Flame

Since hitting the scene in 2004, Flame has had hit singles, been nominated for a Dove Award (for the song “Gotta Notice”), and hit the Billboard charts. That’s a surprising amount of success in a very short time for an artist on a relatively small label. Inspired by a neighborhood conversation in which he realized an acquaintance didn’t know the biblical story of Adam & Eve, Flame launched the critically acclaimed Our World series. The original album, entitled Our World Fallen, focused on the fall man and his sinful ways. Our World Redeemed… The Sequel hones in on the hope of change and the salvation of man drawing lyrical energy from biblical promise.

This album starts off pretty strong with a powerful intro, blending facets of life together in sound. It’s followed up with the album’s highlight “Funeral to Birthday,” a sermon style recounting of people coming to Christ through the message at a funeral service. The rapping is strong on this song and Flame combined with Json and Kenny Petty rival anything the mainstream hip-hop world has to offer. It’s a lethal combination backed by a gospel choir that is reminiscent of Mase’s hits from the Welcome Back album.

As a matter of fact much of this album has that same sort of feel to it. It’s very laid back musically but very pointed lyrically. The bouncy “Hold On (He’s Strong)” and the more technical “Joyful Noise” also serve as evidence of what Flame is capable of both lyrically and musically. Both are passionate and moving songs that capture the victorious and inspirational feel one can only assume the whole album intends to capture.

The downside here is that most of this album rises to mediocre at best. The production is tight and Flame is a rapper totally worth your attention as far as technique goes but some of these songs are instantly forgettable. The back-to-back “Go Buck” and “Who Can Pluck Us” are prime examples of the moments this album falls flat. The latter almost makes you laugh as Flame attempts to deliver words like “professional plucker” and “pluck the unpluckable” in between sermon-style verses. It just sounds silly. I appreciate the idea but it doesn’t work at all. “Go Buck” has a semi-interesting Pharrell feel to it but the delivery is poor at best. It just doesn’t seem to work together lyrically or musically.

Overall this album is mediocre with some great moments. It’s not that this is the kind of album you’ll dislike, but it’s definitely a singles-oriented album though the title would lead you to believe otherwise. The idea has a lot of potential but Flame just doesn’t make it work as a cohesive unit. And honestly, by the end of the album I’m tired of being preached at. As a Christian I’m tired of being preached at; now put yourself in the shoes of a non-Christian. If you are looking for something to blast from your subwoofers this will do as good a job as most mainstream hip-hop, but beyond that it’s pretty hit and miss.

Does it Resonate with you?

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

URL