Many artists have said that their work was inspired by personal experiences. Christian rap artist Anthony “TK” Kellems’ new album “Mixmaster” was inspired by his recovery from a shoulder surgery. Each track is thought provoking and will have the audience screaming for an encore.

“Pre-Game” and “Post-Game” skits (feat. Stephen Hertz and Todd Tranausky) have Hertz and Tranausky serving as sports announcers introducing Kellems to the audience as a strong player who has overcome adversity, as well interviewing him after the game, where Kellems states how excited he was about performing. “Called Out” has Kellems holding his listeners and himself accountable for their choices. “Can’t Break Us” shows the audience the importance of having God in their lives. He uses pop culture references to describe his faith in God, especially in the line “He’s gonna give you clear eyes like Ben Stein…Lord, teach me your ways like You’re Mr. Miyagi”. In “On Watch”, Kellems tells the audience to keep their eyes on God and not allow sin to rule you.

In “Mixmaster”, (feat. Nemesis) Kellems and Nemesis tell their listeners that God blessed them with their musical talents and that they will use their talents the way He intended. Kellems speaks as the voice of an unborn child in “I’m Countin’ on You”, pleading to his expecting parents not to abort the pregnancy and to let him have a future. “Dirge” is an awesome instrumental rock piece that will thrill the audience. “Raised Up” is an uplifting song that reminds people to have faith in God even in the face of the most difficult challenges. “I Tell It Like It Is” offers thoughts on rap culture and a back and forth discussion between Kellems and Nemesis about hypocrisy, especially in the lines “Lack the cash in your wallet for Sunday offerin’/But you always got a stash when getting’ smashed’s an option”. “Top Dog” reminds the audience that no one is greater than God. Kellems tells us in “Nothin’ but a Servant” that he is God’s humble servant and conveys how blessed he is that God loves him unconditionally. “Dream Big” encourages Kellems’ listeners to never give up on their dreams.

“Mixmaster” is truly an outstanding and uplifting album. Each track expresses Kellems’ strong faith in God and how His mercies brought Kellems where he is today. I hope to hear more from him in the near future.

Final Grade: A

About The Author

Lauren Beverly

Music Reviewer

I love to write and have been doing so since the age of eight. Fictional stories have always been a favorite of mine, because it gives me a chance to be creative and to express myself in a multitude of ways. On more than one occasion, a song proved to be the inspiration to several stories I have written. Believe it or not, some of those songs were on soundtracks! That’s mostly what I listen to, aside from hits from the 1950’s up to the 1980’s. I’ve learned that anything can be the inspiration to a story, even a poster from the 1990’s or a DVD cover.

I’ve lived in Upper Marlboro all of my life and spent much of my childhood watching cartoons of all kinds, and listening to my older sister’s cassette tapes. Growing up, I listened to everything Jackson related, Paula Abdul, Elton John, and even the controversial group Milli Vanilli. As a teenager, I continued to listen to old-school hits and that was pretty much all I liked, aside from listening to all of Michael Jackson’s music. To this day, I still love old-school hits. That hasn’t changed.

I own a variety of CDs from artists such as Styx, The BeeGees, Michael Jackson, Queen, The Yellow Submarine Soundtrack, and many others. When a soundtrack comes out, there will always be one specific song from that album that I’ll love. It never fails.

I’ve graduated from Bowie State University in December 2013 with a B.A. degree in English.

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