Howdy! Happy New month! Welcome to the better half of 2020 like Purple Daezy said. Here is something for your reading pleasure.
Enjoy!
A Review of Herald Your Praise by Chuks Obasi.
The entrance of a king is usually HERALDED with great pomp comprising praise singers, drummers, dancers, flutists, chanters and the list is endless. In this case, God is the king. The worshippers are the praise singers, singing his praise long before his entrance with joy and great energy. That is what Chuks Obasi has done in this debut album single: Herald Your Praise!
The intro gives us the invitation to all tribes, tongues and nations from East to West, North to South, to the feast of praise not just to a mere king but to the KING that makes all other kings, king- The King of kings!
He goes further to describe the king he is heralding and even invites us to partake in it; in a call and response. Thus:
Uncontainable (uncontainable)
Unexplainable (unexplainable)
Unfathomable (unfathomable)
That’s who you are (That’s who you are)
The Almightiness of this king (God) traverse regional location or boundries, villages, towns, cities, countries and in infact, the entire universe. He is a mystery wrapped in greatness, awe, beauty and majesty. This is not the cheap praise of a sycophant but a joyful outburst borne out of deep sense of reverence, devotion and deep love for the only true king.
There is a humble request from the 'praiser' that the praise of the king be retained in his mouth and also an invitation to the host of heaven to join in the praise. As it is, the combined voices of humanity in the praise of God is beautiful but in itself is not sufficient to match or be in tandem with the greatness of God!
Of noteworthy also is the last line in this verse :
Let your high praises Lord be in my mouth
Praise ye the Lord
Praise ye the Lord
From the heavens
(Oh oh)
Praise him all his Angels and all his host
Never will a rock cry out in my place.
This brings to mind the humbling response Jesus gave to the Pharisees and Sadducees of his time who were indignant because the children erupted in joyful praise to his triumphant entry. Jesus told them that even if the children remain silent, the very stone will break out into singing.
While the stones Jesus referred to are not literal stones but a symbolic representation of humans who are in other people's (Jews) opinion cut out of the common wealth of Israel and too insignificant to be noticed. The same thread of thought is maintained by Chuks when he says:
Never will a rock cry out in my place.
Meaning that the praise of the king (God) will not be taken over from him by another.
A return to the refrain and chorus towards the end gives us a melodious symphony and it is followed immediately by the music's title: We herald you. The purpose of this repetiton I suppose is to drive home the theme of the song which is unequivocally, the unmatched and unexplainable nature of God. The beat is timed and measured, building up from the jingling of bass, to the voice intro and to other musical accompaniments that added colour and beauty to the song.
We usually don't ascribe perfection to debuts but Chuks Obasi has made us believe otherwise with this beautiful piece accompanied of course with deeper-than-the-surface-lyrics that reaches out to every listener to spur them to join in the praise of the unfathomable God! This is however, not an invitation for him to seat on his laurels but to work harder so that in no distant time, many more inspiring songs will follow which will bring about positve transformation to every listener no matter their creed or religious affiliations.
ABOUT THE SINGER
Chuks Obasi is a lead singer in Voice of Life choir of The Good Shepherd Pasture, a parish under The Redeemed Christian Church of God. A graduate of Economics from the University of Lagos and an indigene of Imo state in Ahiazu Mbaise L.G.A. He is a songwriter, composer and singer. You can download this song on Praise Zion via this link:
https://praisezion.com/2020/02/song-mp3-download-chuks-obasi-herald/
You can follow him on:
Instagram : @chuksthepsalmist
YouTube: Chuks Obasi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chuksy2004
Thank you for reading. Let me know your thought in the comment section. Till next time.
I am yours truly,
Julius Topohozin.
