Jor’Dan Armstrong – Jesus, Fashion, & Beatz: the Mixtape

Jor’Dan Armstrong

Jesus, Fashion, & Beatz – the Mixtape

Power Move Management (2012)
www.jordanarmstrongmusic.com

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Released in January of this year, Jor’Dan Armstrong’s Jesus, Fashion, & Beatz is a sonic rush of audio adrenaline. 

The mixtape consists of 22 tracks without breaks (naturally – it’s a mixtape) with interstitials from host DJ Dex to make it sound like an hour-long radio program, complete with ads for the CD, Armstrong’s website, Twitter account, and the like. 

Armstrong, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, released his debut album, Champion, in 2009 and received the 2010 En Sound Music Award for Best Male Urban Artist.  When on the mixtape you hear the phrase, “The Good Guys Always Win,” it’s a reference to his production team, The Good Guys, which includes TedyP and Franchise Tief.  Incidentally, the title of the mixtape comes from Armstrong’s three priorities in life (he has plans to launch a fashion line).

During the first third of the mixtape, the songs leap out of the speakers with the rapid-fire sugar buzz of Saturday morning cartoons and the flash and whiz of video games.  The vigorous island beat of “Tropicana” is an ideal backdrop for describing how good God’s blessings feel.  The tempo slows on “Believer;” here, Armstrong teams up with Z’iel’s Keyondra Lockett for a nice pop ballad about living by faith and love, even when others think you are crazy for doing so.

On “U Did Something for Me,” Armstrong sings about how he gave up the “money, bright lights, and honeys” to follow the Lord.  Then on “Heartbreaker,” he admits he hasn’t always kept up his side of the bargain with Jesus, and asks, “How can you love somebody that breaks your heart?”

Interestingly, the two best performances on the mixtape are Christianized covers of popular hits.  Armstrong turns Coldplay’s “Paradise” into an inspirational musing.  Similarly, he sings David Guetta and Usher’s “Without You” without any changes at all and it sounds better than the original.

Jor’Dan Armstrong’s Jesus, Fashion, & Beatz will keep the customers satisfied until his new album, Stronger, comes out this summer.

Picks: “Believer,” “Without You.”