Reviewed by Paul Woodward

Canada’s Fresh I.E. (FIE) are a welcome addition to Christian hip-hop, containing all the right ingredients. They rhyme with a street-friendly style capable of captivating the ears of any rap fan, Christian or otherwise. Though, unlike some artists, their ghetto friendliness does not hinder the spiritual message, which remains clear and uncompromising throughout the duration of ‘Red Letterz’. Also the fact FIE are a multi-racial group, with a mixture of white and black members, allows “black rapper/white rapper” clichés to be avoided and gives their music a welcome diversity. The musical variety is evident on the album’s first full track “I believe”, a rap metal number, although the album consists mainly of R&B-flavoured hip-hop. One could argue that although competent, FIE’s rapping style lacks uniqueness and therefore fails to offer anything that the array of other up and coming Christian rap artists can’t produce. What set FIE aside however is their angelic backing vocals, giving the songs a special quality; this is particularly noticeable on the highly uplifting “Alright”. If you are looking for a Christian hip-hop album with fresh beats, sweet melodies and a clear Christian message, you can’t go far wrong with ‘Red Letterz’. Sadly, in Christian hip-hop an innovative debut album is often followed by a decline in quality of output; rap fans would do well to pray this is not the case with Fresh I.E., for they have the potential to become Christian music’s answer to the Wu-Tang Clan.

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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