One Man In The Middle brings you regular, unbiased and honest reviews of music albums and EPs from Christian artists and musicians here in the UK and worldwide. Here we have 7Even by JayEss with an overall review score of 8.6 out of 10.
Album Information:
JayEss has gained a reputation as one of the most powerful and significant lyricists on the UK scene, a spokesperson to his generation and beyond. His tracks are seriously challenging and thought provoking, documenting his journey and speaking bold truths.
This dynamic hip hop artist from the UK will have you bopping your head to banging beats while enlightening you with an informative spiritual message. From “Questions and Answers” to “Who Is It,” you will be captivated and motivated with these words of wisdom.
Many of you will remember him from the sensational release ” The British Are Coming-Gospel.” Now you can hear JayEss in his entirety, unleashed on this release.
Review:
UK Christian rapper JayEss released his first full album in 2010 and this got him a lot of recognition with the album “Genesis Snapshots” receiving award nominations from the MOBO’s, Dove Awards and the Stellar Awards. He is the only UK rapper to have his work recognised by all three of these bodies. Clearly this was something special and big things were expected. Apart from a mix-tape project released a few years ago, so “7Even” is only his second full album.
“7Even” is named after one of the tracks on this album where JayEss looks at some of the insights in the Bible about the number 7. From Genesis to Revelation this number resonates, for those who have been in church for some time probably know a number of the significant uses of the number seven and how it has been called the perfect number. JayEss takes this topic which is more often the subject of deep sermons and conveys his insights into the numerology clearly and concisely to the listener whilst giving a great tune. Appropriately this track is number 7 on the album!
If the idea of looking into the 7s in the Bible doesn’t exhilarate you then don’t worry, there is plenty more on this album for you! Much of the album is more down to earth and JayEss really shines when telling stories through his music. I don’t know how autobiographical some of these tracks are but it is clear that life on the streets is a key topic for this artist.
The first track that talks about this is “Live It Up” which is a song that comes with its own short film around it to flesh out the story. This fresh sounding track features KWest and is the story of the difference between a life on the streets and a life where God is chosen instead. The guy thinks by cheating on his girlfriend and treating them badly and using violence is living life, but he chooses differently and realises that he has one life to live, so better to live it for the best.
“Slow Down” continues with some of this, looking with concern at those involved in the life of the previous track and the burden to reach them so that they know about God. Not just being in churches but getting out and being real.
One of my favourite tracks on the album is “Homesick” which is a disarming story with a huge amount of warmth about a homeless person. This person has a past but is invisible to many, when one person takes the time to speak to him about God, and that he can do something about his future, taking small steps he works towards getting his life back on the rails. I really enjoyed this track, it’s full of hope and even some humour like “I turned to my dog for advice, but he don’t speak!” This song feels very real but without the edge that some tracks like this could carry, there is hope and hope is fulfilled by the end of the track.
There are good beats and bars throughout this album with a few songs making a deeper impact than others. JayEss certainly doesn’t shy away from talking about God and Jesus, there is a real biblical edge to some of these tracks that like “7Even” go deeper than your normal rap / hip-hop style.
Another feel good track is “Good Friday” which just sounds light, airy and initially full of the joy of looking forward to the end of work for the week and the freedom of the weekend. This is the kind of song that you want for one of those hot weekends in the summer when the sun is shining!
Overall this album brings lots to the table. There is a great variety in the tracks. I love the warmth and self-positivity of this album, the unashamed belief and faith that springs from many of the tracks. At the same time there is an earthy quality that applies the teaching to the world around him.
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