Reach Records alum Derek Minor released his third album, “Welcome to Minorville” Tuesday. If you ever wanted a view into the mind of Derek Minor, this album is it.
“’Minorville’ is an imaginary city that I’ve created and I just want to bring you into my world” he said.
“Everyone lives in their own little world (insert your name)ville. This album is really just my opinions on things, and what’s important to me.”
So what’s important to Minor? He tells us on the album opener “Lost In Minorville.” “Lost In Minorville” is a short manifesto with a nostalgic feel.
It’s reminiscent of something Motown would’ve put out in the halcyon days of white picket fences,segregation and sweet Soul music, but it’s message is clear — marriage, racism, classism and popular culture are broken and their brokenness needs to be addressed.
Continuing with the theme of things wrong with popular culture that need to be straightened out is “IGWT.” “IGWT” or In God We Trust has a futuristic crunk feel and puts the good ole’ US of A on blast for not living out the faith its inhabitants purport to possess.
Statistics and polls would have you believe the United States is a country full of Christians. If that’s true, Minor asks in essence, why do American Christians act so ungodly? Why are there so many social ills? The questions Minor asks on IGWT are food for thought for the thinking Christian.
Minor continues his assault on anti-Biblical Western ideas and behavior on “Gimme.” On “Gimme” Minor raps about the immoral things people are willing to do for money. The song’s hook says it all:
Mo money, Mo cars
Bigger house, Mo yard
Mo fame, Mo applause
Why settle for that when you could have it all.
“We Gone Make It” featuring Canton Jones is one of my favorite songs on the album, not because it has the best raps, beats, or production, but because of the message. It’s a message of hope for those in the black community and those who are oppressed and marginalized.
Even though many of Minor’s fans ape urban culture, they probably come from communities so far removed from the plight affecting the inner city that they can’t really relate to the urban experience.
This fact affects their overall worldview and how they express their Christian faith. So, I hope this song and others on the album like “IGWT” make people uncomfortable enough to try to understand their discomfort.
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| Minorville $9.49 |
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