Search - dc Talk :: Nu Thang

Guilty nostalgic pleasure

Greg Brady | Capital City | 03/27/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Hearing this album now reminds me of the sound of 'The Fresh Prince' Will Smith back when he was still paired up with DJ Jazzy Jeff. It's very pop-friendly hip-hop employing the trappings probably more so than being a legit "rap" album. If you keep that in mind, then it's aging no worse than other pop-rap of the time. The group proclaimed their sound as "rap, rock, and soul": with Toby "M.C. Swirl" McKeehan supplying the rap, and Kevin "K-Max" Smith and Michael "Comfy" Tait the rock and soul textures. The rock is decidedly the lesser third of the equation, really only coming to the fore on "Walls" and "No More".



HIGHLIGHTS:

For the most part, it's the 'singles' that got airplay on the very few stations programming Christian rock and rap at the time that fare best here. "He Works" is McKeehan's simple assertion that Christianity is a workable everyday philosophy. ("He's working on my walk/I said He Works/He's working on my talk") "Nu Thang"'s title track actually has a pretty good shuffling rhythm once you get past the jokey intro (a phoney televangelist sounding guy that addresses the 'young people' presumably listening to the disc). "I Luv Rap Music" is an ironic title since it is NOT rap music (it sounds more like a New Kids on the Block tune) but its gentle sway is difficult to resist and you have to smile when, having brought his mom to the local rap concert, she asks 'How they makin' music when there ain't no band?'. "No More" is somewhat reminiscent of Run DMC's early rap/rock combinations as the group proclaims "No/more/Givin' in/No more givin' in to this thing we call sin". Someone once said that Sunday morning in church is the most segregrated time in America and "Walls", replete with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. samples, addresses this, pointing out the necessity of looking past the racial divide and unifying around Christ. ("We're together on Earth/We'll be together above..")



LOWS:

"Talk it Out" is the group's answerback to "Parents Just Don't Understand" (sez Toby "That's ill, I know they can") but it's a little too saccharine. "Children Can Live Without It" is a blunt pro-life song but its sentiment has been said so many times by other artists in more compelling ways. (Steve Taylor's "Baby Doe" may be the pre-eminent tune for the topic.)



BOTTOM LINE:

Definitely not an essential album for the modern-day listener but enjoyable for the nostalgia. Fans of modern day Christian rappers like John Reuben, Cross Movement, and Grits will get a history lesson in how cloistered Christian music once was (This was "cutting edge" for CCM back in its day. Only D-Boy and SFC were rawer rap at the time.) If you're just dipping your toes into the band, get FREE AT LAST instead."

Better than the first, make sure you snag "Jesus Freak" as w

mommywhite | 05/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really like this cd. Although dc talk has changed alot with free at last, this cd is not all that bad. I beg you to try it."

DC Talk - Nu Thang CD

mommywhite | 01/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Purchased for my 7 year old boy. Rap and Hip Hop, no profanity and possitive message. These are Christian artists so the message is one of love and acceptance delivered in a rap and hip hop format. My boy loves it and with pleasant hoooks and melodies mixed in I don't mind it either."