SHUT UP AND GET HOT BELOW THE MESSENGER The Reality In an industry climate suffused with throwaway records, the thoughtful, well-crafted studio album’s gone the way of the dinosaur. Few artists create carefully-constructed album projects. Social media’s leveled the playing field and opened a window of opportunity for every artist just outside of national visibility. Subsequently, even fewer independent artists invest their time and energy into mining timeless music. On a rare occasion, an artist comes along that assails the industry on its bad habits. One such artist is Below the Messenger. The Facts Below’s latest release, his fourth studio album “Shut Up and Get Hot”, has all the trappings of a major label recording sans the six-or-seven-figure budget. The 18-track dynamic album was clearly a labor of love for the Christian Hip Hop act. The record features deft production from Kansas City’s well-regarded JLuv (producer of Da’ T.R.U.T.H., Json and Ambassador). It also features impressive features from Jus B, Show, Reach, Lyinheart, fellow Higher Art artist Steven Darnell and two-time King of the Dot battle league featured rapper A. Ward (among others). Our Opinion “Shut Up and Get Hot” lifts the best musical elements of today’s industry and puts them on a collision course with morally-focused ideas ranging from religion, to state violence, to the state of the music industry. Below’s sharp lyricism and complementary chorus work as a vocalist (credited on a number of his own tracks) cements an album with industry-quality music production. The shining moments of the album come from “Crooked Letters”, “Shut Up and Get Hot”, “Mocha Colored Fear” and “Life of a Rapstar” (a social commentary on the harsh realities of an industry that trades in artificial representations of troubled communities). The album’s 74-minute run time is ambitious, but satisfying with a solid tracklisting and balanced slate of songs. Below the Messenger clearly accomplished what he set out to with this album. It’s infectious despite exploring a wide range of emotions throughout the record. Its diverse array of sub-genre leanings lends something to fans of all musical stripes. Christian Hip Hop artists often fall victim to moralizing listeners a bit more heavily than necessary. Below avoids this tendency with self-deprecation and brutal honesty about his failings as a Christian. “Shut Up and Get Hot” is Hip Hop done well. – Stacy D. Smith