Description
Vigilante of Hope is a live album by the American rapper Michael Peace, released on Reunion Records in 1990, manufactured and distributed by Uni Distribution Corp. The album was produced by Dez Dickerson.
Michael Peace’s fourth album is live. A seemingly odd choice since Peace is a performer reliant largely on backing tapes for his stage show. There are at least two ways to overcome the potential for monotony inherent in that situation, and producer and ex-Prince side player Dez Dickerson and his charge have used them both.
From the production end, new backing tracks are used for old album cuts. Especially effective is «Rrrock It Right (Let’s Get Busy)», which cops a beat as hyped as anything from the livelier numbers in M.C. Hammer’s repertoire. Toward the end of restructuring of «That’s Right», the Peace “Ministry Monster” (boombox to you) even pumps out a couple measures of a hip-house beat. If you don’t know what I’m on about, check any Technotronic single.
More surprising is the addition of live instrumentation. Doug “The Secret Weapon” Egling kicks soprano sax licks of ethereal quality on «He’s the Baddest». My common Christian complaint – lack of life DJ scratch work – is answered in the opening «Ad Lib» by DJ Tedd Tjornhom.
The second way Peace overcomes his tape-bound show is his more impassioned delivery. He comes close to screaming, sings «Soon and Very Soon» with some soul (for the chorus of «I’ll See You There») and he comes off with a dollop of a sense of humor sometimes lacking from his studio recordings.
But, there is the rub, homeys. Like many secular rappers are accused of rhyming solely about their own egos and their gratification, all Peace does here is go on and on about his salvation and the greatness of his Lord. When he isn’t, he is apt to make dubious assertations, like how Congress is trying to legalize child pornography in «Livin’ on the Edge». I think we all would have read about that, were it the case.
Peace does what he does well. He is ably assisted in the rhyme by Julia “B J” Montalvo and Abraham “The Latin Lyricist” Malave, and the couplets in Spanish are a first for the Christian market and a rarity elsewhere. For how happening everything else here is, it would still be a welcome aural treat to hear Peace go off about how his faith affects the rest of his life. [Jamie Lee Rake, CCM, July 1990]
> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/loud-n-clear-live/1633169525)
CD tracklist:
01. Ad Lib – 4:11
02. Rrrock It Right (Let’s Get Busy) – 4:45
03. J-E-S-U-S – 4:04
04. Vigilante of the Rhyme – 4:30
05. I’ll See You There – 3:30
06. Solid Rock – 5:22
07. That’s Right – 4:09
08. He’s the Baddest – 4:40
09. Livin’ on the Edge – 7:21
10. (The New) Solid Rock Crew – 6:27
11. On the Throne – 2:25
12. Rock Your World – 4:06
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Reunion Records.
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[youtube_sc url=”” playlist=”llm2hIOldW8,UyJEwfHFYD0″ title=”Michael Peace Explains How He Did Christian Rap Successfully without Charging for Shows (Interview). Rapzilla.com 16 Dec 2021 + 078 Michael Peace. Christian Music Archive, 26 Jan 2022″ autohide=”1″ rel=”0″]
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