Reviewed by Steve Hayes

We kick off with Cy bringing a grooving flow as he brings a concept album around the theme of a circus. Rolling, uplifting, head-bobbing and tight East Coast beats fill the 19 track project. As we enter the circus with our hosts, Cy, J Silas and R Swift, we find that the circus is the world that, "So what you thought was a circus was really a foul place that suffers from a disease outbreak/It's called sin and it comes with a weighty price/The only guaranteed cure is Christ." We're called to "Stand Up", introduced to "The Ringleader" - the Devil - on a well-crafted track revealing the true nature of the evil one. Cy tells us his life-story in tracks like "Back Home" featuring Enock and "Been There Done That". Cy isn't afraid to shy away from confronting and challenging - as in tracks like "Watcha Step" featuring Pettidee and Gina V and the motivation-checking "The Flipside Trapeze". Time after time, we are challenged to put God first and live for him as this is the only worthwhile life. This is especially true of a section of tracks like "The Parable", "Take A Look" and "Heat." The project ends with the excellent "Show Time" featuring S O M, Icece, Mark J, Tre9 and Colcutz, all bringing their own style and humour while pointing to one faith and one God. "Bottom Of The Charts" sees us go a bit dirty south as Cy continues the theme of staying low and putting God first!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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