Album Overview

Even though aTone’s Up In Arms is only a 7 track EP, it took me a while to get into this review and to actually get it done. Other than school and just being busy, the main reason for this is that aTone brings a different flavor to hip-hop to the table and it took me a while to adjust to it. If you have never heard of aTone, check him out on his myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/atoneofhiphop.

Lyrically, aTone’s style is not too appealing to me. He usually has a constant tone throughout every song which makes it hard to keep an interest. His lyrical “swag” may not be one of the best in the game but his rhymes still convey solid Biblical truth. Production on the EP is decent. The best tracks production wise are “Truth” and “Just Cause.” There are monologue clips from the movie “V for Vendetta” at the beginning of some of the songs, and I thought it was clever how aTone tied them in with the theme of Up In Arms. I’ll let you check that out for yourself!

Spiritual Significance

Two spiritual topics that stand out the most to me in this album are revolting and P.U.S.H. (pray until something happens). Too often people overlook prayer and only turn to God in times of need, but 1 Thessalonians 5:7 says pray without ceasing. Obviously we can spend all our time on our knees, but it is possible to have a prayerful attitude at all times. This attitude is built on acknowledging our dependence on God, realizing His presence within us, realizing His sovereignty in all situations, and determining to obey Him fully. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God (Philippians 4:6)."

In the song “Revolt”, aTone talks about revolting from the world, from sin, or anything that is against Jesus. The first scripture that comes to mind when thinking about revolt is Romans 12:2, not being conformed to the pattern of the world. Revolt means “to break away from or rise against constituted authority, as by open rebellion.” As Christians we are to break away from or rise against the normal sinful desires of the world and live for Jesus. Usually in a revolt everybody works to together to achieve one common purpose and one main purpose in the Christian revolt is to make Christ’s name known!

Topics Covered

• Prayer
• Revolting against the world
• Recognizing the Truth

And more...

Key Tracks

P.U.S.H., Revolt, Just Cause