Iconic Moments Define History Posted August 05, 2020 By JoshuaGalla_NRT, Staff Reviewer
What You Need To Know Hip-hop artist Legin hails from Norfolk, Virginia. He travels globally spreading the gospel message through the spoken word and hip-hop art forms. He remains steadily active in his community locally and nationally with several organizations and movements, such as Expect Renaissance, Inc., Safe House Project, Inc., and Kerus Global, to restore communities in the name of our Lord.
Legin has self-released one album and three EPs since 2014. He’s also teamed up with Renaissance Music Movement (RMM) for two compilation releases, as well. His third and current EP release, In This Moment, is a four-track collection collaborated with the talented Grammy award-winning producer Laquan Green. The basis of Legin's project was to share his current mind frame on the cultural unease of modern-day society related to protests, pandemic, and outright craziness.
What It Sounds Like In This Moment may be short-lived, but the message behind each track is timely and relevant. The project opens up with “Faces” speaking about a call to action and not to turn the other cheek to all of the social events occurring all around us. “Divided we stand, united we fall” echoes out of the hook from the track and speaks volumes to the current state of national affairs. The production behind the track is calm, almost eerie, in-tune with the deep content of the lyrics.
“Refuse to Pick” invites the only outside feature found in Parris Chariz. Chariz is a heavyweight on the mic and in the industry and a solid choice to contribute to the track. The vibe of the song remains calm, the tempo slowed and ideal for the concepts included. The theme rests in confidence found in God, not in any political party or government power. To be honest, this is one of my favorite tracks from Legin.
“Feel" focuses on social injustices and all the unnecessary deaths of African Americans, especially from the past eight months. The track almost has an acapella feel with soulful injections from Laquan Green throughout. It’s a peek inside of emotions and feelings of a black man's current day. Personal and transparency at its finest.
The project wraps up with “Cry.” Legin pleads to listeners to listen, to emotionally connect, to come aside men and women of color and combat injustice as a body of Christ. The repetitive sounds of a flute, once again, interject a sense of peace amongst chaos. The peace found in Jesus, the cross, and our faith as a whole.
Overall, the EP may be short in length, but the content could fill conversations for days and weeks. It’s a welcomed escape from the atypical trap sound introducing a slow tempo, woodwinds, and a mix similar to what people experience daily. Peace during chaos.
Spiritual Highlights As usual, Legin fills his lyrics with worship to our God, Savior, and Spirit within. He never lacks spirituality in his content. On “Faces” he speaks on Jesus rising out of the grave and the Garden of Eden. With “Refuse to Pick,” Legin sings about the cross and the crucifixion. That’s just the tip of the references and highlights as he’s never shy to express his faith and God’s truths within his powerful lyricism. I’ll allow the listener to unbox the many other odes to worshipping God.
Best Song Being a huge fan of hip-hop superstar Parris Chariz, I have to go with “Refuse to Pick” as my favorite of the four. My own opinions align with the topic of the track to being my faith is poured onto God, not any political party or governmental system. The rhyme schemes, wordplay, and creative production all blend together, fusing into an excellent outcome. Legin sings, in detail, of God’s reign in his life, void of any personal political hold. Chariz is like the cherry-on-top perfecting the track overall. "Refuse to Pick" is a song with high replay value, as I’ve listened to it over 10 times trying to catch everything spoken.
Bottom Line We’ve experienced a summer of civil unrest, protests, anger, and disappointment across local, state, and federal governing bodies. As a result, weekly singles and projects have taken social injustice as a premier point of discussion. Legin’s perspective has been refreshing as he’s successfully interjected a huge helping of Jesus, hope, and the cross aside his views of social injustice and unrest nationwide. As previously mentioned, In This Moment may be short reserved to four tracks, but the content is thought-provoking, relevant to current events, and smothered in faith. The production is unique and diverse and Laquan Green adds soulful genius throughout. In This Moment was well executed. Bravo, Legin. Bravo.
Stream the EP on Spotify or purchase the EP on iTunes.
