Main Review
The dynamic trio of Group1Crew brings us Outta Space Love. After it's all said and done you may want to make room for
this CD in your collection. I don't know much about what typically goes into the writing of hip-hop songs, but OSL is very
unstructured; songs were recorded freestyle in bits and pieces and patched together.
"Live It Up" is basically a "this is where my week REALLY begins" song. The perfect soundtrack for the aftermath of
school's final bell, it has a snappy quality - a little faster and you have a theme park ad chorus. The beautiful "I Need Your
Love" is a chameleon of sorts; if you weren't listening carefully, you'd swear it was a boy/girl love song. But certain lyrics
leave no room for error. (I’m the reason you stepped out of eternity cuz I need your love) "Walking On The Stars" begins
with regrets about becoming unfeeling and contrasts that with a life seeing the way God does. It also offers hope to see
the problems of the future the same way. "Let's Go" feat. Tobymac, is a catchy rally song calling people to make a
difference, even if they start with something small.
In "Lean On Me", G1C promises that when everything is falling apart, they'll be there to support them. At first I thought the
song was from Jesus' POV but one line suggests otherwise (Now now now I don’t know all of ya problems). As it stands,
it's still a nice song from one friend to another. "Beautiful" takes an unusual route to the "don't change who you are"
message by having Blanca address herself instead of someone else. Because otherwise you'd be lying to yourself?
"Transcend" is sort of G1C's mission statement; they want their music to point to Christ.
The title track, "Outta Space Love", compares salvation to preparations for a rocket launch, with the launch itself being
Christ's return. "Please Don't Let Me Go" is a cry out to God for rescue, and my other favorite on this album, lyrically and
musically. "Wait" resolves to be patient and not freak out over finding that one true love, and has some retro influences,
although I'm not sure what decade. "Breakdown" is snappier than most of their songs, but the message is vague.
"Manipulation" warns us not to get so caught up in the tunes and dancing that we forget or ignore the message they're
trying to get out.
Closing Thoughts
While it may have been freeing and fun to approach the creation of Outta Space Love in such a loose manner, the end
result falls somewhat short of Ordinary Dreamers. Still, it's a positive alternative to most hip hop and dance style music.
Review Written By: Laura Chambers [laura.chambers@christianmusicreview.org] on 9/21/2010
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