This year is three fourths over with and we’ve had quite a bit of notable music released, but sometimes it’s good to go back and listen to music from yesteryear. An album released in 2017 that you might not have heard comes to us from Elohin with his studio album ‘R 2.0 Let’s Continue.’
The very first track on the album is of course the “Intro” and nothing sets up an album like a good introduction. This intro def has some soul with the guitar loop and the drums. This let’s you know you are about to get into something a little different than what you are used for. It sounds like real cymbals from a drum set were used and Elohin skates on this beat effortlessly. The second song is “Miss America” and this song finds Elohin speaking about poverty and social inequality in America. The instrumental has a somber sound, and the hook has Elohin talking to America addressing her as a woman and saying we need more from her. He makes a really good point about the definition of terrorism and the fact that it really depends on who you ask. To some the United States of America are terrorists. Elohin breaks it down with this statement “terrorism is an idea put into action.” On “New Destination” Elohin takes us through his childhood of not fitting in. Jenee Monica on the hook really makes this song pop. The second verse he speaks of starting from the bottom in his music career, getting passed by record labels and despite how that he keeps pressing forward. When you reach your goals, they are never what you thought so you need a new destination to go to, was my takeaway from this song.
For the next song, “Lost In You” featuring Ashley Garza, this song is a love song to the Lord, speaking of being lost in the Lord. Elohin speaks of the transition from a superficial love to the true love found in God through his son Jesus. This song could be on the radio, that’s the crossover appeal that it has. Probably one of my favorite songs on this album is “Tattoos and Scars.” This song is one of the stand out tracks on the album to me. The title is probably one of the most unique ways I’ve heard used to describe being in love with a significant other. “We shine among the stars, we’ve been through it all we’ve got the tattoos and scars” I love the hook in this song. Elohin talks about the ups and downs of a relationship and quick it can go from good to bad and vice versa. “Love is permanent like a tattoo and a scar just means something has healed” perfectly sums up the song and it’s theme. The sixth song is “Talking” where Elohin speaks about how these other rappers and celebrities ain’t really talking about anything. He doesn’t care if folks get offended “that should bring their best out” was a nice jab at the mainstream industry. Next is “Man On The Bus(1995)” and this is another standout track on the album for me. Elohin weaves a wonderful story for the listener about his encounter on the bus as a teenager. This song has an epic build up leaving you on the edge of your seat as you wonder who the stranger on the bus is telling Elohin all these life lessons. I won’t spoil it but I recommend that you listen to this song. It definitely captures your ear.
We begin to round the corner on the final quarter of the album. The eighth song “When The Smoke Clears” featuring Corey Breeze and Jess Aleakatino. This song starts off with angry young man pulling up somewhere and then starts shooting. This song is almost certainly going to be about gun violence. Elohin starts off with the first verse and Corey comes through on the second with a raspy whispery flow and cadence. Jess brings the song to a close with a strong verse and this song was executed well. Next was “Abe Lincoln” featuring Calik, Elohin had a good first verse and closed it with “if men are created equal why are we still debating?” This song is an anthem and you can tell it from the beat to the chant of a hook “on that Abe Lincoln!” On “Censor Me” Elohin deals with the critiques that come from being a Christian artist…. from other Christians. Things like he doesn’t say Jesus or quote scriptures enough and he refuses to be censored and just go with the social norm. He’s saved but not safe and that comes across quite clearly in this song. Next we have “You Don’t Know” featuring Ryan Valdiviez, the song starts off with some somber piano notes and then we hear some slight electric guitar riffs. Elohin speaks of needing break through and some of his struggles he battles with. He poetically describes his pain and it’s a great reminder that everybody is fighting an invisible Battle that we are all unaware of. We come to the final two songs on the project and we have “Enough” featuring Jenee Monica. Mr. R 2.0 asks if we were stripped of all of life’s luxuries would life be good enough. We claim to be satisfied in Christ but a lot of times we find more satisfaction in what we have and what we do. Is the Cross really good enough, is God really enough for us? This is probably one of those songs you’ll have to play over and over again as you ponder what you really placing hope and love in. This song had an outro of a powerful sermon snippet, probably the best executed song on this entire project. Lastly, we have “Opinions” and Elohin has an interesting bar, “silence kills so I continue to speak it.” Elohin speaks of the current day racism and cops killing black folks and he wishes he could get the opinions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. After the first verse and the hook we have a interview of sorts between Martin and Elohin and Malcolm was listening to the interview. This is a powerful song and an unexpected way to close out the project.
In conclusion, this project quietly dropped but it’s definitely not something to sleep on. The production on this album is very good and it sounded like there was a lot of live instrumentation included. Elohin has a good flow, good ear for beats, and all of his features were well chosen. It’s very clear that Elohin knows what he’s doing and he knows exactly what he wants to say. Although this album came out last year, it’s definitely worth listening to today. Elohin caught my attention and I’m sure he’ll catch yours too. Do yourself a favor and cop ‘R 2.0 Let’s Continue.’
