Music Review: Extra Nos
One of Christian Hip Hop’s (CHH) most loved & respected artists released a new album: Extra Nos by Flame.
Let’s be honest most of CHH is baptist or Calvinistic leaning, so Flame confessing that he is not Calvinistic, not baptist, but he is a Lutheran is a big deal. Before the bias reviews from Calvinist whining about being attacked arrive, I figured I as a Lutheran (Wittenberg Project) will give a review.
Overall I give the album 4 out of 5. It is a very short project, even if you count the skits. While being a short project, Flame still was able to succinctly lay a foundation to his fans about his new tradition and to introduce it to his fans. Album had a goal & he hit that goal: inform people of his theological journey, correct past things stated, and share new orthodox outlook. This EP will give many things to think about and offer a great casual listen to many.
Each song is packed with theological significance that relates to why he left Calvinism. I pray people receive it as “his journey,” and not just a slap in the face to tulipers. But if they take it that way ... oh well ... we are ready for all the smoke.
On the song “Used to think”, Flame mentions that people think either your Calvinist or Arminian as if those are the only two options—which is utterly false. Flames album challenges all these misconceptions. Fans on social media are asking for clarification and resources because they have no knowledge of what defines a Lutheran. Flame does an excellent job explaining key tenants without going too deep.
These are the highlight songs:
“Used to Think”: great song. Lutheran place a big value on church history. I love the way the song starts off acknowledging the East church. From there the songs gets real personal and exact. He addresses false doctrines he held. His flow/pattern to the beat makes the song not appear too “heady” but the song is very deep.
“2kr”: His flow on this song improves the beat. Once again this track is content > typically hip hop beat. The beat is not bad, but the beat does not drown out the message. This song is a great intro to Lutheran thought for his fans & people not familiar with Lutheranism as a whole.
One of the personal reasons I love this album is that Flame unapologetically confronts the issues he sees. Many Lutherans come off as Crypto-Calvinist and more eager to rebuke methodist/free will systems than to draw a hard line against Calvinist, but Flames has no issue clearly stating the errors in the Calvinist tradition. Overall this album will shake things up in the CHH world. Some are already calling for a response, while many others are being exposed to historic reformational thought. Great album.
