Five full-length albums, two self-label compilations, plus a series of solo projects - does The Cross Movement ever take a break? The 4-piece hip-hop group of nearly 10 years appear to be some of the hardest working artists in Christian music today, and it continues in the vein of member Tru-Life, who just stepped out as the group's beat mixer and 1/4 of the group itself to release his solo debut The Journal this Summer. A media representative of the Sphere of Hip-Hop claims that Tru-Life's album is "an honest look at God's call on every Christian's life." Unlike previous CM solo efforts, Tru-Life begins his project with an interlude that features him sitting in a coffee shop when realizing he doesn't have time to sit and relax. As he's leaving, one of the shop employees finds that he left a journal at the same table he was sitting and out of curiosity begins to read it. From there, the entire albums begins to unfold its presence.

The first song "Just Listen" has Tru-Life describing his purpose for the record he's created. Funky beats and creative lyrics are perfectly crafted on tracks such as "Right Here," "This Is Your Life," and the old-school-tinged "Productive." One question to ask is, "can hip-hop stand its ground even with an organ-flavored musical background blended with a tight beat?" "Who He Is," a song lyrically about the person and character of Christ, comes very close to answering this simple question but may get a little irritating musically after a while. A unique track comes in the form of "Steppin Out," which fuses together urban rhymes with a mix of salsa and Caribbean melodies, topped off with a soulful and angelic voice to accentuate the chorus. Another highlight Tru-Life's collaboration with hip-hop ally Redeemed Thought for "If I Could" as well as having Cross Movement Records artist Flame guest emceeing on "Moments." The flow of the record takes an awkward turn as "I Can't Wait" has Tru-Life conversing with a friend over the phone about heaven in rhyme format, which is a style reminiscent of TobyMac's "I Gotta Go." Typically, a song of this type would only work for one artist, but surprisingly this similar rhythm pattern doesn't take away from any other spiritual content presented elsewhere on the album.

The majority of the tracks on The Journal are a glimpse into the everyday life of a Gospel rapper who constantly struggles but shares his life experiences with others around him in order to strengthen his brethren in Christ. Even though the listener will be disappointed to know that there is no freestyle to be found on the record, this minor technicality fortunately does not cause the album to suffer in any way. The final track, which is an interlude titled "Let's Talk," closes the project perfectly as a coffee shop employee receives an earth-shattering manifesto from Tru-Life about the writings in his journal, and speaks to this young man about salvation and a new life with the Lord.

Though Tru-Life is very prolific and distinguishable from his other hip-hop adversaries, The Journal serves as my least favorite project of the Cross Movement solo series to date. However, being that the project is labeled as Vol. 1 gives implication to a possible sequel in the near future and maybe even songs that surpass the material presented on this album. Nevertheless, The Journal provides plenty of block-rocking beats and smoothly-layered lyrics to make it a collecter's item for any dedicated fan of Gospel hip-hop.

- Review date: 8/1/05, written by Paul Portell