Hailing from Denver is multifaceted artist Proxy whose everyday job is working with troubled youth and showing them the love of Christ. The artist's name stands for being a representative of others and sharing in their stories. Magnificent is pointedly trying to manifest that goal by sharing stories of those who cannot, amid a slew of musical combinations from jazz, gospel, and electric guitars blended into hip hop. The album opens with "For the Streets," "Kingdom," and "We Livin," and we're immediately introduced to some different touches, like spoken hooks and jazz influenced hip hop. And while those three tracks definitely carry unique aspects, the things that set them apart don't necessarily make for good songs.

At other times during Magnificent, those creative touches are great, however. "I Am That" and "The Promise" are stellar tracks with the former carrying an old school R&B vibe that is perfectly on point, and the latter infusing gospel and rap nicely while spitting "history is a prophet," which begs the question: Are we learning from it? "Crash Landing" follows, featuring the talents of Shonlock and Mr. Del, a great combination of clever artists making for musical perfection. The track carries a wonderful flow, with each musician fully displaying their own abilities and rapping tight words of "Crash landing, let the smoke clear. No matter why I'm here, please take me to your leader. Got boots on the street, propaganda on the wire. It's a cold cold war, light the world on fire!"

The album also hits home on many personal fronts with "Life Changed Me" and "My Everything," with tales of broken souls that entreat the listener to allow God to be our everything. "Rise" features more great guest spots and blows the doors off the hinges while dropping lines about our great Creator. At times, the creative attempts fall flat on songs like "The Lean," but overall the misses are few and the hits are more prevalent. Lyrically, you can see his background of working with incarcerated youth with the stories told, which may narrow the audience that his messages will hit home with. Despite that, the unique combination of various musical facets, coupled that with the talent of Proxy and his guests spots, make for a record that many should enjoy.

- Review date: 9/16/13, written by Kevin Hoskins of Jesusfreakhideout.com