Reviewed by Tony Cummings

The modern face of gospel indeed. Deitrick has quickly risen to become one of the major names in the 2005 gospel scene and as he poses for the sleeve shoot in questionable hat and arrogant pose he looks every inch the young R&B icon pursuing a bit of Usher's paydirt. And certainly Deitrick has the vocal chops to go along with the mean, lean image, a tenor of acrobatic agility. But vocal ability alone doesn't make an essential album. Sometimes Deitrick's love of melisma and flashy vocal pyrotechnics so overtakes the song, like on the slowish "What Love?", that the top line melody is completely obscured while on other occasions the funkiness of the grooves doesn't compensate for the lack of good melodies. And also starting the album with a message from a squeaky-voiced kiddy was a big mistake. But there are some great cuts here too. A "let's have church" romp, "Had Not Been" featuring special guest and the pioneer of crossover R&B gospel Rance Allen, is a delight as is the achingly soulful "Don't Wanna Let You Go".

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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