I received a demo song today. 

(Artist name, song title, record company, city, state and all that will not be mentioned opn this site as it is not our intent to promote the artists or dis the artists.. jus help build the Kingdom)

I just took one quick listen and right off the bat here were my criticisms. 

1. The opening is way too long, musically. His lyrics don't begin until 55 seconds after the beat has already kicked in. Almost a minute is way too long, by then anyone listening to a demo would have turned it off. 

2. The beat is a little simple. I understand the need for a softer, quieter beat, but it really doesn't match his lyrics. The lyrics are deep, life-changing story and the music is wayyyy too laid back for what he's saying. Laid back and simple. 

3. The singer was not good at all. She sounded off key. 

4. The "almost-curse" was totally unnecessary. I always feel, even in worldly hip hop, that anyone that has to curse in their songs is doing so because they cannot come up with better lyrics. He sounds very intelligent and can come up with way better stuff than an "almost curse" to get his point across. Not to mention the fact that any Christian entity like Rap Fest or a Christian record label would certainly turn it off at the curse and not listen anymore. For us, this is ministry. Serious-minded, real and vital ministry. Imagine your pastor getting up on the pulpit and going, "Oh
shhhhhiii." He may stop but the congregation would bug out. Imagine that. To me it's the same thing in Christian Hip Hop. We have to be serious-minded, recognize that it's not just art and not just hip hop, but we're talking about soul-winning. And our model for soul-winning should be Christ. I doubt he'd be on the earth today using any of our common four-letter words today. 

Brother E