Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

The group is L.A. Symphony, the album called Unleashed (a mixtape of new & unreleased tracks, rarities, demos and more!). Call me crazy but I actually thought this album was going to be a recording of the L.A. Philharmonic remixed. Something along those lines might be odd but I thought it would at least be interesting to hear. Instead, this is a group of Christian rappers from L.A. that provide a chill, and well polished but average sound.

L.A. Symphony is made up of 5 guys: FLYNN, CookBook, Joey the Jerk, UNO Mas and Sharlok Poems. Each of these guys take turns producing and rapping. The rapping always has a professional and classic sound and the lyrical flow. The themes are light and sometimes religious. Without doing much research I wouldn't have known that this group was considered Christian. There are really only a few shout outs to the Lord on this album. But when they shout for Jesus they shout loud. The message is positive and the sound is sometimes refreshing happy rap but that's not enough to make Unleashed interesting.

My main issue with this album was that it's billed as a mixtape of rarities etc. but many of the songs (especially in the first half) have pretty much the same backbeat. There is a lot of rhythmic variety from song to song and some tracks have a different feel but overall the album seems to be missing something. They need to add a few more sounds, some samples, SOMETHING. Otherwise, it just sounds like they're jamming.

There were a few bright spots in Unleashed, however.exceptions, however, The song Break it Down stands out. It has an interesting beat and a lot of excitement going on (shouts and clapping and a chorus of kids singing "yeah!). I also thought Get Out the Van was cool. It sounded like really sped up old school. Tour Bus was amusing. L.A. Symphony raps about the kinds of things you talk about in the car. Perhaps if I knew a little more about the group's previous work I would find the tracks on Unleashed unique, or at least different from what they've done before. However, compared to other artists I hear on the radio I'm just not very excited about Unleashed.

Overall, I was just expecting something a little more exciting. These guys have definitely produced a well-polished album but listeners will be hoping for something more in the way of musical variety. It's not a huge negative however -- for those looking for a classic sound and a positive, god-fearing message, this might be just your thing!