Reviewed by Ian Thomson

After six years of working together, the Keep On Trusting In Jesus Crew were finally pushed into the international light by their 2006 release 'The Big Man'. The album itself possesses a rhythm that works itself through your body before you realize it. Drum and bass, synthesizers, keyboard and brass combinations only flavour these driving rhythms with equally catchy melodies. This pronounced instrumental and rhythmic impression is complimented smoothly by the rhyme and lyric laced through each individual song. Using passages straight from both the Bible and personal feeling the New York-based KOTIJ Crew drives across their message as strongly as their beats, dedicating themselves to the words they write as strongly as the music that carries them. Caribbean vocabulary and the laid-back vibe of tropical islands come as standard with most reggae music, but it is worth commenting on the atmospheric effect that the KOTIJ crew achieve here. The only issue with 'The Big Man' is the eventual repetitiveness that also seems to come naturally to the KOTIJ Crews sound. Aside from that, and bearing in mind its status as a debut album, 'The Big Man' excels.

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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