the background and a bass drum anchoring things down, Gabe revels in the Lord’s forgiveness and love through the steady, reflective and pleading lyrics, “I feel far from ya, but still i get a call from ya, i know the cost has been pre-paid” and goes on to say, “I can’t find you Lord, so find me, you were there when I strayed away.” Brittannee cuts in soon after and provides the perfect accompanying hook to this reflective prayer track with melodic vocals with a slight twang to them which slots right in beside Gabe’s, Escort’s and Tee’s flows.
Keno Camp then take their foot off the gas a bit, speed wise at least, with “Time Will Tell” as it opens up with the relaxing sounds of the ivories of a jazz piano being tickled and provides an interesting extra musical element throughout a hip-hop track which still retains the use of defined 808s. It won’t be to everyone’s taste musically but it further adds to the diversity of Riot which is a credit to Keno Camp’s efforts to keep every track fresh.
“Nobody Greater” starts to pick the pace back up a bit after a beautifully executed early drop with the continued repetition of the distorted vocals “There’s nobody greater” and that phrase is chopped up expertly to mesh with the backing track to get the listener jammin’ and boppin’ along to it. By the time the lyrics “Infinitely Holy God, sinful man, that gap got so big you couldn’t fix it with your dental plan, King of Kings, His throne’s higher, we refer to him as siah, he’s swears by His own name, because there’s no other name higher, beat drop, I’ve got to get it in, oh you ain’t know, he hate sin,” are uttered, just 30 seconds in, you are already in love with this song which is sure to be repeated by many a fan, if only to hear that sublime drop again!
“Love Scars,“ a CCM crossover song and one of the standout tracks on the album, displays a different side of Keno Camp as they portray the sombre stories of a baby girl being abused and of a young girl being hit by a car and the tests of faith that followed for her parents. Escort then spits probably the most touching and impactful lyrics on the album as he explains about the comforting nature of our Holy Father’s love, “Until this true love rose up and showed himself real, he hung upon a cross and he said that I will. Lay me on this cross so I can be a sacrifice, and pin these nails up in my wrist until my fathers satisfied. Abba lay your wrath upon me father let me bare it now, no one takes my life from me I volunteer to lay it down. Why have you forsaken me father forgive em it is finished, it’s my love that covered the multitude of sins that they committed. Give me the cross and give me the whips give me the wrath and give me the sin, so my baby girl never has to feel the pain again...
nt side of Keno Camp as they portray the sombre stories of a baby girl being abused and of a young girl being hit by a car and the tests of faith that followed for her parents. Escort then spits probably the most touching and impactful lyrics on the album as he explains about the comforting nature of our Holy Father’s love, “Until this true love rose up and showed himself real, he hung upon a cross and he said that I will. Lay me on this cross so I can be a sacrifice, and pin these nails up in my wrist until my fathers satisfied. Abba lay your wrath upon me father let me bare it now, no one takes my life from me I volunteer to lay it down. Why have you forsaken me father forgive em it is finished, it’s my love that covered the multitude of sins that they committed. Give me the cross and give me the whips give me the wrath and give me the sin, so my baby girl never has to feel the pain again.” Takim Brown then chips in with a few comforting lines to further hammer in the loving lyrics Escort’s just expressed, “no matter what they may say, no matter what they may do, I trust in the God who reigns, I trust You. By your stripes I’m healed, this must be in your will, I run to you, to touch your Love Scars.”
Keno Camp - Riot (We Here) Single Cover
Keno Camp – Riot (We Here) Single Cover
From the outset of the record, it is clear that the quartet’s intentions are to get things live and keep the listeners out of their seats, an intention which is taken to the next level with the first single off the record, “We here.” The sound-scape, provided by Tyler, TX native Orlando Williams, features echoing claps, squeaky synths and undulating 808 drum-rolls which, when paired with Gabe’s chants of “We Here” on the chorus means this track is truly reminiscent of some of CHH veteran Flame’s best work. Tee sets it off on the first verse with punctuated lines like, “That’s how we do it, or else it’s fruitless, esteem each other as greater, cause Yahweh rules this.” All the while, the song gains steam, leading to LowSer’s second verse, on which he proclaims, “When it comes to God we don’t play games. Holy roll with real saints, at the altar there’s real change. Came one way but won’t leave the same.” Perhaps saving the best for last, Escort rips the third verse, channeling his inner Twista. In the process, he makes it clear that his mission is deeper than rap, spitting, “I really gotta stay focused, dopest emcee, man I’m really far from it. I’m too busy tryna live this life and compete with sin, man I really wanna conquer it.” He ends his verse with perhaps the slickest lines on the whole song, “I serve the Rock of Ages, not only to rock the stages, so awake I serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Repetitive chants of “We here” and “gotta let ‘em know” close the track out, and the album as well and, after enjoying the 12 stunning tracks on Riot, there’s certainly no arguing with them, Keno Camp are here, and they’re here to stay!
All in all, Riot is a quality, well produced album which keeps the listeners’ ears buzzing with 12 quality tracks heavily laced with the gospel and sound doctrine. Something that may go unnoticed about Riot and deserves to be praised, is the fact that Keno Camp keeps things fresh on every track by sharing the verses on every one of the songs, not one song on Riot features only one emcee! If I was to be hyper-critical of Riot though, I would say that, for the most part, it doesn’t possess the uber-lyricism some spoilt Hip-Hop fans have come to expect from artists, but that’s me desperately searching for something to criticize, as there’s always room for improvement, but, with Riot, Keno Camp have an album to be extremely proud of and it’s an album that will become many a Christian Hip Hop fan’s soundtrack for 2014. Not only that though, it will certainly join many people’s favorite CHH albums.
Do not hesitate to buy this album from the hottest new group to emerge from the Christian Hip Hop scene for many years as you will regret it if you don’t. Once purchased, turn that volume and bass up loud and enjoy, whether that be sitting back, chill-axing and taking it in or up on your feet throwing your best moves and getting crunk while praising God. To think that Riot is only the debut album from this group of talented emcees is a seriously scary thought and Riot will leave you craving more from Keno Camp. I can not wait to see what’s next from this group…See you, I’m off to turn it up loud, get crunk and throw my *cough* best moves!
“Cocktails” then takes us into head bopping freestyle beat territory and when Escort starts to spit his long, fluid and effortless verse, the tones of a female singer can be heard in the production sample in the background adding a unique flavor and extra depth to the track. The blues-esque hook adds yet another element to the track and fits beautifully with the message of there being a lack of God in our modern day society.
“I Remember You” features guest vocals from Brittannee Haralson, and provides a welcome, if not brief, respite after the exhausting and accelerating pace of the opening 7 tracks. In a track where the snare and hi-hats are prominent with bells and synths floating eerily in
PG 13