On Bold, Uncle Reece isn't confined to a Church, and there are no boundaries when it comes to his praise. To put it bluntly, this ain't your grandmother's Gospel music. On his first single, "Until I Pass Out," Uncle Reece belts out heartfelt vocals over an uptempo, drum-heavy beat, produced by the Grammy Award winning Jon Jon Traxx (Beyonce, Brandy, and Sugarland). "I'm aggressive, athletic and energetic, even when I worship God," says Reece, whose musical persona isn't much different from his worship style. "When I would go to Church, I would go to the front and start jumping around like I'm at a concert, and everybody would be looking at me like I'm crazy," he says. "We should all be able to express the way we love God. I lift my hands, I like to scream. That's the way I experience God."
Musically, Uncle Reece teamed up with his childhood friends, the Trump Boys, who have worked with T-Pain, Bobby Valentino and others for Bold. With an energetic vocal presence and an undeniable Hip-Hop swag--not to mention, a head full of dreads, Uncle Reece resembles more of a rapper than a Gospel artist. "I'm not a Churchy person. I'm not a religious person," he admits. "I'm probably going to get swallowed up in Gospel." But Uncle Reece is helping to usher in a new breed of Gospel artists, one that grew up on Hip-Hop and speaks to a younger generation, but one that also happens to be Christian. "I'm a fan of Drake. I'm a fan of T.I. and I'm definitely a fan of Kanye, Jay-z; an the Notorious BIG. I'm inspired by OutKast, but I'm also inspired by Hillsong, LeCrae, and of course, Kirk Franklin," he says. This blended influence can be heard on songs like the uplifting "Creation" and the sentimental "Have Your Heart," where Uncle Reece spits his lyrics over a more traditional Gospel sound.
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Bold ft. Tony Gaskins JR. and Alec
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Revolution Music ft. Adrion Butler, Jay Harris
An | Posted June 11, 2014
Uncle Reece may be a name that is unfamiliar to those who are used to mainstream artists, but he is very much a "mover and shaker." He was a member of the student government at Florida State University. Although his parents took him to church as a child, he sought God for himself and gave his life to Christ in his late teens.
After this he even started the well-known T-shirt company, "Without Jesus I Suck," which was endorsed by the likes of Tye Tribbett, Mary Mary and Donnie McClurkin. He is bent on reaching the unchurched, 19-30 age group using his assorted mixture of styles of music. He drops his debut record, Bold--a stew of sorts with a little reggae, R&B and hip-hop with urban music serving as the backdrop. Production comes mostly from the Trump Boys, with whom Uncle Reece seems to be very comfortable.
In this day in age, more and more people are trying to disprove the reality of God, causing college-aged Christians to doubt their faith. So "Creation" serves to show that all of the natural things in the earth are basically God's opus. The synthesizer was a little annoying at times in this one and another setting could have been used.
Uncle Reece was very purposeful in choosing the title of the album. Although the style of music is urban, the message is very upfront and not sugar coated. "Free Some Minds" is a percussion heavy midtempo song speaking to Christians to love and reach people like Christ did. This should be be the focus instead of gaining members or trying to look "holy" in front of others and trying to reach out to only those who look "worthy" of being witnessed to.
Reece takes the persona of three well-known men of the Bible in "Joseph, Job, David." Music is a great way for people to learn Bible verses of about people of the Bible. This song will allow those who are unfamiliar with the Word the chance to learn how real these men were. It gives a view of their hardships and how they allowed God to help them.
Jor'dan Armstrong, another talented urban artist, lends a hand to the slow jam, "I Can't Help Myself." The fellas sing about what happens to them when they worship. Their vocals definitely complement each other and it makes so much sense that they would collaborate. The best of the song comes out the end. They strip down to only the keys as they proudly proclaim, "We have the Light that can save the world." It bears a similarity to "The Anthem."
They leave us hanging and wanting more. A cliffhanger of a worship song?! Come on fellas. It was getting too good. "Until I Pass Out" may sound like an odd title, but Reece takes worship very seriously. He proclaims that he used his talents for girls and worldly things. Then his heart changed. So basically he wants to worship God so passionately and so much that he basically... passes out.
Song to Download Now:
"I Can't Help Myself" (Get it on iTunes here.)
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