Album Overview
So far 2009 has not been what some would call a great year for HHH albums. Some have even called it a down year. With that in mind I wanted to bring to light an album most fans might have missed in 2008. Underdog’s Anthem by Columbus, Ohio’s own, Street Pastor! Man oh man, I have to tell you, this album is, well like Street says, “...so hot man, it’s meltin through da plastic!” I will tell you one thing, this man has been in the game for a minute and if you don’t know him, let’s get acquainted, shall we.
This ground roots pastor of the streets has at least eleven years in the game and is on the Great Commission. He has two self produced and self recorded albums (The Bigger Picture, and Scripted In Concrete). This is his 4th solo project. Most recently he put out a mix CD entitled They Should Panic with his man, KamBINO. He is a recent graduate of the Ohio State University where he majored in marketing, communication, and entrepreneurship. Street works with Columbus’ local gospel station, Joy 106.3 FM as their Public Affairs Director; he is also a motivational speaker with Reach Communications in Brooklyn, NY, and is the CEO of the Sling Shot Media Group LLC. Whew!!! With all of that on his plate he still manages to be a bond servant of Christ first, and once you buy Underdog’s Anthem, you will hear how.
Let me just tell you, Martyr Mindstate was the first album I ever heard from this artist. I was absolutely floored when I heard it too. Flow: he has it and then some. This cat says things like, he got an angel in his vocal cords and Jesus is his ghost writer. What he is known for the most though is rhyming with no pen and pad. It is a rare feat within the hip hop genre to find an artist who freestyles for as long and with as much quality.
Then come the instrumentals. The beats on this album are so far advanced musically from The Bigger Picture album; you undoubtedly hear the enormous growth. Tracks like “The Box” with Richard Jordan display a richness in sound and a depth in soul that can only be communicated in its entirety through song. It seems as though each track had me repeating them at least 4-5 times in a row before I could move on to the next one. If you are not banging your head and snapping your neck, you have to be home with the Lord.
So, to sum this up, let’s just say you do not want to be caught without Underdog’s Anthem. If you did not know about Street Pastor, become one with God’s bond servant. You will feel edified for the experience of sound transmitting from your speakers to the joining of the expanding first pharyngeal pouch and groove. Trust me!
Spiritual Significance
Jesus said go and make disciples. Not build big churches or tell people they can have money and cars. So, that is not what you get on this album. You do not get false teaching and fluff. What Street does is stick to the script. Matthew 28:16-20 to be more exact. From relationships with the opposite sex, to the drug game, to just trying to live a thug lifestyle, you get redirected back to the cross on every track. That’s what’s up!
I am not going to tell all of the nice surprises to how he does it, but fresh and creative sermons is how I describe this album. This is not some project that keeps it on the surface so the critiques will support it. This album is filled with solid and even some deep theological issues most HHH artist are not touching. If you have been disappointed with the state of gospel rap lately due to lack of meat, don’t fret, Street Pastor is here to feed you.
Topics Covered
So many, that I cannot really go into depth, but here are just a few:
- Great Commission
- Discipleship
- Sexual Purity
- Wisdom in Decisions
- Choosing Salvation
Key Tracks
“For Family” with LaShae Boone; “Choose This Day”; “Men Lose”; “Fresh”; “Forgotten” with Matthew Seward II; “The Box” with Richard Jordan; “Good Bye World”