PRo – Dying to Live

PRo
Dying to Live
Reach Records 2011
http://www.reachrecords.com/

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

“Ladies and gentleman, I’d like to welcome you to the truth.”

So announces Christian hip hop artist PRo on “A Life Worth Dying For,” a track from his new (and third official) CD, Dying to Live.

That truth, delivered with heaping doses of rhythm and reality, has helped propel the project onto Billboard’s top twenty gospel albums list shortly after its release last month. It follows in the footsteps of his Redemption, which made a similar jump shortly after its release last year.

It’s not surprising. Derek Laurence Johnson, Jr., or PRo (short for Prodigal), produces consistently quality material. His rhymes are crisp, relevant and inventive, and the gothic beats are interesting in their own right. And he is on Reach Records now, the Motown of Christian Hip Hop, so there’s that.

On Dying to Live, PRo examines the importance of living a meaningful life as a fearless and unashamed disciple of Christ. On “Never Back Down,” PRo, S.O. and Thi’sl even dare their enemies to bring on the guns and choppers to stop them, but it will be futile.

But Dying to Live is not all about street warfare for the Lord. “No Limits,” featuring Rio, is a positive rap about how God’s control frees His people to achieve their highest potential. The compelling “Beautiful,” with PK, is a hip hop ballad about inner beauty. To the woman who thinks only a model-style figure can be considered beautiful, they retort, “Coke bottles are plastic/mannequins are plastic/but you are fantastic.” To those who torture themselves to become “a size zero,” their response is, “God ain’t made you like anybody else/Don’t let anybody tell you that you’re anything less.”

An all-star roster of Christian hip hop artists contributes to Dying to Live, most notably Lecrae and Tedashii on the intense “Going In;” JSon and Trip Lee on the praise rap, “No One Greater;” and Jai, who turns in a feisty vocal on the pulse-pounding “Stronger.” Niya adds a psychedelic component to “So Far Gone.” And I always love myself some Jenny Norlin, who shines soulfully on “This Can’t Be.” Not add-ons in the least bit, the guests add a great deal to the final product.

Dying to Live is a well-tuned product and suggests that PRo is already headed toward the same kind of accolades as label mates Trip Lee and Lecrae.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “Dying to Live,” “Beautiful,” “Stronger.”