Hi Pal,
I’ve had an interesting relationship with Christian hip-hop over the years and as rap/hip-hop has evolved, it seems my tastes have been more rigid and defined. This is a fancy way of saying that with hip-hop, it feels like I’m stuck in the past and it’s a tad easier to find things I don’t like. I still do my best to give everything I come across a chance and approach it with an open mind, and that’s how I came across Young C.
I am not a hip-hop purist whose taste is stuck in the late 80s or early 90s. I fully appreciate the evolution of music across all genres and I like a lot of the pop, R&B and jazz infusions that started becoming prevalent in hip-hop in the 2000s. I have just one rule: substance over vibes. To be fair to the Christian hip-hop scene, substance is not missing but I haven’t listened to anyone who is as dynamic as Young C in quite some time.
In 2022, Young C released MORE GLORY, a collaborative album with producer Jkzn and it was my favourite rap album of that year. With a wide variety of songs drawing influences from multiple genres, such as the funk-tinged Lamar Jackson
, the call-backs to 90s hip-hop found on Can I Get A Witness
or the jazz-influences on Touch
, it was a stellar release.
After catching up with some of his previous album releases, I was curious about the direction his 2023 album, This Is For The Wait Too, would take. Right from the jump, I knew I won’t be disappointed. This release is tonally different from MORE GLORY and shares more similarities with its 2019 predecessor, This Is For The Wait. Notwithstanding, it remains a solid album all-round and for me, no song highlights this album’s flair as much as The Way You Do
.
It’s a little over three minutes long, and somehow Young C still manages to create three distinct sections on this track. In each part, he switches up his cadence ever-so-slightly to match the beat changes as each section is introduced with the words:
I was looking for somebody to love me the way you do
But I was looking for somebody to love me in everyone but you
The song feels like a three-part play. The first section focuses on the decisions and regrets that come from walking away even while recognizing God’s love, the second on the disappointments encountered in the relationship and bonds formed outside of Him, and the final part on the return to Christ and His eternal desire for us to return home.
It’s a simple song that subtly showcases the craft of an artist that I am having a growing respect for.
All Links
Who knows when I’ll have the chance to write a review for this album? Oh well, until that time, you can check out our other reviews here.
I’m always ready to hear what you have to say, tell me your thoughts.
Feel free to take things a step further here: