A member of the longstanding Tunnel Rats crew, Propaganda is a Christian rapper who's been around for some time now. Down with the Humble Beast label, he dropped the well-received, partly spoken-word album Art Ambidextrous with Odd Thomas last year. He returns here with Excellent, a 12-track collection of likeable joints that focus mostly on his faith, his family, and the ups and downs of everyday life. On the spooky-sounding opening number, "Don't Listen to Me," he touches on pyramids and aliens before telling us: "I really love my wife, my daughter, and mangoes." Countrified acoustic guitars and vocals from Lee Green liven up "Redefine Cutter," while Theory Hazit makes an appearance on the upbeat head-nodder "Conquer" and Sho Baraka joins the fray on the moody race-and-class examination "I Ain't Got an Answer." A far cry from the stereotypical steez that seems to dominate hip-hop, Propaganda avoids vapid party rap and tired gangster clichés, serving up thinking man's music: decidedly left of center but still funky. - iTunes
