After a decade of false starts, including two with the Bad Boy label, as well as a series of profile-raising mixtapes,
King Los finally delivers his first release for a major label. Issued through RCA,
God Money War is a low-key digital download-only album that nonetheless involves some major guests, including
Marsha Ambrosius,
Ty Dolla Sign,
R. Kelly, and even Diddy, who is also given an executive producer credit. The versatile rapper works introspective and confrontational angles with equal ease, and like
Kendrick Lamar, explores spirituality while evading classification as a Christian rapper. The title track, one of several produced by Da Internz, is a brilliantly orchestrated cut that maintains fluidity through nonstop development.
Los, sobering and uplifting at once, provokes more thought in its four minutes than lesser rappers can claim in 40. ~ Andy Kellman