KJ-52:Five-Two Television

Rapper KJ-52 has made a name for himself over the past 8 years being honest, likable, and being a true “student” of real hip-hop. Now, KJ has parlayed all of that into his newest release, Five-Two Television. The album is actually patterned to be like KJ’s very own television channel, complete with its own “shows”, “news”, and “guest hosts”. Joining KJ on this album are a wide variety of artists, including Trevor McNevan from TFK, Rob Beckley from Pillar, Braille, and Manwell and Bianca Reyes from Group 1 Crew, among others.

At 20 tracks long, Television is by no means his longest album, but certainly one of his most diverse. Right out of the gates, The Adventures of Tweezyman is an entertaining jaunt through a day in the life of KJ. From being confused for “the guy from Rob and Big”, all the way to being made fun of for being “42″ years old, this song is a hilarious addition to the album, and doesn’t shy away from the truth of Jesus Christ. On Lets Go, Trevor McNevan joins KJ in a call to action for us all.

Much like Video Games from Behind the Music referenced many different video games, the track Are You Online uses many popular social networking and online services to show how Christ “follows” us with his love. My favorite line from the song has to be “I follow you like tweets from a twitter.” In typical KJ fashion, he uses topics that are socially relevant and turns them into something that can convey the gospel.

One of the bonus features of this album is the story of Chris Carlino, a guy, who in KJ’s words, he might have become had Christ not saved him. Its a very compelling story. In all of christian music, you will hardly find a nicer or more honest person, or strong musician than KJ-52. Five-Two Television has been carefully crafted from start to finish, and you can tell. In fact, it just might be the best album of his career so far. But most of all, it continues the ministry that has already reached so many for Christ. Do yourself a favor and go buy this album, before Chris Carlino comes to your house…. only kidding.

Other Notables: Help Me Change, Fuego, Tweezydance