Before getting into the review, I want to first introduce to some and present to others, Reign Cannons. Reign Cannons is no novice when it comes to the ministry of Kingdom Music. Although he tends to place himself in the background when in the same arena as his fellow brothers in the ministry such as Gramm, Atiba Halisi, and Prom, Reign Cannons is a force when it comes to the rap game. His lyricism, metaphors, wordplay and storytelling abilities captivate your ears on any track you may come across. His heart for the things of God and people of God is reflected in his music. What I appreciate the most about Reign is his vulnerability and energy in his music. His emotions are 100% no matter the style of track, whether a track that expresses exhilaration about the ways of God and of being a Christian to the opposite end of giving insight and perception to the hurts, pains, and disappointment that he’s endured.
I want my readers to get a slight background of who Reign Cannons is as both an artist and a person. Now let’s get to that review:
The Right to Remain Honest is a very appropriate album title for an artist like Reign Cannons, someone who’s never been afraid to openly speak what’s on his mind and what’s on his heart. Despite having 6 tracks, I would have to say there’s nothing minor about this project. Each track delivers a message that each listener needs to take and self-evaluate themselves and determine how the message applies to their life.
1. Your Destiny (Intro)
Right away with the title in itself, it’s evident that Reign wants to dive into the concept of both finding and understanding your destiny. Destiny and purpose at the end of the day is what defines who we are and carves out our place in this world. The song gives this mood of being called out to fulfill the destiny that is within us and reminding us that we can’t run away from it. Reign takes this track to open up his forum of honesty in facing the issue that the world around us is changing especially for the youth of this generation, who are still trying to discover themselves including figuring out their destiny and purpose in this world. He covers how the lines between right and wrong has been blurred and various social issues that are being present in the world today. He also makes a valid statement that is imminent, in that we don’t know who our enemy is, the very same enemy that is destroying the destiny of the people of God by causing chaos in the world. The track ends with the repeated phrase “Bringing Destiny to Life,” which comes across as a command that we are to come forth in our destiny.
2. Questions ft. Jon Green
The second track follows up in giving questions for the listener on what type of choices would you make based on those questions. Questions about how we live our lives, what choices would we make based on different scenarios that we face, a question of integrity and identity. Most people will vocalize what we would do in certain situations but the hard question is would we truly follow through on everything that we say, including standing up for our faith and not backing down from what we proclaim. The song demands the listener to truly think on their own. We have a tendency to allow things to sway our mind and take our focus off of the things that are supposed to take priority. These questions are to bring our wandering minds in and ask the hard questions about our identity, our purpose, the kind of testimony we want to leave behind.
3. Bad One
I would have to say this is my favorite track on this project. Reign Cannons breaks down the definition of what it means to call a girl ‘Bad.’ He talks about a girl who’s focused on her education and has standards but how people look at her. This woman is a woman who understands her value, her worth and who she is in Christ. A queen who has confidence in God and her words are uplifting and reflecting of her Heavenly Father. Reign talks about the world’s definition of a Bad girl, a girl who only offers and present things such as her body, her looks, her sex appeal, etc. but he then flips the script to demonstrate that a girl who is bad is one who lives her life as a living sacrifice for her Heavenly Father. Reign follows up with a familiar line from Sho Baraka in how society name calls women without any regard to who she is, whether someone’s mother, daughter, sister, or wife. This line reflects how people can be labeled without ever knowing the back story behind a person. The track ends, asking the question “What is bad?” I like the twist in that a bad woman is a woman of God, child of light.
4. Heart That Forgives
The title of the song itself gives the listeners a preview of what’s on Reign’s heart and what he wants to express. Reign gives his testimony of various situations that happened to him to question his trust in the people around him based on words and actions. The chorus plays out like a prayer asking for a heart that forgives, one that loves and is free from the things that are not of God. Reign makes the plea of wanting a heart like Christ that can love and forgive even when it hurts the most. This is a prayer that we should all seek and desire because in this world we want to be able to present the love and heart of Christ in its purest form. We may struggle but it is something to strive after.
5. Xenophobia
Xenophobia is an intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries or strangers. Once understanding what xenophobia is, the song speaks in reference to strangers as Christians since we are not of this world. There are those who hate and fear us because we appear strange. Reign Cannons describes those who suffer from this phobia, do what they can to keep us down with discouragement. Reign charges to the listeners that we are treasure and to continue to stand because we are made in His image and able to withstand it. We are to proclaim truth and remain firm in our place in Him. This song reflects Reign’s lyricism and wordplay as discussed earlier, describing and reflecting that despite the fear and hate aimed towards us, we need to run to our “destiny which is our destination.”
6. Power
The last but definitely not least track is a great ending track. Reign Cannons began this project with understanding and discovering our destiny. Now this song charges us to discover our power that is grounded in our faith because we serve a mighty God. If we are to operate in the things of God and walk in His victory, we are able to tap into that power.
As a wrap up to this review, I think Reign’s latest project is worth a listen. Between his last project Reign Check and this latest one, Reign Cannons was able to express a lot of things on his heart. The productions and beats were hits and carried each track well. I do hope Reign starts considering doing a full album. I really want to see Reign blow the minds of his listeners and change the game when it comes to Christian hip-hop. I would have to say he’s one of the few who can do that now that Christian hip-hop is being recognized in a different arena.
For the Love of Music 