Singer/Songwriter Michelle Bonilla hit the Christian music scene with her first record release in 2006 entitled, “Phenomenal”. One of the singles released from the record, charted on the top 20 CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) charts. Seeing some success from the record, as the Lord lead she did not get caught up in releasing records each year or pushing singles as a means to stay in the public eye and put out less than quality music. She took about a 4 year break and mid-last year released the new album entitled, “In Spite Of Me”.

On her website, she quotes, “I’ve recently been reminded of how much god’s protection goes beyond what we could ever imagine. Psalm 57:1-3 has given me the words to express how much God cares for us, and how much He sees us as, ‘the apple of His eyes.’ That is what fueled the title of the album.” If you are accustomed to listening to music from secular artists such as Ashanti, Beyonce, and Ciara, then you definitely will enjoy the sound and feel of this record. Tracks like the lead single, “I Love You” and “Go Harder” you get a nice little Caribbean sound as well, that definitely get you thinking about God’s promises of Heaven and the joy we will have in His presence. You can get more details about the record, with an option to listen and buy the record by visiting her website at www.michellebonilla.com.

_ “I remember as a young boy sitting in church I would hear about Jesus/ never really did I take heed/ until I saw my life heading for the breaches/there was the day when I fell on my knees and asked You to come and save my soul…” Can you relate? These lyrics hit close to home as the Proper Knowledge crew, walked down this road explained by these lyrics from “Say Yeah” by J.R. this month’s featured artist.

Courtney Peebles aka J.R. is a songwriter, singer, and producer residing out of Philly (Philadelphia) who we found out about a few years ago from his second album release titled, “Life by Stereo”. The opening song lyrics was one of the single’s released from this record. If you like the sound of John Legend, Trey Songz, and a Pop vibe like Chris Brown than you will definitely enjoy the spirit-filled lyrics and music that our brother in Christ brings to the world of R&B, Soul, and Pop music.

J.R formerly signed with Cross Movement Records (same label of Shachah, K-Drama, and Level 3:16) first hit the Christian music scene with his debut album titled, “Metamorphosis” in 2005. As Neo-Soul on the secular side was hitting airwaves strong, lead by the Spirit J.R. went head on to bring this same sound but with a Christ-centered driven message, along with other praise tracks to allow us to bring worship to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A couple of tracks that you definitely should check out are, “With You” and “Shine Your Light” you really hear the “Philly” influenced sound and vibe that you would expect from a neo-soul artist such as Musiq Soulchild or D’Angelo.

As J.R. continues to let the Holy Spirit lead him through His gift of music a new project called, “Murray’s Grammar: New Rules” is his brand new mixtape that he has released independently. He hit us with some Boom-Bap Hip Hop drums, experimental sounds, and still gives us the classic J.R. sound that we would expect from him. You can download this mixtape for FREE by visiting www.thisishigh.com. You can follow J.R. at www.facebook.com/jrinstereo or www.youtube.com/jrinstereo. Also please support his ministry by picking up a copy of “Life by Stereo” or “Metamorphosis” through iTunes or Amazon.   

_ Brenden, Josh, Earl, and Steve are the names that make up one of Socal’s strongest and off the radar groups known as Shachah. Shachah is the Hebrew name for worship, which by definition worship means to bow down, to prostrate oneself, to crouch before God in worship. All of these guys truly live this out in their personal lives and through their music. We have had the pleasure to know all the guys on a personal level and have opened us up to a style of praise and worship music that you normally do not hear at a church service.

If you are a fan of secular groups such as Soulive, and The Roots you definitely want to give this group’s latest album a listen as they share “Christ-centered” lyrics and glorify God through their musical compositions. Their latest album, which was released by Cross Movement records entitled, “Let The Light In” features hard-hitting tracks like “Deliver Us” and “The Harvest” where lead-singer Brenden McPeek aka MC Proclaim hits you with hard-hitting lyrics such as:

“But the heart of it all will express the intent they invent/New ways to get sex from the internet, MySpace, to live chats/Then deliver it by waves and like slaves a generation lost in the masquerade…” 

You also get some smooth and funky tracks and one of our personal favorites on this album is “Lord Speak”, which was featured on The Mix Show. This track opens up for that one-on-one time with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as we can vibe and get in tune to what the Spirit is telling us. This song teaches us to surrender our ways to Him, in order for Him to speak to us and guide us in His ways. Check out www.shachah.com or www.crossmovementrecords.com to grab a copy of this album, you will not be disappointed!

He is back! If you don’t know about Timothy Brindle then you have been missing out on one of the cleverest, fun, and engaging emcee’s to hit the Christian Hip Hop scene. As a Lamp Mode Recording artist, Timothy released his first as well as Lamp Mode’s first record back in 2002 titled, “The Great Awakening”, which featured all of the raw and rugged beats and lyrics that the Lamp Mode team brings through their music ministry. Grace and Peace is the first single for Timothy after stepping down from the ministry to take care of some personal business. He delivers scriptural punch-lines and well thought out lyricism to engage the listeners to understand why we do what we do as Christians. He clarifies that we are not “spiritual” or “holier than thou” but broken hearted people who rely on the Grace and Peace that the Father provides only through His son Jesus Christ. Download the new single at the link provided below:

Click here to listen

The Forerunner EP
The predecessor to the full length LP features tracks that challenge the life of a believer and tells the non-believer the truth of the Christian walk without compromise. If you know anything about Stephen the Levite you know he hits you with heavy scripture that a lot of churches shy away from teaching. His wordplay and lyricism draws the listener in to get an understanding of what it means to be a Christian. The EP features 6 tracks with production from DJ Official and DJ Sincereone. The first track titled, “The Appetizer” definitely highlights Stephen’s gift as an emcee as there are no hooks or gimmick filled choruses (I think they just hit record and let him flow). On this track he gives an account of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and what’s going to happen when He comes back to reclaim His throne. Track two titled, “Slept In?” takes a Hip Hop spin off the Left Behind series, as he tells a story about the Rapture of the church and missing it. The third track titled, “Shrink Me” features a spoken word piece from Dot a spoken word artist. The fourth track is a crew track titled, “Friction” and features Mark Arthur, Anon, and Zae Da Blacksmisth. Each artist in this song talks about the life as a believer who puts their faith in Jesus Christ.  Track 5 is by far a favorite and headnodder. It’s titled, “John the Baptist” and talks about the man Jesus Christ said to be the “greatest man to ever live”, while John the Baptist stated (referring to Jesus), “He was not worthy to tie His shoes”. Stephen recounts the life of John the Baptist as he lived and was killed for the sake of the gospel. The last track will wake you up, and is titled “Membership”. Stephen questions the believer with, “If you are not a part of a church, how do you know you are saved?” Overall this is a great EP and can’t wait for the release of the upcoming album with a date TBA.