One - Spiritual Minded

KRS-One Attacks
by: tom reiter

KRS-One, aka The Teacha, aka The Blastmaster, has been in the rap industry long enough to witness and influence its many revolutions as the art evolves. He is at it again with his tenth studio album to date. He says, "When I began to think about what my tenth album should sound like, I couldn't help but to think of the people that yearn for the spiritual meaning of life and living." Spiritual Minded is hiphop with a gospel edge. The song "Tears" is humbly dedicated to the lives of those that were lost on September 11, 2001.

KRS maintains his reputation for conscious, controversial hip-hop by addressing the greatest issue of all times, spirituality. Spiritual Minded preaches a his message of personal enlightenment with words from KRS, self-acclaimed street preacher T. Bone, and The Temple of Hip-Hop.

Although the subject matter may be of interest to the album's target audience, the music is mostly a dissappointment. Most of the tracks have weak beats and hooks, no longer the boom-bap hip-hop once exemplified by the Blastmaster. Stand-out tracks "The Struggle Continues," "The Consicious Rapper," and "Never Give Up" keep Spiritual Minded from being a complete let down. KRS holds up his end of the album, still shining as one of hip-hop's most lyrical and strongest rappers.

Spiritual Minded may not be for the masses, but it will definitely elevate Chrisitian rap to a new level. 27-Feb-2002 11:30 AM