ANDY MINEO AND WORDSPLAYED 'MAGIC AND BIRD' Album Review

You wake up one morning and see Andy Mine and Wordsplayed holding a basketball and looking goofy. You cop the album Magic and Bird, listen and realize that you've never had it this good before.



The album represents the next phase of Christian Hip Hop, a direction it has been headed towards since Lecrae said that he's not a Christian rapper, he's a Christian who raps. The album isn't trying to fit into any religious box, it is pure unapologetic art. On 'JUDO' Andy raps that "I know you know you mad.." whilst Wordsplayed takes it a notch higher with "Behave, behave, boy don't you know that you black? Okay, I will, when white Jesus come back!"



'LEGENDS' sees the duo make a stake in the rap game that no Christian rapper has dared since NF did on the track 'Statement' off his Therapy Session album released last year. They're taken themselves seriously as rappers and expect the industry to do the same, with content like this, they probably will.




The album doesn't have any overtly Christian themed choruses, you won't find a 'Background' or 'Superhuman' here, but the rappers still have their faith on display by describing the lifestyle "Serve one God that's my sole mission " Andy raps on "R. U. T. 's " which features Andy's most aggressive verse to date. There's also "one girl no side-piece, I call that fine by me. " on 'KIDZ'. Elsewhere Wordsplayed criticizes rappers that are all "...buzz and no nectar". So this isn't an album by two Christian artistes that have sold out, Andy says as much where he raps that he sold out concerts but didn't sell his soul.


Still you wonder where's the message? By and large the album features positive songs that could be rapped by any secular artiste who goes to church on Sunday's and doesn't  curse. The answer and argument comes seemingly on the track 'KIDZ'. There the duo proclaim that everything they're doing is for the young and up coming, and to borrow a line from Propagandas' album 'Crooked' they are "leveraging veteran status" to educate the you. In a way they're evangelizing by showing a more excellent way of doing the things we love. They're making music that's fun yet clean, empowering yet humble, self-sufficient yet adamant that "Nobody can do it themself, it don't work, I tried that already." The kids will indeed love it, and if they follow after the rappers as the rappers follow after Christ, then Christian Hip Hops new direction is still progressive.


At the very least they're not making songs about problems without their attendant solutions like some people- *cough* NF.

Favourite tracks "TEAM" , "LEGENDS", "R. U. T. S" and "JUDO"

Favourite lines: Wordsplayed " A lot of rappers overrated, homie that's an understatement" on 'DANCE'

Andy  "Yeah I know what they want, Imma give them what they need. " on 'KIDZ'


Dsoupkitchen gives the album 4/5.

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