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JFH Music Review



Mars ILL
Slow Flame



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 19 tracks: 69 minutes, 00 seconds
Street Date: December 17, 2007


Never one to be out of your CD players for too long, hip hop duo Mars ILL comes back with a new project to bob your head to. In the vein of artists like TobyMac and Linkin Park, Mars ILL have taken their 2006 album Pro*Pain and remixed the beats to every track. In addition to that, the finished product, entitled Slow Flame, contains two brand new songs, as well as the songs cut from the original 2004 version of Pro*Pain as a CD-rom bonus.

It's a strange album to listen to the first time through. If you're familiar enough with Pro*Pain, it becomes almost difficult to picture those lyrics with any other beat. So the opening beats of "Say So" seem somewhat awkward, as with a lot of the other tracks as well. But when manCHILD's skillful lyrics come into play, you feel back at home. And it's nice that 99.9% of the vocals are unchanged, so you can still rap along without missing a beat. There are, however, slight changes made to accomodate the new music. A good example is the chorus of "Too Strong To Change," which features the same lyrics, just sung a little bit differently. Unfortunately for that song, Cappadonna's guest appearance is still as weak as it was on Pro*Pain.

Another notable plus for Slow Flame is that portions of the lyrics are a little easier to understand. It seems either the music is slightly quieter, or they turned up the vocals. Either way, it's nice to hear more of what manCHILD has to say. At the same time, for the most part, the samples that were seemingly non-understandable the first time aren't any easier this time around.

The first of the two new tracks, "Feelin' So High," seems almost a little out of place, just because it comes in after what was Pro*Pain's outro. But the song has the Mars ILL strength that fans of theirs look for. The jazzy beat and music aid in it being a more laid back jam. It fades into the last track on the album, "Run Wonderland," which has about the same tempo and feel as the previous song, just with more of a modern hip hop sound. Hopefully these are the sounds that the duo will feed us on their next outing.

It doesn't stop at the remixes and new tracks though. If you put the CD in your computer, you can access three other tracks - the three that were cut from the original 2004 version of Pro*Pain for the 2006 release: "Moment," "Loud!," and "All Out." It's understandable why, if any songs had to be cut from the album, these would be the ones. That's not to say that they are bad songs, because they're certainly not. They're definitely Mars ILL quality, however they just seem to be a little weaker than the rest... Just a little.

I don't think I can honestly say that this is a better album than Pro*Pain itself. While Mars ILL never disappoints, Slow Flame loses points in two main areas: 1) remix albums are just all too common anymore, and 2) it's hard to get used to the new beats after becoming so comfortable with the originals. Don't let that deter you from picking this up, though. The quality is still outstanding, as can be expected in anything that bares the name Mars ILL.

- Review date: 3/19/08, written by Scott Fryberger



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. Record Label: (independent)
. Album length: 19 tracks: 69 minutes, 00 seconds
. Street Date: December 17, 2007
. Buy It: Mars ILL Store

  1. Slow Flame Intro
  2. Say So
  3. Sound Off
  4. Too Strong To Change (feat. Cappadonna)
  5. Dog Eared Page
  6. More (feat. Ahmad and Anthony David)
  7. Stand Back And Watch
  8. Just The Two Of Us (and some lawyers)
  9. Wicked Ways
  10. Saturday Night Special (feat.
    Ishues and D.R.E.S. Tha Beatnik)
  11. Glam Rap (feat. Prince Po)
  12. Higher
  13. Effortless (feat. X:144)
  14. Write Of Passage (feat. Ben
    Hameen and J-Mil of Collective Efforts)
  15. When Heaven Scrapes The Pavement
    (feat. Elias)
  16. I Is
  17. We Out
  18. Feelin' So High
  19. Run Wonderland
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This Friday, October 17, 2025
ALBUMS
ANTHNY DIARY ENTRY 1 [Provident]
AOH Music BEHOLD (Acoustic Live), Vol. 1 (independent)
Blanca Full Bloom [Curb]
Chris Blue Every Day Is Christmas [Gaither]
Geoff Moore and The Distance Foundations (Re-Release) [Girder]
Geoff Moore and The Distance A Place To Stand (Re-Release) [Girder]
Vince Gill 50 Years From Home: I Gave You Everything I Had - EP [UMG]
Nate Parrish Make Me A Mountain (independent)
Psallos The New and Better Way: Hymns of Hebrews (independent)
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Megan Woods The Truth EP [Fair Trade]

SINGLES
Elevation Worship Jesus Be The Name - Single [Provident]
F'rael God's Wheel (ft. TRYBISHOP) - Single [Syntax]
Brandon Lake When A Cowboy Prays (Amazon Music Songline) - Single [Provident]
LEON Undefeated - Single [El Rescate Music]
No Vain Glory UNLEADED - Single [Syntax]
Park 7 The Hope Is On The Way - Single (independent)
Rave Jesus & Gracie Binion Need Your Love - Single [Provident]
REFVGE, Cyfë II & WAY? U P W A R D S ft. Bianca Silver & Josh LeCroy - Single [Syntax]
Rhymes In Harmony & MAYIA My Sister - Single [Syntax]
Rock City Worship Gravestone - Single [Capitol CMG]
Anton Scholl Born To Love You - Single [Near Kingdom]
Nathan Sheridan Don't Lose Hope - Single [WieRok]
SNT. VINCENT Feast of the Saints - Single [Syntax]
Vertical Kings Faith In Stereo - Single [Covenant]
Vic Lucas, Essence Natay & Ashleey Barnes Let it Rain - Single [Syntax]
Zane Vickery All Things New - Single (independent)
Aaron Williams Abide (feat. CAIN) - Single [Integrity]

DVD
Chris Blue Every Day Is Christmas DVD [Gaither]

Next Friday, October 24, 2025
ALBUMS
John Allan untitled EP [Centricity]
Dan Bremnes The Villain - EP [Curb]
Clear Convictions Endure [Resuscitation]
God Behind Bars Music Live From Angola Prison Vol. 1 [Provident]
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gio. FINE BY ME [Capitol CMG]
Brandon Lake Amazon Music Songline [Provident]
Tyson Motsenbocker Modern Worries [Tooth & Nail]
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SINGLES
29:11 Worship, Zion Rempel You Never Fail (feat. Emily Guy) - Single [DREAM]
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Chad Cory, Zacardi Cortez My First Love (Remix) - Single [DREAM]
Leanna Crawford Beginning Of Your Grace - Single [Provident]
darthy Juniper Tree - Single [WieRok]
Emerson Day Midnight Hour - Single [Fair Trade]
Good Weather Forecast lows2highs - Single [DREAM]
Grace + Max Rich - Single [WieRok]
Mercy Tribe Music The King is in the Room (feat. Ayiesha Woods) - Single (independent)
Mountains in the Sea You Never Fail (feat. Emily Guy) - Single [DREAM]
Seph Schlueter Already On The Way (feat. Benjamin William Hastings) - Single [Provident]
Tomb Slayer The Christmas Lamb (feat. Khristian Dentley & Sarah Whittemore) - Single [Tomb Slayer]
The Undertaking! All Smiles - Single (independent)

VINYL
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