Reviewed by Keren Perrott

If you cast your eye over America's 2011 Rhythm Of Gospel Awards nominee list (which I suspect very few Brits would) you'll find Lonzo, a holy hip-hop artist from Raleigh, North Carolina, out to capture hearts and minds for Christ. The album kicks off with some good old fashioned self-promotion, US style (listeners are reminded on the first track, in case you'd forgotten, that there's an album available in stores) which might be a little difficult for UK audiences to swallow. But if you hang in here there are some really well executed tracks. A nod to DC Talk and Lecrae on "The Word According To" points to some of Lonzo's influences while "Silver & Gold" is a praise song painting an autobiographical picture of the artist setting his sights firmly on Christ and away from the money, fame and success with which major mass-market hip-hop players strive for. There is definite appeal in Lonzo's clever wordsmithing and raw, unpolished sound, but oddities such as "Someone Special" which assumes that everyone is searching for that "special someone" only serve to drag the project down.

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