The Gospel by God

Bible, Torah, Koran or otherwise, religion has always given mankind plenty to talk about. But as he asserts on ā€œBlock Shit,ā€ Englewood rapper God doesnā€™t talk: he just drops shit. Itā€™s a work ethic that shines through on his new mixtape, The Gospel: 3000 B.C. (Before Crack)ā€”and while it falls short of a religious experience, itā€™s a rewarding and entertaining listen from a rapper with his eyes set on the throne.

From crisp artwork to skillfully directed music videos, God has always brought a sense of professionalism to his work. Heā€™s got a wide lyrical range and a knack for wordplayā€”in the past, heā€™s paid tribute to everyone from College Dropout-era Kanye (ā€œTrunk full of coke, rental car from Avis/Momma tried to tell me that my rhymes could save usā€) to Americaā€™s most infamous toupee-wearer (ā€œI had a dream that I robbed Donald Trump/Tied him up, threw his ass in the trunkā€).

But above all, heā€™s a workaholic: he released two full-length mixtapes in 2014 (The Bible and After the Bible) and put out a music video for almost every track on them, all while spearheading his Money Block Entertainment crew. (As The Gospelā€™s introduction states: ā€œhe hungry, he grind hard, he take care of his familyā€¦ā€) Through Money Block, God has collaborated with and promoted the work of Englewood rappers such as Wu Allah and MB Jesus.

More notably, God has performed with Juicy J and posted photographs of himself hanging out with DJ Khaled and Wiz Khalifa; heā€™s garnered tens of thousands of views on WorldStarHipHop; Waka Flocka Flame has worn one of his shirts.

And yet, heā€™s basically unknown beyond the South Side. Itā€™s tempting to compare God to the likes of Lil Durk and Chief Keef and ask: could The Gospel be that breakthrough, Godā€™s Finally Rich? Itā€™s hard to say, but The Gospel is a hell of a lot of fun to listen to.

Appropriately enough, the albumā€™s opener, ā€œGospelā€, begins with chapel-floorboard stomps and a wailing hymnal sample. After a few measures, a snare roll clatters in, and then God takes the mic. Like any good rapper, God doesnā€™t ever sound like heā€™s trying too hard, so the fact that he manages to shift up his delivery so frequently across The Gospel is impressive. Heā€™s got a tip-toe cadence on ā€œStick to the Codeā€ and the sing-song ā€œRope,ā€ but he sounds just as comfortable rapping double-time on ā€œStreet Sweeper.ā€

On the whole, The Gospel is less grim than Godā€™s earlier worksā€”and itā€™s to his benefit. In terms of production, itā€™s decidedly polished and surprisingly ambitious. Each beat is crisp and punchy, and although plenty of trap tropes are on display (808 kicks and gunshots aplenty), thereā€™s a strong Memphis undercurrent on tracks like ā€œBroke Remix,ā€ which is propelled by a gorgeous saxophone melody and a Juicy J verse. Elsewhere, ā€œBlock So Hotā€ features what sounds like a distorted blues sample and bitcrushed, rear-view mirror-rattling bass.

Thatā€™s not to say that The Gospel is without flaws. Not all of the choruses land, and the mixtape loses some steam over the course of its second half. Godā€™s whispery delivery on ā€œPradaā€ doesnā€™t play to his strengths, and even with its siren-like synths, the 808 Mafia-produced ā€œIā€™m Kingā€ isnā€™t particularly impressive. But at twelve tracks, The Gospel is lean.

After The Gospelā€™s release, God tweeted ā€œThanks for all the love on The Gospel…the hate is appreciated as well!ā€ It hasnā€™t been an entirely smooth pathā€”God continues to catch some flak from Twitter users for his nameā€”but as he raps on ā€œStick to the Code,ā€ he ā€œainā€™t worried ā€˜bout nothing.ā€

The Gospel might not be a revelation, but if God keeps coming out with material like this, he has nothing to worry about.

Listen to The Gospel: 3000 B.C. (Before Crack) at www.soundcloud.com/youaintgod

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