Delmar Lawrence (AKA Mr. Del) is the former member of the Three-6 Mafia which was a fairly large secular rap group. He hails from Memphis, already has a few independent albums under his belt, and is a large part of "Holy South," a ministry featuring the talents of Canton Jones and Pettidee, among others. Thrilla was released a few weeks ago courtesy of Universal Music.

The first thing that stands out while listening to Thrilla are the beats. The production throughout the entire album is very unique and my ears quickly fell in love with the sound. Countless times I found myself thinking that I had never heard anything like this before - I was definitely stoked. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the lyrics. The verses and the choruses were almost as bad as the beats were good. Out of the first fifteen or so tracks, I could only muster to listen to one track multiple times, that being "Step Forward." At times the tempo was great, but the chorus was too repetitive, or when the production brings a nice Pac-Man throwback sound, the verses are set monotonously. I honestly couldn't bring myself to listen to some of the tracks more than once.

All is not lost, however. The very last four songs are surprisingly good. "Run Away" and "Indescribable" deliver a perfect blend of great production with nice choruses. "Don't Do It" and "My Life Rated R" take the cake for the album though. The artists delves deep into his past about growing up in an abusive home, living with a wounded spirit, and focuses on what family life should be like. The last ten minutes don't make up for the first three-quarters of the album, but they are great listens.

All in all, I wouldn't tell the world to go out and pick up this album, but the message is great for today's young people and the production is simply fantastic. Del just needs to find a way to spit tight lyrics and deliver solid choruses to lay over those amazing sounds.

- Review date: 7/14/09, written by Kevin Hoskins of Jesusfreakhideout.com