Album Review: K.O. “The Transformation”

K.O. “The Transformation”
Released: 2010
Reviewed By:  Hipknockerz
Rating: 2.4 (of 10)
[xrr rating=2.4/10]

Bridging the gap between the world and Christ, K.O.’s first mixtape is definitely a good step towards introducing Christ to secular hip hop enthusiasts. New listeners will hear familiar beats but with uplifting lyrics. For those people who are hesitant in pulling the full switch to Christian Hip Hop, the Transformation delivers well known beats with a life giving message. I am eagerly awaiting a full EP or LP with original beats! This is a good mixtape to give to school aged kids and high school students who desperately need reaching to.

Now for the seasoned listener to good, quality hip hop, this mixtape is not going to satisfy much. On most of the tracks KO’s confidence sounds like he just started on the mic a week ago. This is evident on the beginning of the second track “I Apologize”. The “UGH” at the beginning were not only uninspiring but mixed horribly with different levels and quality. Was this a home recording with a novice mixer/producer? Was this project written, recorded, mixed, mastered (if any) by one person? That’s what it sounds like. His cadence lost its flow too many times through out the mixtape. Plus, I didn’t hear not one original track, which makes me feel cheated and say, “Oh, I heard that, nothing new here”. On some of the tracks like #2, 3 and 5 his voice is not confident, almost like if he doesn’t have much passion on the mic for what he is talking about. “In the Paint” beginning when the music stops and he starts rapping made me feel embarrassed for him, because again he didn’t sound convinced about himself let alone get others hyped. I didn’t want to raise my hand in excitement, it made me shake my head. I believe he is genuine in his faith on certain songs, but maybe needs more professionalism behind the mic. On one of the songs I heard that he got saved in 10/10. If that is the case, then I believe he will benefit from walking out his faith alongside the business for a while to improve his voice, delivery and overall quality of the product.

Comprehensive Ratings:

• Music: 2 of 10
• Flow / Delivery: 2 of 10
• Lyricism: 2 of 10
• Content: 3 of 10
• Creativity / Originality / Relevancy: 3 of 10
• Credibility / Confidence: 2 of 10
• Personality / Character: 3 of 10
• Presentation Quality: 3 of 10
• Overall Production Quality: 2 of 10
• Potential Impact: 2 of 10