Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

As its title suggests, the new EP from London-based grime artist Tracy Lenga (aka Feed'Em) takes the Galatians-themed battle between the flesh and the spirit as its starting point and it's not for the fainthearted. To the backdrop of some captivatingly brutal beats, Feed'Em expertly delivers a range of complex rhymes that uncompromisingly tell of the warfare that goes on when a soul follows Christ in today's world with the likes of "NBD" and "JCOE" acting as acronyms for the artist's resolve to "never back down" and to put "Jesus Christ over everything". Hip-hop as a whole is famous for its direct lyrical approach and Feed'Em certainly uses this to good effect to get his message across with the likes of the opener "Outro" and "That's Where I Be At" seeing the man set out his stall with authority. Whilst lines like "if I compromise I might vomit" and "I'm pissed off with these fakers" in the aforementioned "JCOE" might prompt some tutting from church pews, there is no denying Feed'Em's utter belief in his cause and his willingness to take a chance by stretching the boundaries of what is acceptable in Christian hip hop. Elsewhere, "Murder The Flesh Pt 2" carries a militant theme - references to using Bibles as rifles ensue - and, whilst this track may be misconstrued if listened to out with the context of the wider EP, it highlights the fact that Feed'Em is able to weave wordplay that is both open to interpretation and straight down the middle in terms of his walk with God. For the most part, this is a grime record but the delightfully organic and sample-heavy "No Way" and the worshipful "Casting Crownz" - the latter featuring a vocal from Chi O - add some variety right at the very end of this stimulating and unapologetic offering.

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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