Released 15 years ago yesterday, this is maybe not an album either; it's a mixtape. In some places called the The Blueprint 3 Outtakes (Deepspace5 Version), this is now sold on Bandcamp as the 5PRINT Mixtape. Deepspace5 is a underground rap super-group, so here you'll find cool beats and beds and fast-paced raps over the top of the music. This type of underground stuff from labels like Uprok Records about 25 years ago was some of my first exposures to rap/hip-hop music, and I still enjoy this type of underground hip-hop from time to time. I only picked up this release on Bandcamp recently, and I need to listen a few more times to catch half of what was said and break it down, but I love the fast-paced, clever wordplay and the fun beats.

Release Year: 2009
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I'd never really listened to the music of Fernando Ortega much. I think I knew that he was most well-known for his versions of hymns. But then in 2004 I came across this album, his self-titled release, and I found that yes, there were a few hymns on the album and they are beautiful, but there's also a lot more. Fernando Ortega's smooth vocals are mixed with country, folk rock, and other styles on this release. Some of the songs lyrically talk about nature ("Dragonfly" and "When The Coyote Comes"), some about daily life ("California Town" and "Mildred Madalyn Johnson"), and some about the days where we struggle ("Shame" and "Noonday Devil"). It's a beautiful album and one I come back to on occasion. I really do need to check out Mr. Ortega's other albums one of these days! (I even have a few other of his albums I recently bought used on CD and I haven't listened to them yet.)

Release Year: 2004
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Released 15 years ago today, Church Music is an epic 74 minutes of music that is probably not what you grew up with at your church. (I know I certainly did not.) I love David Crowder and his band of ambitious instrumentalists because they bring the rock 'n' roll to whatever they are working on, even if it's supposed to be a album full of songs for churches to sing. There's certainly some nods to modern worship and even the classic hymns here, but it's also a rock fest and a dance party as the band incorporates even more electronic elements than in the past albums, which have been more guitar-focused. The cover of "How He Loves" made the John Mark McMillan song popular, but "Eastern Hymn", "Shadows" and "Oh, Happiness" are great songs by the band along with the rest of album. Dance!

Release Year: 2009
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Jason Petty, the rapper known as Propaganda, got his start with the underground LA Tunnel Rats crew about 20 years ago. Since then, he's been making collaborations with other rappers and producers as well as doing spoken word and more recently, podcasting and writing a book. Crimson Cord was recorded with the Beautiful Eulogy crew at the Humble Beast label, and I love their incorporation of very unconventional sounds and instruments into their tracks for Propaganda to rap over. And Prop's lyrics teach me about the world as he sees it and how the world is so much bigger than my white, Christian, Midwestern worldview. I hadn't heard music from Propaganda for many years and then caught back up with him on this album, and it's a great listen.

Release Year: 2014
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