Mr J Medeiros - Of Gods and Girls
by mmog
First Impressions
I had “Of gods and girls” for several weeks before I actually gave it a listen. 2007 was a year of some good Christian hip hop releases, and it got lost in the shuffle of a ton of other music, and to make matters worse I was on a “Dirty South/Chopped and Screwed Kick” It wasn’t until later in the year when I was sittin in the office lettin the Itunes play that I heard this sound…it was…different. It was a song tellin the story of a young girl being sold and exploited for pornography…the musical arrangement and the emcees flow captured my attention as he revealed an almost never seen side of human trafficking and the porn industry. I had to stop what I was doin and see who the artist was. It was none other than Mr J Medeiros, and the song was [Constance] from the “Of gods and girls” cd. That track alone was enough to compel me to listen to the entire cd that night. From start to finish I was captivated, and I began to see and understand the concept and the meaning behind the title. “Of gods and girls” is an introspective into the things we make gods of and the unfortunate reality that we have really mistreated and abused one of our greatest treasures…women, and in fact have made gods (little g’s) of them as well. Musically this cd is hip hop at it’s finest…but it is so much more than that…it’s conscious…from the heart…and as such you can’t listen to it without walkin away with a new perspective on things. “Of gods and girls” is one of the few cd’s that I can just put on repeat and let play continually. Mr J Medeiros’ “Of gods and girls” took me back to the day when the emcees lyrics and music were birthed after several trimesters of labor and struggle…a time when the emcee was more concerned with how to transplant the pains, joys and concerns of their heart into the grooves of the vinyl.
A Closer Look
As I said earlier, this project really is hip hop at is finest. The production was top notch, the music and the lyrics are all 5 star rated. “Of gods and girls” features the production talents of Mr J himself, Joe Beats, 20Syl of Hocus Pocus, Stro the 89th Key of The Procussions, Headnodic of Crown City Rockers and Ohmega Watts of Light Headed. Guest appearances include L.A. Symph alum Pigeon John, Strange Fruit and Rez of Procussion, Marty James and 20syl. Dj Vajra “Of gods and girls” is not what you would categorize as a religious cd, but the Christian influence love for our neighbor is the driving force behind it…or should I say is it’s heartbeat.
While mainstream hip hop struggles with the negative imagery of women and the pursuit of money and fame, Mr J offers the listener a different viewpoint that is closer to the way things really are…before they are airbrushed, perfumed and the bright lights are shone on them. Mr J takes the listener by the ears and moves them into a place where they can gain a different perspective on things. One track that sticks with me is [Call You] where Mr J reflects on and pays homage to the unconditional love and sometimes under appreciated love his parents showed toward him, and each time I hear it I can’t help but see in that song the ever present and overwhelming unconditional Love of the Father that always Calls to Us. Another one of my favorite tracks is [Change] as it reminds me of the different aspects of change…how change involves struggle for some, and overtakes some, and seems to take forever for some but regardless change comes for us…but there is one who never changes the author of life itself. Another track that stuck with me was [Apathy], this track tackled the reality that the current way things are going; its producing an apathetic generation that uses truth as a weapon of hate and as a means to hurt and the foolishness of the whole eye for an eye reasoning. “Of gods and girls” is a 16 track invitation into the heart of an emcee…
Track Listing w production cred
1. Amelie
feat. 20Syl of Hocus Pocus
prod. by 20Syl of Hocus Pocus
2. Silent Earth
prod. by Mr. J. Medeiros
3. Strangers
prod. by Stro the 89th Key of The Procussions
4. Constance
prod. by Mr. J. Medeiros
5. Change
feat. Strange Fruit and
Rez of The Procussions
prod. by Illmind for Beat Fanatic Productions
6. King of Rock Bottom
feat. DJ Vajra
prod. by Joe Beats
7. Half A Dream
feat. Marty James of One Block Radius
prod. by 20Syl of Hocus Pocus
8. Keep Pace
prod. by Mr. J. Medeiros
9. Money
feat. Pigeon John and DJ Vajra
prod. by Stro the 89th Key of The Procussions
10. Her Wings
prod. by Headnodic of Crown City Rockers
11. Apathy
feat. DJ Vajra
prod. by 20Syl of Hocus Pocus
12. Call You
prod. by Mr. J. Medeiros
BONUS
13. Honest Man’s Hustle
prod. by Stro
14. Constance RMX
prod. by Joe Beats
15. Silent Earth RMX
prod. by Ohmega Watts of Light Headed
16. Keep Pace RMX
feat. DJ Destro
prod. by Stro
Da Breakdown
There is a constant theme woven throughout “Of gods and girls“, revealing the things we tend to make god’s (little g) out of including our out of focus view of women (girls). Whether it is the painful gritty tale of a girl being sold and raped to make money for a porn peddler[Constance], or the humorous revelation of the ideal that we are nothin without money and how it seems to taunt and tease us [Money], “Of gods and girls” stays on point and Mr J somehow manages to take on some heavy topics without weighing himself or the listener down and without over-simplifying or trivializing the issues he addresses. Here is a brief breakdown of some of the tracks on “Of gods and girls:”
A humorous track of how money tends to tease and lure us, a look at the (false) idea that we are nothing without money [Money]
The effects of “terminal uniqueness” how isolation and loneliness tends to drive us further away from God and the little g’s we use to replace him i.e drinking, drugs, cutting [King of Rock Bottom]
An homage to the unconditional love of a parent, paying honor and respect to his own parents [Call You]
A multi-perspective, chilling eye opener to the world of sex slaves and pornography [Constance]
A realistic look at change, how some resist it, some struggle with and the reality that change will happen one way or another [Change]
Final Thoughts
In my opinion, “Of gods and girls” is a worth listening to cd. I would go as far to say that even those who aren’t fans of hip hop would be able to sit down and enjoy this along with true hip hop heads. Mr J somehow manages to avoid the trap that many other artist fall into when they tackle social issues and that is to approach them angrily of on their soap box. I love Christian rap..but I especially love the Christian artist who simply lets the love/light of Christ shine through and influence them to create music that touches the heart of the listener and challenges they way they see things and Mr J does a great job of it on “Of gods and girls.”
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you can find our more about Mr J at any of the following links
http://www.myspace.com/mrjmedeiros
