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  Records, with a project as hot as its cover art.As one of the first nationally-released holy hip hop artists to call the Mid-west home, Flame brings his verbal agility and lyrical superiority to this 19-track gem. The self-titled debut kicks off with a short, but hard-hitting intro entitled "Everybody's Screamin' Jesus." Flame issues a hype warning against lukewarm behavior and simultaneously sets his style apart from other artists in the arena. Flame's sound lyrics (he's a theology and communications major at Missouri Bible College) distinguish the album from start to finish, with prime production (mostly from J.R. for So Hot Productions) polishing the set. Cuts such as "Real One" and "True God" impact considerably, with their deep scriptural informatics nicely embedded. As a lyricist, Flame shows genius in crafting catchy hooks, with this talent shining undoubtedly on "News Flash" (produced by Million Tracks), a composition that presents the view from God's window. "Like Christ" brings a playfully-animated Southern bounce, while Flame sheds light on the need to focus on and imitate Christ, instead of leaning on the images supplied by the media and music industry. "Give Us the Truth" finds the young microphone minister addressing the need of elders, adults, teachers and those in positions of influence to give the youth the truth and nothing but the truth.  Labelmate and fellow debut emcee Da' T.R.U.T.H. joins in on "Ladies", with Official producing. Laced with a grooved-hook and ringed with clever wordplay, the cut is an instant winner, with the emcees' dual flows honoring true womanhood, recalling Jesus' perspective on the matter."From the Mid to the East Cypha" brings together peers such as Da T.R.U.T.H., R-Swift, J-Silas, J-Son, Thi'sl, E-licia and Azriel —all tag-teaming over the head–nodding staccato beat. Mark it, this is one of the dopest joints on the disc. With production on par with the quality we've all come to expect from the Cross Movement camp, combined with Flame's ability to relay relevance without compromising reverence to Christ, each track on this project displays his unquenchable desire to speak the Truth. Our advice? Abandon conventional fire wisdom and banish your fire extinguisher —let the spark do its thing. This young emcee's lyrical talent and style shows that where's there's hip hop heat, there's Flame.
Email This To A Friend Cross Movement Records — reviewed by Maria Capulong and Stan North —
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