Album Review: Arrived: Now That I’m Here By Chris “The God MC” Cain
“I Had A Rocafella Dream, Letting Niggas Know That I’m Here, Then I Woke Up Grateful, On a Sunday Morning, The Next Day Was Memorial Day, It Had Me Feeling Down, So I Recorded Local Nigga, I Felt Better Manifesting a Vibe, No Amount of Money Can Dictate What We Create, We’re Both Artists Baby.”
These sentences are taken directly from the tracklist of Chris “The God MC” Cain’s new project called “Arrived: Now That I’m Here”. A 10-track album that is the follow up to his album “Arrived” that dropped in 2020. And if you have ever listened to a Chris “The God MC” Cain album that you that everything that he does when it comes to making music is intentional . Even when looking at the tracklist the titles from each song when put together, they read more like an ode, more poetry-like than individual titles. The songs tracklist is intentional and its details like these that will come out in the coming months. Whether it be in an interview or on social media , I expect that Chris “The God MC Cain” will share more of the details of the creative process that went into making the album and share hidden gems that the casual listener might not catch. Until then, we get to let our curiosity guide us on the journey that is called “Arrived: Now That I’m Here” .
“If don’t vote like me then we can politic.They like I saw you at the polls, I thought you don’t vote?I was 17 living in two thousand 23.
That’s how you contradict.I’m on some Kanye shit
In Oklahoma City pushin culture on the East.”
The first track “Lettin Niggas Know That I’m Here” is just what it means. At 6 minutes in 38 seconds, it’s similar to when Lil Wayne dropped 10,000 bars. Well not quite that long. Though similar in the fact that there is no chorus. Just bars . It’s Chris “The God MC Cain” flexing his lyrical skills. It’s a reminder . Like let’s get this out the way. Every rapper needs that one track where they need to remind the game that they still can rap. And this track proves Chris “The God MC Cain” can rap. Rap . The piano keys create this lullaby-like heavenly atmosphere as Chris “The God MC” Cain tells vivid raps about his fairytale life. There’s heroes and villains . There’s tales of danger , triumph , and adventure . His illustrative verses take you to his neighborhood and the places that meant most to him and everyone who grew up on the Eastside of Oklahoma City. Even with this song being so jam-packed, this is still only the beginning of the story.
Then I Woke Up Grateful Chris “The God MC” Cain is saying his grace . For all the things that didn’t go his way he still is grateful for the things that he has. And even though the Jay Electronica show got cancelled. He has continued to take his craft to newer heights. One thing to note is that this is the first track to feature an artist, a female artist named Cortney Lachelle’ . She shows her versatility as she is able to deliver soulful vocals displaying a beautiful intonation and in the same verse able to switch up her style to straight bars and deliver them with a presence and bravado that matches Chris “The God MC” Cain’s.
“I got some goals to reach, got some thangs to teach, I’m talkin breakin curses from the ones that come before me”.
On a Sunday Morning the church piano is the first thing you notice when pressing play on this track. Followed by the Serious K5ive tag. It takes you back to those Sundays and seeing the piano player play each note as if they were the lead singer in the choir. Hearing the preacher speak that sermon that you were too young to appreciate. This was Church Sundays. The ones your momma and grandma made you go to because you was in they house, and anyone livin in they house goes to church on Sundays. The song also tells of how when you are young you walk a thin line between good and evil. Or Saturday and Sunday. This is a record about the duality of life. This is a clever bar. But this song has so many quotable bars. He took us to church with this one.
“You gettin money that’s regular, I know some Christian rappers sound secular”.
Before I save lives, I gotta change mine,
The first noticeable thing about track 6 It Had Me Feeling Down is the Brent Faiyaz Make It Out sped up sample that plays in the background. I remember Chris “The God MC” Cain posting the original song over Kobe highlights. It was beautiful. When listening to It Had Me Feeling Down it’s hard to ignore his tone and the way he raps. It sounds as If someone walking in their truth. And sometimes the truth is selfish. He expresses internalized feelings about making sure he is good with bars like: example, “Health is wealth gotta check the scale” . And in the same breath he shares the mic with the 2nd featured artist on the album Try On 10 , as they both say in unison. “It ain’t hard to tell.” Troy On 10 brings some clever bars to the track, at times I would rewind and catch hidden bars tucked inside his short verse. For referencing the Bow Wow and Omarion song “Let Me Hold You” . The two seem like teammates passing the ball back and forth again and again running up the score and eventually running out the clock as Troy On 10 finishes the verse by professing “Tired of being down”. “They tryna hold us down like Omarion hook,” referencing the Bow Wow and Omarion song “Let Me Hold You”. The two seem like teammates passing the ball back and forth again and again running up the score and eventually running out the clock as Troy On 10 finishes the verse by professing “Tired of being down”.
