Shai Linne - The Atonement

Shai Linne's words from the outro give an idea of what The Atonement is all about:

"What we've attempted to do with this project The Atonement, is by God's grace, through the medium of hip hop, bring to you that which is of first importance."

And that's what he does, starting with original sin on 'In Adam All Die' and moving through the crucifixion, resurrection, limited atonement and through to praise with 'Triune Praise'.

When it comes to words the dude's a beast. He's at his best when ripping a verse on theology of which 'Mission Accomplished' (a song about limited atonement!) and 'Were You There' are good examples. Shai goes in hard lyrically and that's the thing I appreciated most about the album.

"The way they treat the Lord of Glory is debased and it's vile
But you missed the point if you don't see your face in the crowd" - Were You There

But there are a couple of songs on the album that miss the mark for me. 'School Daze' and 'Jesus is Alive' jar a bit, 'Jesus is Alive' would be great with a different chorus because the current one gives it the wrong tone.

The album is also very heavy with interludes. Without them the 19 track album weighs in at 11 songs. These 11 provide more than enough content for a full album. Interludes were included for reflection but there's plenty of room for reflection once the album is finished. I want the straight rapping, that's where Shai is so powerful.

The production helps create the right mood for the album, it particularly works on 'Through My Eyes', 'Were You There' and 'Jesus is Alive'. For the most part it isn't amazing or adventurous but is solid and fitting.

I really dig this album. Not because it's flawless or I can listen to it from start to finish but because of what Shai is doing with it. It's beautiful to see hip hop used to honour God when it's mostly used to parade our disgrace. There's some profound stuff on this album which is more than you can say about most. He's already working on a new one and I'm looking forward to it.