| Excellent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 25, 2012 | |||
| Genre | Christian hip hop, spoken word | |||
| Length | 43:37 | |||
| Label | Humble Beast | |||
| Producer | Beautiful Eulogy | |||
| Propaganda chronology | ||||
| ||||
Excellent is the fourth studio album from Christian hip hop and spoken word artist Propaganda. Produced by Beautiful Eulogy, it was released by Humble Beast Records on September 25, 2012. The album charted on the Billboard 200 at No. 184 and met with a positive reception from critics.
Excellent was produced by the hip-hop group Beautiful Eulogy. [1] It was released on September 25, 2012. [2] The same day, a music video for the title track was released. [3] A second music video, for "Redefined Cutter", followed on March 25, 2013. [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| CCM Magazine |   [5] |
| The Christian Manifesto | [6] |
| Christian Music Zine | [7] |
| Cross Rhythms |   [8] |
| HM | [9] |
| Indie Vision Music | [10] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout |  [11] |
| New Release Tuesday | [12] |
| Rapzilla | [13] |
Excellent met with positive reception from music critics. At Rapzilla, Nyon Smith rated the album a four out of five stars, stating that Propaganda made "something that is life-applicable and life-relatable", but opined that, while a good poet, Propaganda should have rapped more. [13] Ian Harvey of HM rated the album four out of five stars, writing that Propaganda is setting "the bar higher for the word than imagined." [9] At CCM Magazine , Andrew Greer rated the album three stars out of five, noting the album's "easy oscillation between rap and spoken poetry." [5] Steve Hayes of Cross Rhythms rated the album nine out of ten squares, stating that "The only pity is that it's so short." [8] At Jesus Freak Hideout, Scott Fryberger rated the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, commenting on the lyrical depth of the album. [11] Dwayne Lacy of New Release Tuesday rated the album four stars out of five, saying that the release will leave the listener intellectually stimulated. [12] At Indie Vision Music, Jessica Cooper rated the album a perfect five stars, considering Excellent "a superior piece of art stuffed with truth, bursting with originality, not lacking in boldness, that accurately conveys his brilliance as an artist." [10] Michael Wildes of The Christian Manifesto rated the album four stars out of five, writing that "Excellent is a paradox; it holds up pictures of broken images that we constantly look at throughout life, analyzes them for those values and calls them to a greater standard." [6] At Christian Music Zine, Anthony Peronto rated the album a perfect five stars, saying that "the poetry will widen your perspective while Beautiful Eulogy’s original production will surely keep your ears from falling into habituation." [7]
For the Billboard charting week of October 13, 2012, Excellent charted a No. 184 on the Billboard 200, No. 14 on the Christian Albums chart, No. 17 on the Top Gospel chart, No. 19 on the Rap Albums chart, and No. 43 on the Independent Albums chart. [14]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don't Listen to Me" | Jason Emmanuel Petty, Courtland Urbano | 2:31 |
| 2. | "Excellent" | Petty, Bryan L. Winchester | 2:08 |
| 3. | "Redefine Cutter" (featuring Theory Hazit) | Petty, Thomas Joseph Terry, Urbano | 3:28 |
| 4. | "Raise the Banner" | Petty, Terry, Urbano | 4:22 |
| 5. | "Excellent Analogy" | 1:33 | |
| 6. | "Conquer" | Petty, Winchester | 2:53 |
| 7. | "Precious Puritans" (featuring Kevin "K.O." Olusola) | Petty, Terry, Urbano | 4:09 |
| 8. | "Forgive Me for Asking" | Petty, Terry, Urbano | 4:53 |
| 9. | "I Ain't Got an Answer" (featuring Sho Baraka) | Petty, Amisho Baraka Lewis, Terry, Urbano | 5:08 |
| 10. | "Warm Words" | Petty, Terry, Urbano | 3:27 |
| 11. | "Lofty" (featuring Joel Davis & Beautiful Eulogy) | Petty, Joel Benjamin Davis, Terry, Urbano | 4:42 |
| 12. | "Be Present (Live Performance)" | Petty | 4:23 |
| Total length: | 43:37 | ||
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 [15] | 184 |
| US Christian Albums (Billboard) [16] | 14 |
| US Top Gospel Albums (Billboard) [17] | 17 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) [18] | 43 |
| US Top Rap Albums (Billboard) [19] | 19 |
Church Clothes is the first mixtape by Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released for free on May 10, 2012, and hosted by DJ Don Cannon. It featured No Malice of Clipse on the song "Darkest Hour", and included production work by 9th Wonder, Boi-1da, S1 and Street Symphony. Label-mates Tedashii and Andy Mineo, as well as other fellow Christian hip-hop artists such as Dre Murray, Thi'sl, Swoope, Christon Gray, and Braille, also made appearances on the album. The mixtape was downloaded 100,000 times in 48 hours, and met with critical acclaim. It received controversy in Christian media upon its release due to its condemnation of hypocrisy in the Christian Church and Lecrae's collaboration with the mainstream producer Don Cannon. A shorter, remastered EP version was released on iTunes on June 25, 2012. The EP debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Christian Albums and Gospel Albums charts.
