“The Light” is a unique blend of soulful, hip hop and urban gospel music and well delivered, thought provoking lyrics designed to shine light on the heart and soul of the listener.

Thank the Lord for Social Networking! Most of the time you hear negative things about them and yes I know that there is a lot of strange and sinful stuff that takes place on many of these social networking spots, but thankfully there are some Christian Brothers & Sisters who serve as beacons of light in some of these dark places.   Speaking of Light & Social Networking, this review came about as a result of connecting with a dedicated young, brother, by the name of E.L. Bennett, aka J.u.i.C.e. 27, (J.oined U.ltimately i.n C.hrist E.ternally  2=to 7=completion, which by the way is one of the most creative acronyms we have seen to date) on the New Life Music Network. Bennett’s debut project, simply titled “The Light” is a unique blend of soulful, hip hop, urban gospel music and well delivered, thought provoking lyrics designed to shine “The Light” on the heart and soul of the listener.  This was my first time hearing this artist, and I hate to admit it, but with all of the music we receive, and all of the many releases that have been dropping; this might have been one of those projects than might have been overlooked 0r overshadowed by some of the more highly promoted releases.  (a common problem with christian music)     I’m glad that we connected with this young brother because, among all of the new music we have been listening to this CD definitely stood out, Bennett definitely has his own style and he was bold (or crazy) enough to create something different.  The Light, was produced by Soul Reaching Inc, an Independent Record Label & Management Company.  In Bennett’s own words he describes his music as “…relational, it’s something that people will be able to relate to, it’s inspirational, it’s bold, and uncompromising…“  and we would have to agree with him.

First Impression

To be honest there is always that moment of hesitation, when I am about to listen to something from an artist I am not familiar with, and I felt that just before I added “The Light” to the play-list.  Seeing that Bennett hails from the Mid-West, I expected to hear some heavy bass laden bangers, which are typical of the region, but a few seconds into the first track, I realized that wasn’t going to be the case at all.  I won’t lie, my first thought…this is different, but the boss here has taught me that I have to listen with my inner ear, and after doing so I found that The Light was a pleasant kind of different.  Although I had a few instant favorites, and a few not so favorites, there were none that I disliked.  As I stated earlier, repeated listening causes this CD to grow on you, after listening several times it grew on me and I found myself singing along.

A Closer Look

Content wise this CD is on point.  I asked Bennett who he had in mind during the production of this CD, and he described it as an evangelistic project, targeted to the World in general but designed to draw people back to relationship with God.  I also asked him what he wanted the listener to walk away with after listening to “The Light” and his response not only answered my question but it also summed up the content of The Light perfectly:

I would like the listener to receive a true understanding of drawing closer to God, and how there’s a lot of things in our individual lives that we go through to get us closer to God. We have to access those things and understand that God accepts us as we are and mature from that point. The other thing to inspire and give people hope in Christ Jesus. Lastly, I want the Christian to understand that it’s up to us to walk in the standard to God; not being stumbling blocks to the world, but exemplifying Christ in our character and reaching out to them by not being judgmental. In summation, JESUS IS THE WAY, you can TRY HIM, just KEEP PUSHING on, STOP PLAYING, you can have JOY AND HAPPINESS, life is heavy, but it’s beautiful just like THE CROSS.

Da BreakDown

The Light features 10 tracks (8 original tracks, 1 extended version and 1 radio edit) that range from energetic to uplifting and even challenging.  Among my favorites was [Try Him] a track that compels the listener to give God a try, Bennett makes a passionate plea and compelling case that all other things will fail so why not try what will never fail you.  Other tracks like [The Cross] celebrates the beauty of the Cross of Jesus Christ, and in spite of life’s challenges and sometimes heaviness there is hope in the Cross.  Here is a breakdown of the tracks and their subject matter:

• Let Me Know Now: Opening track introducing E.L.Bennet and his intentions to be a servant of God, reflecting God’s Light encouraging believers and witnessing to the lost.

• Joy & Happiness: Celebratory track (a hip hop “if your happy and you know it” type track) Life in Christ gives  purpose and therefore reason to be Joyful & Happy

• Try Him: You’ve tried all the rest why not try the best, government, things and people will all let you down, Give God a try He won’t fail you.

• The Cross: The beauty of the Cross, life can be both heavy and beautiful…just like The Cross.

• Stop Playing!: Contrary to what many think, life is not a game so Stop Playing!  Life has a reason and we all have a purpose and it’s time to find out what it is.

• The Benediction: We are nothing outside of Christ, an acknowledgment of the need for Christ, and an offer of restoration to those out of fellowship as well as a call & invitation to accept Christ as Lord.

• Jesus Is The Way: It’s all about Jesus, knowing Him and making Him known to others, seeking His presence and not just His presents(gifts).

• Keep Pushing: Encouragement to keep moving forward and pushing on no matter what it is that you are facing.

• Let Me Know Now(extended)

• Keep Pushing(radio edit)

Final Thoughts

As debut CD’s go, this is well done!  Soul Reaching Inc,  has done a good job of producing music that will certainly stand out among the other music that might be in your music collection.  After several listens you will discover that it grows on you and you might even  find yourself singing along, and even pushing the repeat button several times.    Noteworthy tracks include “Try Him, Keep Pushing, Jesus is The Way, and The Cross.  This is worth adding to the collection as it is inspirational, encouraging and edifying and it challenges the listener as well.

To find out more about Soul Reaching Inc, or to purchase The Light please visit their website @ http://soulreaching.com/

-Da Scribe