Album Review: Young Chozen – “Class President”

Young Chozen – “Class President”
Released: 2012
Reviewed by:  Hipknokerz
Rating: 9.9 (Out of 10)

[xrr rating=9.9/10]

I am not going to lie! Young Chozen never, never, I mean never caught my eye or my ear with any of his projects. EVER! I didn’t like his voice, his subject, his delivery; man anything! So when I got the news that I had his Project, Class President, I thought to myself, “Oh great, this is going to be a huge waste of my listening time!” So I reluctantly put his songs in my 2 1000 watt 12”s and my 1000 watt amp system. I began by apologizing to my system, thinking she had to hear some wack, kiddie songs.

So, I played the first song, Class President, the lead single off of this project. Here we go, with the little kids talking and I felt like I was 12 again. Then the beat kicked in. I immediately noticed the amazing sound quality of the song! It was so full, so loud, so banging! I didn’t get my hopes up, because he still had to open his mouth and rap, and I knew I wasn’t going to be surprised. The delivery was on point, rhythmic, and he actually sounds like he has been rapping for a while! I understood everything he said, and it lined up with the beat, and it was interesting how he related God to the idea of him running for Class President. I am so impressed on how he has matured musically, and this song is a really good song!

I started the next track, wondering if Chozen just had that one good song and the rest would be hot garbage. Now, I’ve never been the type to like any of these songs that try to introduce a new dance move. I have always disliked them, because they are usually lyrically anemic and majorly retarded. This was one of those songs, and the part of him having a dream about his food fighting each other was boring to me. It was the music that caught my attention. Again, so clean, so well mixed, and loud! I started asking myself, “There is no way I can love one song and not like the other this much!” That is when it hits me. He is aiming for a certain demographic (I think). He is aiming for the young middle/ high school demo and that is why I am not feeling it. I know that kids that age loves this type of songs, and it would be a great way to bridge the Gospel through sounds and beats that kids these days listen to. Brilliant!

Head Nodding sounds more mature than the previous two, and of course great sounding mix. Most noticeably the up front vocals, clean pizzi strings and booming bass. Tell it All Around is my absolute favorite track! I think it is awesome that so far, Chozen has not repeated a type of song yet! Every beat has been different, with this one having the well known Dubstep Wobble Bass in the hook. He is proving himself to be a well-rounded rapper, extremely versatile. I am now listening to the rest of his project with more anticipation! Backyard is a hip hop/ rock track, and again it is different than the rest. He carried the energy well, and didn’t botch it up. The Rock is a more emo/rock/hip hop beat, which is different as well. His vocals were EQ’d in a way that made it interesting.

Think You Know Me has a great dance feel, like 1980’s skating rink feel to it. He is constantly changing his sound, and he delivers on all forms very well.  LALALALove has that middle school/high school I love you type feeling to it. Pot of Gold along the same line of the subject of “love”, but the sound is more RNBish with the guitar chords and syncopated kicks. He knows how to match his delivery and voice to each different sound. 31 Status is a smart idea for people to contemplate, where females try to be a Proverbs 31 instead of a “dime”. This is a good picture for young men to see and to search for the right type of woman. Both Here I Come and I’m So On have a driving dance motif to it, where the other songs are more pop/dance influence. He even has a worship type song at the end called Stereo.

The only thing I would have like to have seen on this project is an anthem song where our young kids could rally behind and chant. If Chozen would have added this type of song to this project, I would go as far to say that this album would have been the most complete, relevant piece of work in Christian Hip Hop that targets our youth within the last couple of years. By the end of this project, I learned to grow as a reviewer. I learned to open my ears to the sounds of this generation, rather than just listening with my preferences. His vocals are hot and the message is on point for today’s youth. The mix is tight and loud and the project looks great. At the end of it all, what I believe we have here is probably the best Christian Album geared to Middle and High School-aged kids, where they can have fun, dance and hear the Gospel. What more could we ask for?

Comprehensive Ratings:

1. Music – 10
2. Flow – 10
3. Creativity / Originality – 10
4. Relevancy – 10
5. Content & Character – 10
6. Credibility & Confidence – 10
7. Personality – 10
8. Presentation Quality – 10
9. Overall Production Quality – 10
10. Potential Impact – 9