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CD Review: Empowerment: The Power To Break You Free

By Mike Smith
Boston Teens in Print (T.i.P.)
May 2006

Asked to review a new CD from nonprofit organization Project: Think Different, I hesitated because usually CDs like this where people try to go out and do “something different” turn out to be horrible. The term “do something different” is like a cover up for when somebody is just bad at what they do and they’re trying to make a legitimate case. I reviewed this CD track by track on a scale of 0-5 with five being the best possible score. Here are my picks for the top 10 tracks.

02-Thinking Cap: AfroDZak. Sounds like somebody rapping over a soft jazz melody. If you can get past the weird way it sounds this is an OK song because AfroDZak is actually spittin’ something serious. 3.5/5

05-Healing the Streets. Shuman. This track was fire. I actually turned this track back on more than once. Get passed the jazzy rap feel and you’ve got a banga. 4/5

06-Neva Go Platinum. Mingo. This is probably the illest track on this CD so far. Listen to this. Mingo raps about how the industry sets up the artist from the start to the end. How the artist is actually pretty good and all his friends tell him so, then he meets the big record executive who tells him to change his whole style and rap more about cars, girls, and the rest of the commercial stuff. The reason he calls it Never Go Platinum is because if you have to change your whole rap style and flow, even though people told you you were good, then what’s the point of going platinum? The message is there, and the song is hot regardless. 5/5

07-This is Life. Iyeoka Okoawo featuring The Foundation and Bambu. This was a beautiful melody. They basically took a drum pattern and sung behind it to make a beat. This track is hot because it’s got a singing/poetic feel. This track sounds real smooth. I can bump this. 4/5

08-Get Free. Lauren Coen. This track is like a guilty pleasure. It’s just a piano and some lady singing but it was serious! 3.5/5

09-Freedom Song. Sofia Snow. Sofia speaks a long poem over some dark noise. If you’ve heard Sofia before then you should know she’s going to be good. Hot but could be better. 4/5 12-Here’s to You. Melissa Li. Sounds like some straight R&B. I was feeling this. 4/5

13-Across the Sea. Lauren Flaherty featuring Bio. This is a straight rock song and it confused me to death. 3/5

16-My God Can Beat Up Your God. Roger Miller & The Foundation. This is a rock slash rap song. They ventured out on this one and for me it was a hit. I don’t know who’s rapping but who ever is, is definitely killin’ it. As soon as I turned this on, I was bumping to the lyrics and flow. I was able to go right past the weird rock beat and listen to the lyrics because I was captivated. This track is for anyone who can listen to hotness no matter what. 5/5

17-Radio Down. Media Friend. Slow Melody to close out the CD. This song sounds like something I’ve never heard. I can’t explain it. The whole idea of this CD was to reach out and think differently, so I can’t knock this track. It was hot to me for everything it was. 4/5

Project: Think Different’s “Empowerment” CD tried new things with the music to tell everyone to do just that—“think differently, stop feeding yourself the garbage that’s on TV” But, when you do venture out like that, it’s a risk. There’s nothing wrong with being different but you might miscalculate with your audience and what they’ll listen to. With some songs it seems like they tried to use being different as an excuse and it’s not a good one. But, overall there are a lot of solid tracks on this CD so I wouldn’t pass it up. That surprises me since earlier I said I would be scared to review it because of my past experiences with people who try to “do something different.” 7/10.

“Empowerment: The Power to Break You Free” is available to purchase at www.empowermentrecords.com/empcd or by calling 617-557-9200.

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