So I Recorded Local Nigga seems like the Part 2 to his song “Hip Hop Genre Vs. Hip Hop Culture” where he spits “Oklahoma Rapper, he a local rapper, but in NY Jay a local rapper, in LA Snoop a local rapper, y’all local fans for these local rappers.”. No truer words have been rapped. There are similar bars on So I Recorded Local Nigga for example, “Ain’t no local nigga fuccin with me, It’s a local nigga in every city, Every rapper got a hometown, Every rapper local in his hometown.”. The song dives deeper into this hypothesis as Chris “The God MC” Cain focuses his bars directly on mainstream artists. Which are actually a jury of his peers, his summation being, that because I’m so close to my Oklahoma fans they don’t see why I’m not at that mainstream level. But there’s so much more to it that goes on behind the scenes that really isn’t explained to the everyday casual fan. In-between the radio play and worldwide tours there’s a lot of hands being greased and a lot of artists not owning nothing. Not even their own likeness/name. And that’s not the Chris “The God MC Cain” way. But Chris MCain got hella radio play!”
I Felt Better Manifesting a Vibe and just like the title states it’s a vibe. Nia Monė sultry voice starts the track off giving that R&B vibe back when rappers had singers sing their hooks, she also collaborated with Chris “The God MC Cain” on The Omega Before the Alpha. Another interesting fact is that Nia Monė,, Young BUD , and Troy on 10 are the only 3 featured artists to make both Arrived albums. Not an easy feat especially on this album which only has 4 credited featured artists. It’s amazing to see that the person that Chris “The God MC” Cain has dedicated so many bars is now a becoming a frequent artist he collabs with. Young BUD is . And the two friends celebrate on I Felt Better Manifesting a Vibe . Young BUD speaks with a sense of knowledge and growth in life and also an appreciation for Chris “The God MC” keeping his name alive while he was gone.
I Felt Better Manifesting a Vibe and just like the title states it’s a vibe. Nia Monė sultry voice starts the track off giving that R&B vibe back when rappers had singers sing their hooks, she also collaborated with Chris “The God MC Cain” on The Omega Before the Alpha. Another interesting fact is that Nia Monė hen I was in that cage you was screamin’ my release date” . It’s these moments that seem so surreal for Chris “The God MC” Cain. But they were really manifested .”You helped me get my shit straight, Put me on them mixtapes, When I was in that cage you was screamin’ my release date”. It’s these moments that seem so surreal for Chris “The God MC” Cain. But they were really manifested.
We’re Both Artists Baby this is that ghetto love letter. Naw scratch that, this is that Black Love letter. But deeper than that. These are vows . Because Black Love was plotted against as soon as we arrived here in America. And if it was one artists that could describe what Black Love is, then money is on Chis “The God MC” Cain. He is expressive in his feelings for his wife that is masculine and most importantly is unwavering and fully committed ‘. Like in that scene on Sprung when Montel told Clyde, “I love hard. And when I love a woman she knows she’s being loved.” And Chris “The God MC” Cain goes hard for his wife as heard with lines like, When I’m selfish you get all of my attention and vice versa tho.” and “You the queen of the universe, get the ring around Saturn… And I’ll Kill for you, You and the babies. I’ll kill for y’all” If that ain’t loving hard then I don’t know what is. This is Black Love.
Arrived: Now That I’m Here was an album and a full journey from one of hip-hops best. A true M.C. The album had these moments of nostalgia that made you feel apart of the journey. The album also played on his strengths. Intentional bars. Mastery of rhyming schemes , vocal timing , and presence . And last but certainly not least. It was hip-hop ! This is the album we waited so long for. The result of it all was a timeless piece of art. Chris “The God MC” Cain had already Arrived . But it’s now the world gets to see how great he is Now That He’s Here !
Make sure to checkout Chris “The God MC” Cain his social media below:
Instagram: @chris_the_god_mc_cain
Apple Music: Chris The God MC Cain
Spotify: Chris The God MC Cain
YouTube: Chris The God MC Cain
Twitter: @C_TheGodMC_Cain
Facebook: Chris “The God MC” Cain
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