Unlike most Hip Hop artists, Christopher Michael Jensen uses his real name; this decision clearly reflects the type of genuine Hip Hop this Twin Cities’ emcee delivers on his debut album “There’s Meaning Underground.” He keeps the sound and feel of the album as close to the essence of real Hip Hop as possible. The album is far from pretentious; instead, it provides solid doses of authentic poetic lyricism, positivity, and choice production that lead to an overall enjoyable Hip Hop experience.
Crammed with fifteen quality tracks, “There’s Meaning Underground,” offers truth in advertising- Jensen’s lyrics consist of authentic meaning and not fluff. The sounds run the gamut in variety, however, there’s a consistent flow of funky beats throughout, including on the thumping “80’s Babies” featuring Model Citizen and boom bapping “Blue Ribbon” featuring Andre Lipsey. There’s plenty to find good about this album, but to get right to the top of the heap, “Music’s A Revolution,” with its funky horns and refreshing lyrical content, is a top pick. The song is about good Hip Hop, and that’s also what it consists of. Appropriately, a great line to quote is, “I want songs that are quotable, that I can think about.” It also contains the lines, “Since everything went digital, people only care about residuals.” And, also, “these days everything’s cliché.” The winner is found in the chorus, “I rock a Public Enemy shirt like John Connor to fight for the future…”
“Alone” features classic, dusted, old school sonic bombastic beats coupled with dark lyrics and a haunting chorus. The lyric, “I’m been dying since birth…” provides a good insight into the mood of isolation and despair found here.
“Darkness turns to Dawn” contains minimalistic beats and keys with singing on the chorus. The track feels like a journey of emotions expended as one seeks redemption after failing. It includes lyrics, “Darkness turns to dawn, and you can finally find your way home and you realize that you’ve just begun.”
The electronic drums and synths on “Inside My Mouth” are a nice break from clubby tracks that might contain similar instrumentation. Jensen proclaims, “I am Hip Hop, no doubt. The future lives inside of my mouth.” And with that line, he summarizes the goal of “There’s Meaning Underground,” to show that this genre can be more than what it’s been pigeonholed to be during the last decade. It can have meaning, purpose and feeling. This is something that is found throughout this release, from discussions of relationships to positive vibes to pain, this album is sincere, something that you’ll be hard pressed to find in much of what’s labeled Hip Hop today.
This review was sponsored by Her Linchpin Creates Me, Josh Records
“There’s Meaning Underground,” is available on iTunes, Napster, Amazon, CD Baby, and online stores. Visit his website for links to listen and purchase.
