Spiritual Minded

04/01/2002 9:00 PM, LAUNCH
Dan Leroy

After going on two decades of keeping folks uncomfortable with his lyrical observations, KRS-One has figured out a new way to make 'em squirm: touting Christianity, which he's apparently embraced post-9/11. Fusing gospel with hip-hop isn't a new idea--BB Jay, who guests here on "God Is Spirit," is one of several who've done it--but given KRS-One's history of preaching self-reliance, instead of faith in a higher power, Spiritual Minded qualifies as a surprising move. Especially when, amidst rhymes on standard topics (Martin and Malcolm, the Diallo incident, etc.), he asks "What happened to God in schools?" and lets guest T-Bone take an unfashionably hard look at Islam. If the beats and backings were as consistently daring, this could have been a great album; as it is, strong moments like the spare, gospel-laced boom-bap of "Lord Live Within My Heart" and "The Conscious Rapper" make it a sermon that's still worth hearing.