Weight & Glory is the debut album of Christian hip hop artist KB, released on July 17, 2012. It is a follow up to his 2011 mixtape Who is KB?, and was highly anticipated since KB's signing to Reach Records in 2010. It features appearances by label-mates Lecrae, Tedashii, Trip Lee, and Andy Mineo, as well as Swoope, J Paul, Chris Lee Cobbins, and Suzy Rock, among others. Producers include Street Symphony, Dirty Rice, Cheesebeats, and Black Knight. The album debuted at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 9,700 copies. Critical reception was highly positive.
Gravity is the sixth studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on September 4, 2012. The album features appearances from Big K.R.I.T., Mathai, Ashthon Jones, Sho Baraka and Mali Music, along with labelmates Trip Lee, Andy Mineo, Derek Minor, who was formerly known as PRo, and Tedashii. Producers on the album include DJ Khalil, Street Symphony's Heat Academy, and The Watchmen. The first single off the album, "I Know", was released on July 24, 2012, and was followed by "Tell the World" featuring Mali Music on August 15, 2012, and "Mayday" featuring Big K.R.I.T. and Ashthon Jones on August 30, 2012. Reach Records released five music videos for the album: "Lord Have Mercy", featuring Tedashii along with No Malice of Clipse, on August 1, 2012, "Tell the World", featuring Mali Music, on October 19, 2012, "Mayday", featuring Big K.R.I.T. and Ashthon Jones, on December 13, 2012, "Fakin'", featuring Thi'sl, on February 1, 2013, and "Confe$$ions", featuring David Banner, on April 30, 2013.
Talented 10th is the third studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Sho Baraka, released through his own label, Lions & Liars Music, on January 15, 2013. It is the first solo release by Sho Baraka since he left Reach Records in 2011. The album title and concept was based on the 1903 essay of the same name by W. E. B. Du Bois. Talented 10th is "not just a picture of Christian salvation but also focuses on education, relationships and social change - all filtered through a biblical worldview." However, Talented 10th was controversial with some in the Christian scene due to the appearance of strong language on the song "Chapter 9 - Jim Crow".
Heroes for Sale is the debut studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Andy Mineo, released on April 16, 2013. It follows up Mineo's 2011 mixtape Formerly Known. Considered one of the most anticipated Christian hip hop albums of 2013, Heroes for Sale includes features from Lecrae, Trip Lee, KB, Christon Gray, Krizz Kaliko, and for KING & COUNTRY among others. Three singles were released for the album, "AYO!" on January 28, 2013, "Bitter" on March 5, 2013, and "You Will" on April 2, 2013. A music video for "AYO!" came out on January 31, a three-part webseries was launched on February 6, and a documentary entitled "Everything Must Go" was released on April 9. Lyrically, Mineo based the album concept around the brokenness of human heroes, and the album has a very transparent and personal tone. Stylistically, it mixes electronic-influenced hip hop music with a variety of other genres, including hymns, reggaeton, jazz, R&B, heavy metal, classical, dubstep, second line, acid jazz, psychedelic funk, and jack swing. The album debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, No. 4 on Top Rap Albums chart, No. 1 on the US Top Christian Albums and No. 2 on the UK Top Christianhart.
Church Clothes 2, officially Church Clothes, Vol. 2, is the second mixtape by Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on November 7, 2013 by Reach Records. Hosted by Don Cannon, it follows Lecrae's previous mixtape, Church Clothes, and Grammy Award-winning full-length album Gravity, both of which came out in 2012. Two versions of the album were released, a free version with host Don Cannon, and a commercial version off iTunes without the DJ. The first single off the album, "Round of Applause", was released on May 14, 2013. On May 21, a remixed version of the song, featuring rapper B.o.B, was released. A second single off the album, "I'm Turnt", dropped on October 18, 2013. The mixtape was downloaded over 100,000 times on DatPiff.com in the first two weeks and debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 chart, No. 1 on the Top Christian and Gospel charts, and No. 3 on the Top Rap chart.
Beautiful Eulogy is a Christian experimental hip hop group and production team from Portland, Oregon, signed to the label Humble Beast. Composed of rappers Braille and Odd Thomas and producer Courtland Urbano, the group coalesced in 2011 while the three artists were involved in the creation of Braille's seventh release, Native Lungs. Known for its experimental and eclectic sound, the group melds myriad styles of hip hop with genres such as folk, electronic, hymn tunes, and modern worship music. After contributing a song to the charity compilation King Kulture and making a guest appearance on Lecrae's Church Clothes, the band released its debut album, Satellite Kite, on June 19, 2012. A second album, Instruments of Mercy, came out on October 29, 2013. Called one of the most innovative hip hop groups in Portland, Beautiful Eulogy has met with critical acclaim, with particular praise directed at the group's creative, unconventional sound and deep theological lyrics.
