NU DNAHelp Someone (2012)
Mini Tracks Music
By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.
Since DNA is the bits and bytes that make up the human form, NU DNA means a new life.
New life, or the “new me” versus the “old me,” is precisely the thematic principle behind the group NU DNA and its project, Help Someone.
TBGB first wrote about the Michigan-based NU DNA as “emerging artists” back in November 2004. The male trio—Marc and Larry Frye and Kelvin Keith—infuses its always-optimistic songs of encouragement and personal struggle with smooth urban R&B and moderate electronic beats. Think Commissioned or the early Winans aggregation, but with 21st century swag.
The two-part “Hands” brackets a group of songs about the “new me”/”old me” conflict, with the ballad “Save Me Now” being the altar call, the album’s emotional apex, and its most radio-friendly selection. By that point, it’s doxology and “You Make Me Great,” an up-tempo praiser, closes out the project.
NU DNA’s fresh outlook on life and what it can be also encompasses problems in the nation and the world. The title track pleads for an end to racism, hate, war, and other things that divide humanity and keep it from attaining its own “new me.” “Failed
Mike Winans, who contributes two songs to the project, joins the team vocally on “What I Really Like.” What they really like, incidentally, is that things are going to get better because God is “always here.” Chip Dixson cameos on the self-titled opening track.
NU DNA sings with genuine conviction and earnestness. Both come through loud and clear on Help Somebody, released on the Chicago-based Mini Tracks Music imprint.
Four of Five Stars
Picks: “Save Me Now.”
Written by : Bob Marovich
Bob Marovich is a gospel music historian, author, and radio host. Founder of Journal of Gospel Music blog (formally The Black Gospel Blog) and producer of the Gospel Memories Radio Show.
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