your sins and trust in the Savior. With this project, shai linne gives you nothing less than his absolute best, which is thoughtfully deep rhymes that hit right to the heart of each subject that he covers.

Considering the seriousness of this project's subject matter, it is appropriate for this to be a more somber and darker project than most fans are used to. That is not to say that the album is not enjoyable, because it is, but this is an album that requires you to come spiritually prepared. From the "Intro" and opening track, "In Adam All Die," you quickly figure out that this is one heavy album and that shai linne is going to take you to Lamp Mode Bible College. Even with that, though, you still get to see a wide array of shai's lyrical abilities such as teaching doctrine (The Cross), painting vivid word pictures (Through My Eyes), and a unique ability to offer up praise to the Lord (Triune Praise). Not to be forgotten in all of this are the producers who provided the beautiful musical accompaniment for The Atonement. As always, you have DJ Essence blessing us with his superb production talents, as well as the sounds of SomeDUDE and Tony Stone.

You are left with so much after listening to this album, and I can't even begin to express the magnitude of influence that this project is going to have in your spiritual life. As I'm writing this and listening to the album, I'm still walking away with something new and yet another reason to appreciate the cross and the atonement. I can only imagine the impact that it's going to have on anyone else who hears this project.

Spiritual Significance

Sure, the music is nice, but the purpose of this album is not for you to be able to bump this in your car "riding with your top down listening to this Jesus Muzik." Instead, this album is meant to teach and make you aware of the importance of the cross. After taking a survey of our sub-sub-culture, shai linne and DJ Essence felt that there was not enough emphasis being placed on the cross of Christ and the importance of the crucifixion. With that in sight, shai linne undertook the process of creating a project whose sole focus was on the atonement of Jesus Christ, hence the album The Atonement.

So, what exactly is the atonement? Simply put, the atonement is simply "at-one-ment," or the state of being at one or reconciled; therefore, atonement is reconciliation. And in a strictly Biblical sense, it refers to the work of Jesus Christ by which He expiated our sins, which came at a climax during His crucifixion on the cross. In terms of Christianity, there is no more important work than the atonement. If it were not for the atonement, we would have no forgiveness of sin and all of mankind would be faced with the reality of suffering the penalty of their sins with an eternity in hell. Therefore, the purpose of this album is to express the importance of the atonement as the cornerstone of the Christian faith. The Atonement is a lyrical exposition of the doctrine of the atonement, and a great one at that.

Not only do you get shai's thoughts on the atonement, but you also get sermon snippets from John Piper and C.J. Mahaney that speak on the necessity for Jesus Christ to come in the form of man to serve as our propitiation. It doesn't end there though, as you also get four interludes containing a dialogue between shai and William Branch aka the Ambassador (shai's pastor) where they discuss some of the different aspects of the atonement. After hearing these snippets it makes you wish you had the full conversation, as well as the sermons by Piper and Mahaney. Of course, you can download their sermons at their respective websites: DesiringGod.org & SovereignGraceMinistries.org. Putting all of these together, you are bound to come away with a clear understanding of the doctrine of the atonement, knowing why it was necessary and its significance in the life of the believer.

Ultimately, at the end of this album, you can't help but to worship the Lord in "Triune Praise" before His "Throne of Grace."

Topics Covered

With this album covering the atonement, you would think that there would not be a wide variety of subjects covered, but you'd be completely wrong. Even with such a focused subject matter, there is plenty of material that is covered on this album, as each track speaks to the many elements of the atonement, here's an overview of the album's topics:

• Fall of man aka the reason for the atonement (In Adam All Die)
• What God saw when He surveyed the earth and mankind (School Daze)
• The Crucifixion (Were You There?, Through My Eyes, The Cross)
• The Resurrection (Jesus Is Alive)
• The Finished Work (Mission Accomplished)
• Praise to the Lord (Triune Praise, Throne of Grace)
• The Gospel Message (The Gospel)

Key Tracks

School Daze, Were You There?, The Cross, Triune Praise