Since 1996
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective
Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready....
Subscribe
About Us
Features
News
Album
Reviews
Movie
Reviews
Concert
Reviews
Top
10
Resources
Time
Wasters
Contact
Us
V2
Artist: J Moss
www.insidejmoss.com
Label: Gospocentric
Time: 14 tracks/62:39
J Moss’s sophomore project, V2, is an album that certainly delivers a plethora of styles and musical ideas into the mix, that will surprise, upset, and/or thrill various listeners. I must admit that my first run-through left me thinking that Moss had reached for too many golden rings on this sonic merry-go-round, and missed most of them. It took a few more times in the CD player to catch on to what this artist is actually doing on V2 – and, the truth is, that maybe he did go in too many directions, but he hit the mark more often than he missed it.
Moss has an amazing, flexible voice and writes songs that often transcend the standard fare of the black gospel music industry, which frequently places vocal technique far above songwriting and creativity – Moss is not just about a great set of pipes: he writes interesting songs with introspective, honest lyrics. This is not to say that there aren’t any out-and-out gospel jams on this project. Indeed, J is cousin to The Clark Sisters (the Royal Family of gospel/crossover), and has a group of guest artists on V2 that includes various Clarks (including powerhouse Kierra “Kiki” Sheard on the lead-off party track, “Jump, Jump”), Kirk Franklin, Anthony Hamilton, Byron Cage, and Marvin (when are you going to give us a solo CD?) Winans, that keeps things jumping. Moss’s vocals are smooth, dexterous, and chameleon-like – sometimes causing the unexposed listener to wonder which vocal was his (at one point I was totally fooled), until you understand that it was, in fact, Moss the whole time. On the other hand, on my first casual listening, I thought that Moss was too-closely imitating Kirk Franklin until I realized that it was Franklin himself on the track.
Stylistically, V2 gives us a cornucopia, starting off with a pair of contemporary gospel-funk-dance tracks: “Jump, Jump,” and “Dance,” would make Michael Jackson jealous, as J mixes the funk with some Jackson 5 harmonies and his own infectious whoops and vocal licks. These are followed by the samba-like “Know Him,” featuring a guest spot by Karen Clark Sheard, and a total change of sonic pace, as the groove gets more introspective and the instrumentation gets more acoustic in tone, but retains the soul and gives us an island-funk jam. “I’m Not Perfect,” is a musical mis-step, with its repetitive riff that really goes nowhere, although the bold admission of the title is, in itself, refreshing and unique in a day where most artists in the hip-hop, rap, and r&b world usually are sending out the opposite message. “Abundantly” follows, and is an admission of the artist’s total reliance on God – it’s a lush, orchestrated ballad that opens with an impressive solo acoustic piano prelude. Now we’re up to track six, where we hear a live-in-church recording featuring Moss sharing vocals with no less than Marvin Winans (who really must give us a solo project someday) and Byron Cage.
Obviously, J Moss is a young man with a lot to offer, and offer a lot is exactly what he does here! With nine songs yet to go on this project, Moss gives us some traditional gospel, some very jazzy work (the beautiful and vocally stunning “Holding On”), and some innovative hip-hop with some of the most honest lyrics in the genre – “Afraid,” is a song about the fears that so many of us share in this current world-climate, and is certainly one of the best tracks I’ve heard from the urban-contemporary scene: funky, infectious and scathingly honest lyrics.
It’s worth noting that this album is not just for your body, but also for your mind and spirit. J’s lyrics deal with everything from anger, lust, temptation and fear, to faith, worship and even self-image, as in the beautiful track, “Nobody,” which deserves to be heard by a wide audience.
Fifteen tracks is a pretty generous collection of songs, and J Moss gives us some great material on V2. There’s a little bit of filler, but there’s plenty to chew on, and plenty to dance to.
Go gather some Moss.
By Bert Saraco
www.myspace.com/expressimage
expressimagephoto.tripod.com
