There is, of course, an infinite amount of encouragement to be found in prayer and in the Scriptures. But there's something about music that appeals to the spirit, too. Enter the anthem, a song with stimulating music and/or lyrics that have some personal meaning to the listener.

For offering touching, emotional appeals built on solid lyrics and perfectly meshing production.

There is, of course, an infinite amount of encouragement to be found in prayer and in the Scriptures. But there's something about music that appeals to the spirit, too. Enter the anthem, a song with stimulating music and/or lyrics that have some personal meaning to the listener.

Just like war battalions in the past had musicians on hand to keep fighters in high spirits during skirmishes, we can look to music to bolster our spirits when we are in the fight of our lives. Dragging your feet on a Monday? Feeling weepy around the anniversary of a personal loss? In a broken state under the weight of a series of life challenges? Crank up your favorite songs after some quality time with God and see if your mood doesn't change.

With the release of R-Swift's “Anthem,”  it's clear that the MC, who reps Philadelphia, has been “in the chef's kitchen mixing what the block been missing,” as he says on the title track. He provides a dope menu of songs in a variety of styles for your collection of spirit-rousing urban music—no skipping necessary on this one. The burners on R-Swift's 16-track outing live up to one dictionary definition of anthem: “a sacred vocal composition with words usually from the Scriptures.” Who knew?

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While ya boy, through the voices of others on the intro track, acknowledges some people complain that he isn't on the heavy theological tip like other popular Christian rappers, it's clear that he is repping for the Lord. Each track promotes Christ as a path to salvation and peace of mind, or describes how lost one can be when he doesn't know Jesus. With a continuation of the same gritty sound as songs on his last release, “Soapbox,” R-Swift extends a lifeline to those near death in the streets, literally and figuratively. His goal is to take them from “the guttermost to the uttermost,” as a former pastor at my church used to say.

The songs could easily mark the beginning of someone's Christian music catalog, or otherwise enhance a believer's library. The beats, which come from  IsRael Musiq, Marv4MoBeats, Levester White PI, GP Divine Music, Theory Hazit, Teddy P, and Jas Knight, range from brash, rock-jacking beats, to rugged compositions softened by delicate piano or violin chords, and contemplative tracks driven by soul sounds. All of these flavors mesh perfectly with R-Swift's flow, a blend of cinematographic lyrics and raw, insistent delivery, like a cross between Nas and Freeway.

The vignettes we get with the songs are evocative and convicting. Somewhat like “Gone” on “Soapbox,”  “Beginning” is a haunting story of life wasted. This time, R-Swift focuses on one person's life in reverse—dying at the hands of street violence after earlier circumstances did not foster a desire to know God. The “born a sinner, die a sinner” parallelism is creatively played out as the subdued beat moves along. “Knows right but does wrong, he's far from ignorant/but the wrong feels so right/and this plight will destroy his whole life,” R-Swift says of the midpoint of the life time line.

“They Call” speaks to internal struggle against temptation but makes plain that faith can dead any thoughts that are hard to shake. “just as sure as I was born a sinner, I wasn't reborn a sucker,” he says in response to the silent siren song of a less-than-virtuous woman and the lure of the block. “I thank God for seeing through the facade of me/and reaching through the mess deep-rooted in the heart of me,” he says of the help he receives in tough situations.

“Held Me Down,” with Jai singing the chorus, lays bare some personal challenges that could've broken R-Swift, but instead recounts how God held him through the storm. Specifically, the song has him recalling a life as the “man of the house” at a young age, feeling rudderless without an earthly father; his rocky relationship with his father, which was ultimately repaired; and the unfortunate, sudden death earlier this year of his son, at six months old. (For R-Swift's amazing testimony on coping with grief, check out Episode 103 of the DJ Wade-O Radio Show, on which Swift, just a month out from his son's passing, shares how that event reaffirmed his commitment to the Lord.)

“Trap” may seem like R-Swift is just throwing a Southern song into the mix for good measure, but a closer listen reveals the irony at hand. The “trap” of which he speaks is not just any corner suitable for dealing street pharmaceuticals, as we know from popular secular vernacular but, rather, he's talking about how trying to live out worldly rap lyrics “traps” people in a life leading to an afterlife without God. Similarly, “Shattered” contemplates the fleeting peace that people get from drugs, materialism, and other things that can't love you back like the Lord can.

Beyond the cautionary tales, which appear throughout the album, the songs that boast in God do not skimp on the beats and rhymes. In fact, Swift brings along an army of talented MCs for several of the songs in this undifferentiated second act. “No No No” features Monty G, Jahaziel and Sho Baraka and flips the classic secular reggae song of the same name, by Dawn Penn. “Flava of Forever” brings goodness from Theory Hazit, kj52, and Braille, and on “Back Up,” JAZ and Young Joshua go in.

“Transformed” uses the same framework as “Transformers,” from Tedashii, Lecrae and Trip Lee—metaphors focused on the “Transformers” TV show/movie to reflect change through Christ—but this time around, R-Swift does his lyrical dirt all by his lonely. “I was chosen before my time/to be broken and redesigned,” he says, no longer a destructive prototype.

Rounding out the album are more lighthearted moments. “Chased” gives love to God in a pretty, soulful way. And the final track, “Awesome,” is an enjoyable hip-hop remix of of  “Awesome God,” featuring a choir of children on the chorus.

Life without music, for many, is like a coloring book that has never been touched by a crayon. How wonderful it is that God has blessed many of His children with talent, like R-Swift's, to provide quality, uplifting music as an alternative to what the earth-minded artists are offering. We do not have to live colorless, holy lives. There are anthems, like those Swift is offering on this go-round, to save us and keep us lifted.