Creation/Destruction is the second studio album by American metalcore band Fit for a King. It was released on March 12, 2013, through Solid State Records and was produced by Andreas Magnusson. The album attracted both commercial successes and positive criticism.
Jason Emmanuel Petty , better known by his stage name Propaganda, is an American Christian rapper, spoken word artist, and poet from Los Angeles, California. He has released seven albums as an independent artist, including one collaborative album with Odd Thomas and one with Derek Minor, and has performed and recorded as a member of the underground hip hop group Tunnel Rats and associated act Footsoldiers.
Crimson Cord is the fifth studio album from Christian hip hop recording artist Propaganda. The album was produced by Beautiful Eulogy and released by Humble Beast Records on April 29, 2014. It met with commercial and critical success.
W.L.A.K. is the debut studio album from the Christian hip hop-contemporary R&B music group W.L.A.K.. It was released on their own independent label Collision Records on March 5, 2013. The album charted on the Billboard 200 at No. 81, and it was awarded a five star rating by New Release Tuesday and a four star rating from Rapzilla.
ATLast is the debut studio album from Christian hip hop musician Alex Faith. The album released on November 5, 2013 by Collision Records to select retailers such as iTunes and November 19, 2013 to all retailers. It charted on the Billboard 200 at No. 193.
The discography of Propaganda, an American Christian hip hop and spoken word artist and poet from Los Angeles, California, consists of five studio albums, two EPs, twelve compilation appearances, eleven music videos, including one as a featured performer, and twenty-three guest appearances.
Wake Up is the debut studio album from Christian hip hop musician Swoope. The album released on March 20, 2012 by Collision Records.
Love Hope War is the sixth studio album from Christian hip hop recording artist Da' T.R.U.T.H. It was released on January 29, 2013 by Xist Music. The album charted at No. 88 on the Billboard 200.
Anomaly is the seventh studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on September 9, 2014, through Reach Records. The album features appearances from Crystal Nicole, Kari Jobe, and For King & Country, along with label-mate Andy Mineo. Anomaly met with a positive critical reception, and the song "Nuthin", released for streaming as a single on July 1, 2014, was nominated for the 2014 BET Hip Hop Awards in the best Impact Track category. The album also fared well commercially, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with over 88,000 copies sold. It also debuted at No. 1 on the Top Gospel Albums chart, marking the first time that any artist has ever topped both the 200 and Gospel charts. Anomaly won Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 2015 GMA Dove Awards, and Rap, Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year at the 2015 Stellar Awards. Two songs earned a nomination for the 2015 Grammy Awards; "All I Need Is You" was nominated for Best Rap Performance, and "Messengers", featuring For King & Country, which won Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.
Sinema is the second studio album by the Christian hip hop musician Swoope, released on August 5, 2014, by Collision Records. It is a follow-up to Wake Up. Highly praised by critics, the album reached No. 3 on the U.S. Christian Albums chart, No. 1 on the Gospel chart, and No. 4 on the Rap Albums chart.
Satellite Kite is the debut album by the Portland, Oregon-based experimental hip hop trio Beautiful Eulogy, released through Humble Beast Records in both commercial and free formats on June 19, 2012. The album was praised for its eclectic and heavily folk-influenced sound, unconventional production, highly skilled rapping, and deep theological lyrics.
Instruments of Mercy is the second studio album by Portland, Oregon-based experimental hip hop trio Beautiful Eulogy, released through Humble Beast Records on October 29, 2013, in both free and commercial format. Like its predecessor, the album features a highly eclectic folk-hip hop fusion melded with numerous other styles such as electronic, indie, hymn tunes, and contemporary worship music. Courtland Urbano, the main producer of the trio, eschewed the use of digitally-generated effects and instrumentation in composing the music for Instruments of Mercy, instead relying solely on analog and natural sounds. A single from the album, "Vital Lens", was released as a digital download on September 10, 2013. The album fared well commercially, charting at No. 6 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart, and was lauded by critics for its diverse and creative sound and deeply theological lyrics. PQ Monthly called the group "one [of] the most innovative hip-hop acts in Portland."
Gabriel Alberto Azucena, who goes by the stage name GAWVI, is an American Christian hip hop artist and music producer, formerly for Reach Records. Born in the Bronx, New York, he has released three extended plays, five albums, and twenty-three singles including his songs; "In the Water" and "Late Nights." His career commenced in 2008, doing production work for Lecrae and Trip Lee, who continue to be his most consistent collaborators. In early 2016, he was officially signed to Reach Records. In early 2022, Reach ended their professional relationship with Gawvi.