Album Review: Courtney Antipas - Transparent

Courtney Antipas is one of the finest rappers on the local music scene, he has been in the game for years has gained a lot of experience and composure which shows throughout his music. Despite being a Christian rapper he commands the same respect as compared to the best secular rappers. He has now released a new album which I have been listening to for the past couple of weeks and today will be sharing my views and thoughts on the project.

I'm not really sure about the artwork, this is supposed to be a Gospel and uplifting album but the design leans more to the darker side. On the other hand one may interpret it as if he is baring his scars on this album, something which he does in the album hence the scars, so i'm kinda split on the artwork. Tell me what you think about the artwork???. The album contains 8 tracks and as per usual will be doing a track by track review.

1. Know Too Much feat C.O.G

Keeping in line with the artwork this first track starts with a suspenseful progression which can be a perfect horror movie soundtrack. The overall production follows on that dark suspenseful tone throughout the track and it's sounding good. On this track Courtney is saying he knows too much to turn away from the Lord. If you know how much the Lord has done for you, you are less likely to turn away from him but you will appreciate his love and grace even more and strive to be a better person. The vocal performances are done very well, Courtney was superb on the verses and C.O.G was at par on the vocals. 

2. So Soulful

This track sums up the definition of a feel good track perfectly, the arrangement of the instrumental is done very well, the bass-line is sooo awesome. Overall production is very good. Courtney delivered a solid performance, he oozed swag and class throughout the track. On this track he just saying that he has now matured as a person, he is no longer trying to be chasing popular trends, he is now content and is enjoying releasing some clean soulful music. At the same time he urges other upcoming rappers to rise above the petty issues and live a mature wise life. He is no longer concentrating on what people say or conform to the popular styles but he will continue being the mature self that he is now and keep spreading the good news.

3. Stay Up

They went for an old skool kind of vibe on this jam, the instrumental is arranged very well, it's soulful, laid back and sounds lovely. The overall production is done very well, it will get you bumping your head to the beat in no time. Courtney again delivered a solid performance on this track. The jam is dedicated to all the dad's/fathers out there, it's urging the father's to be the leaders of their families, even when things are hard they should stay up, stand strong and keep the family intact. He is urging the fathers to walk in a blameless way, putting their belief and trust in the Lord and the whole family will follow suit. Love the ending. 

4. Be Yourself

Being confident with who you are is the first step to being a successful person and this song is encouraging every African kid to be proud of who they are. If you know who you are, you will be confident and can conquer anything because the biggest challenge many of us face is lack of identity so we spend a lifetime trying to conform to someone's standards. Courtney was superb on the verses, he was audible, smooth and on point. The production is also done very well the track is sounding very good. We need more songs like this to fight the mental slavery that many of us African are subjected to.

5. Kayden 

It's very rare that an artist lays himself bare like Courtney did on this track. Many a times in-order to help someone who is at the deep end of despair you will need to open up and share your most painful experience and how you overcame it and that's exactly what Courtney did on this track. He opened himself bare, narrating the pain of his wife experiencing a miscarriage; starting from the joy the whole family had when they realized they will be welcoming a new member into the family till the despair of realizing that there was not going to be a child. To wrap it all up in the last verse he narrates how he did not lose hope in the Lord because of the miscarriage, urging others experiencing bad times that they should not lose hope in the Lord because of the pain, but in all situations praise and trust in him. Courtney delivered one of his best ever performances on this track, he is superb throughout. The track is also produced very well, the instrumental sets the platform perfectly for the lyrics to shine whilst offering this retrospective mood to the listener. 

6. I Don't Know feat Russuniversal

He continued on the retrospective mood on this track. The production is superb, the instrumental has this grand feel to it which you cannot escape, arguably the best instrumental on the whole project. Life is a beautiful gift but getting to live the life you want is difficult thing and during the journey one will feel like giving up. Many times you will feel as if you're not good enough or its all in vain and the major question is whether you should give up or not??!! Courtney goes on to talk about the challenges he faces in the music industry that had him asking if he should give up or not.  People download his music when it's for free but when he tries to at least make something out of his efforts and sell the music he will appear as the villain and those fans disappear. He goes on to talk about the confusion and self doubt that came with finding out that the people he looked up to are not as they portray. Russuniversal was also superb on his verse highlighting the fact that in the midst of all the confusion and self doubt the Lord always shows him the way and we should all put our trust in the Lord. Courtney caps it off by saying do not live for people but live and trust in the Lord. 

7. Live For the Truth feat G.I.L

The Kingdom of God needs people who declare that they will live for the truth despite all the challenges and forces in this world that will tempt them to do otherwise. No one is perfect but as a Christian one must strive to be the best person they can be, live a blameless life. That first verse by Courtney is flames, the delivery, structure and theme is on point. If you don't believe that he is one of the few elite rappers on the locals after listening to that then haaa rap music is not for you. G.I.L delivered a good performance on the second verse and the beginning of his verse reminds me of  the late American rapper Eazy E. The production is done very well. 

8. About The Life

One of the hardest situations new Christians face is leaving their past life behind. Because we still live in the same communities that we used to before giving our lives to Christ so drawing a line becomes a very hard task but on this track Courtney is saying one should be proud of being a new person and let everyone know that you are no longer about that life anymore. As usual Courtney delivered a solid performance and he was also playful on this track. He structured the track in a way that can make even the secular rappers jealousy. The production is done very well, I'm loving the arrangement.

Stream The Album: Transparent On Spotify

Buy the Album: Band Camp or iTunes

So ya this is one superb album. Courtney has solidified himself among-st the elite rappers in the country, very few can be able to reach the level he was on this project, loved his performances from the first track to the last. The production is also done extremely well, the instrumentals are modern, well structured and are sounding very good.

The project in most ways lives up to the title Transparent as he is for most of the time sharing his personal thoughts, feelings & desires throughout the album; on Be Yourself he was sharing his desire to help the African child realize their value, on Stay Up he is sharing what he hopes and urges fathers to be and do, on Live For Truth he is urging other Christians to live by the word, on I Don't Know he was sharing the challenges and doubts he faces and he went much deeper on personal level on the track Kayden where he just bares himself on that track.

In conclusion this is one very good project and I highly recommend it. My best rap project of the year has been Sharky's Take Back The Land but this album seems to be taking that throne.
My Overall Rating: A,B,C,Poor

What are your thoughts on the album???

Proud_Zimbo