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Christian Faith Fellowship Church

Milwaukee, WI

18 July 2007

Whether it bears upon the teachings or the general manner of congregant attracted to the church hosting the concert I was about to see I'm uncertain, but the following incident's memorability and novelty make it worth sharing. 

A man not far behind my front place in the line to get in to see The Cross Movement and their accomplices in righteous rap grabbed my arm. He wanted to be used of the Lord to heal me of my cerebral palsy. 

I recall nowhere in Scripture where Jesus nor Paul sought to cure anyone who didn't ask for it, and I would think this guy's hands might be better placed on my head. It's called cerebral palsy, right? Anyway, I'm stunned and polite enough not to stop him. My spasiticity isn't gone yet, and my purported conduit of healing would do well to return my call about the insurance I'd like to sell him. 

Anyway, he, I and everyone else in that line were there to see one of the most articulate, least ego-driven groups in gospel hip-hop history on what may be their last tour. As evidenced from the line-up of what was ostensibly Christian Faith Fellowship's mid-week youth service, however, The Cross Movement don't have to worry about their legacy of biblically conscience rhyme slinging going unattended. The Movement's four M.C.'s -The Ambassabor, The Phanatik, The Tonic and T.R.U.-L.I.F.E.-were trading couplets in the masterful way that makes it look easier than it really is. Insofar as I could ascertain, most of their ten numbers were from their latest long player, His Story:Our Place In His Story. Out of a seven-album career? Aww! 

No matter how skimpy the set, these guys never fail to get deep. If a couple of numbers sounded on the surface to be merely the kind of party starting anthems for the holy dancing pleasure of the majority African-American teen attendees, it never takes long to get to meatier matters. 

The generosity of their lyrical grist for soul and spirit extends to the way they share the stage with their opening acts. Tedashii, only one of the openers they brought who's not on the group's Cross Movement Records, joined them on his HIStoric contribution, "Name Up." Ted' again joined the 'Movement and everyone else for a closing posse cut, probably as close an approximation to "The Last Cypher" without the participation of a couple of the rappers on their current disc's original version. 

Even between tunes, they impressed. As with the two prior times I'd seen them, Ambassador acts as the leader and mouthpiece. Most saliently, he warns the audience to not just enjoy the music, but heed the messages over the top of the bumpin' grooves. 

Following the headliners' gift of substantive gab, those sharing the stage had plenty to say worth hearing, too. Tedashii and  R. Swift (whose Revolutionary Theme Muzik is one of the, ah, swifter album titles of '07) epitomize how spitting has become a synonymous gerund for rapping. Both possess lyrical flows with bite that emphasize every hard syllable, Ted' with more of a drawl and dirty South soundscape and Swift buoyed by tracks bold enough to go from metallic guitar crunch to ''70s Philly soul. 

Iz -Real of Everyday Process can't tell me that I'd be the first person to mistake him for Ambassador. Same kind of scruffy beard and similar facial features, I'm tellin' ya. Iz' and his corn-rowed co-Processor, Mac The Doulos, arguably had the night's least distinctive set. Mac came off more as Iz's co-equal in rhyme, and, maybe because I mistook the latter for the aforementioned Cross Movement member, their material reminded me of CM outtakes. Their debut set, __Everyday Process:The Process of Illumination & Elimination__ (whew!), proffers promise on which they should be delivering soon. 

Men fond of capitalizing their names, FLAME and Da' T.R.U.T.H., offer the most distinct artistry apart from the Movement. Each has godly and showmanly fire in abundance, but his own approach to engaging listeners. If FLAME is the boyish-looking evangelistic charmer (looking like a brother to Young M.C. and Yung Joc), T.R.U.T.H.'s dapper duds and trimmed 'stache almost play against type for his penchants toward introspection, romanticism and manly encouragement. Both utilized video clips and look to be on track to crossing over where the Movement hasn't yet made it to general market R&B radio. 

The first 40 or so minutes of the night were taken up with lively praise & worship choruses from CFFC's youth music team, an intro' from the young folks' self-effacing witty pastor and a collection wherein everyone with money to give toward the expense of bringing such quality ministry/'tainment brought their funds to buckets at the front of the platform. Closing the evening? A doctrinally sound, heartfelt salvation invitation by Ambassador. 

Though this may be The Cross Movement's finale, here some of the brightest in Christian hip-hop's future was heard along with its probably soon-coming past. 

Jamie Lee Rake