Album Overview

Most of us are familiar with going to the movies, seeing something that was good, not necessarily great, but it left you in suspense and piqued your interest enough to want to see the next one. That’s the way a lot of the CHH heads felt after listening to Tedashii’s initial release, Kingdom People. We heard him rip guest spots with Cross Movement, Trip Lee, Lecrae, Sho Baraka, and a host of others. On all of his guest appearances he absolutely ripped it, and a lot of times he stole the show. So, just like with a good movie that leaves you wanting more, we had a great anticipation/expectation regarding Tedashii’s sophomore release – Identity Crisis. Most sequels are disappointing, Tedashii’s Identity Crisis was not!

You don’t understand how difficult this album review was for me to write. It wasn’t due to the fact that I couldn’t find enough to say or that I couldn’t say anything nice; the main issue I had was being unable to listen without the incessant banging of the head long enough to take notes or do anything other than laugh at some of the parallelisms and wordplay used throughout. The production for this album was bananas! From beginning to end you get hit with sick snare rolls, bass lines, intense synth arrangements, and everything else you could imagine. Another thing we’ve come to love & expect from T-Dot is an album packed with dope hooks, and man he came through on that end as well; I’ll only mention one song, for now, on the hook aspect, listen in closely to “Hollywood” and you’ll feel the heat from that hook.

Lyrically, all I can say is OH – MY – GOOD-NESS! He had me at the intro; I was done. There was no monotony anywhere on this album. A lot of stuff we hear from the south, especially the secular realm (BOO secular), all sounds the same. Not only did he separate himself from his Christian contemporaries with diverse flows throughout the album, he showed the rest of the “artists” from the dirty how to bring it lyrically and keep the listeners guessing on what’s coming next. T-Dot incorporated a lot of that up tempo flow and the slowed down stuff too. He also switched it up though in a lot of songs so the ears didn’t get bored expecting the same thing throughout. Bottom line, you have got to get this album; it will definitely be an upgrade to whatever you have been listening to lately. This is my favorite album to come out this year and is already in heavy rotation in my “gym bangers” playlist.

Spiritual Significance

The theme of this album is from the Greek, Imago Dei – here is a quote from PBS.org on the meaning: “A theological term, applied uniquely to humans, which denotes the symbolical relation between God and humanity. The term has its roots in Genesis 1:27, wherein "God created man in his own image..." This scriptural passage does not mean that God is in human form, but rather, that humans are in the image of God in their moral, spiritual, and intellectual nature. Thus, humans mirror God's divinity in their ability to actualize the unique qualities with which they have been endowed, and which make them different than all other creatures...” This a very relevant topic to today’s generation.

We are created in the image of God, and as such we represent Him and should strive to bring Him glory in all of our endeavors; as a people, it seems that we have strayed very far from that truth. Our focus has turned to “me” and what can “I” get. Generally speaking, we have no real concern that the things we do are supposed to reflect God to the world. In fact, we want to be the centerpiece and have people see & notice us versus the God that came to redeem us and is supposed to be actively at work in and though us. We forget that God’s image is perfect, and we are supposed to be perfected in Christ as we die daily 1st Cor 15:31 to the desires of our flesh. People have decided to let this world define them and who they are and have almost completely neglected the truth of who the bible says we are; not only have people neglected that truth, they have abandoned all aspirations to live up to that standard.

Tedashii is using this album as a wake up call to believers. Yes, it’s bangin’. Yes, the lyrics and production are dope, but, more importantly, the message is one that is relevant and needs people to listen and examine themselves to see where they stand. T-Dot sets the tone with the intro, just getting back to being who God created us to be and trying to help us see that when we aren’t striving to project Christ we undoubtedly tarnish God’s image to those around us that are unbelievers, and delves into other topics regarding our image as Christians.

Take the song “26’s” ft. Lecrae. The focus of the song is idolatry, check Deut 6:5-15, specifically the worship of cars, rims, and people letting their possessions define them and esteem them among men. They use the song to drive home the point that we shouldn’t be slave to things, nor should they define us. What happens when the car is gone, or someone steals your prized possession? Do you still have any worth? The same people that esteemed you highly because of your “26’s,” what do they think of you now? We see this day in and day out in our communities and portrayed in videos/movies. People brag about what they have and how many chicks they pull because of it, all the while blind to the fact they are slave to the idols they serve. Speaking of movies, the song “Hollywood” takes a look at tinsel town, the movies they put out, and the effect it has on our youth. Think about it, we always see kids pretending to be Superman or Spiderman after seeing the movie; you can see them with a blanket tied around their necks, jumping off the steps or even a roof in the case of the more daring children; so, what do you think is going to happen when we feed urban children movies like “Boyz in the Hood” or “Menace to Society,” or any of the movies we tend to be drawn to? Kids want to emulate those types of things as well because it’s appealing to be the big man on the block and have the respect of their peers, so they mold themselves to be a “G” just like O-dog or Doughboy (showing my age, I know). Like it or not, movies teach us how to sin just as well as anything else, and they lend us to living in a fantasy world instead of looking at what matters most, our relationship with Christ.

Identity Crisis is a well rounded album. I feel T-Dot did a good job of trying to relate every song to the central theme about learning who we are in Christ and then striving to live up to that standard while totally relying on God’s grace for the times we fall short. By all means, this album has relevant material that should cause a believer to look inwardly and to get a good view of how he/she is representing the Imago Dei, as well as how other saints and even nonbelievers perceive us.

Topics Covered

• The Fall, Adoption by Christ (Identity 1 & 2)
• Pride/Self-sufficiency (Gotta Believe)
• Sufficiency in Christ (All I need)

Key Tracks

Hollywood, Make War, Thank you