Chaos and Pain. Two things that loom large in the life of those who do not know Christ as their Lord and savior. These same two things don’t leave us alone once we are redeemed, they just lose the same power they once had. Atlanta resident, Sean Demars, tackles many angles of both chaos and pain with his new project. Let’s take a closer look at what this newcomer has to say.

1. Chaos and Pain: It’s only right that the title track would start an album off, and Sean does a good job using this to frame its direction. Musically, the track is not going to blow you away at all (thought I’d never say that about a Wit- produced beat) but it does its duty in keeping the focus on what’s being said. This probably won’t get constant rotation but is a solid introduction.

2. Slavery and Pain: There is an international problem that seems to be often overlooked, the international sexual slave trade. Sean takes a quick minute and a half to shine a painfully real light on it as he spits from a kidnapped/ abused females point of view. The emotion behind Sean’s words make this one stick in your mind long after the song is over.

3. Death Bed: Often in rap music, we focus on “realness” and spitting what we’ve gone through. Sean takes that to a different place than most, discussing the anguish and despair he faced as his mother passed away from cancer's effects. Challenging is the best way to describe this song as Sean’s imagery paints the emotions of the ordeal clearly. His plea for we Christians to understand life’s brevity and the sincere need to present the Gospel to family members is gripping. A deep song, to say the least.

4. Dull the Pain: Sean speaks from the point of view of someone totally enamored and enthralled with the temporal, destructive things of this world. The progression from boasting in those things, to the realization of depravity, and finally the understanding of the need for Christ flows very well. A standout track that lends strongly to the theme of this project.

5. Pain for Profit feat. IV HisSon: Another quick, to the point track as Sean calls on the man known as IV His Son to pull cards. Both artists speak on the deplorable practice of rappers who glorify that which rips lives apart. IV fit perfectly on the track and meshes well with Sean style-wise. This is another strong track, even at two minutes long.

6. Orphan: Another autobiographical song from Sean brings the listener into the past that helped shape who he was and needed God’s grace to reform. Describing the difficulty of his childhood and some of his more recent struggles is made that much more sharp by the excellent beat he chose.

7. Growing Pains feat. Amber Demars: Sean takes us to a slightly lighter side of pain as he writes out a letter to his unborn baby girl. Sean’s wife says a few words, both parents being clear about their intent to raise her in the admonishing of the Lord. Honest and sincere, this definitely will be something that the little one will hold dear.

8. Everyday Pain feat. Alex Faith & Ec Holmes: The title says it all as Sean walks us through a daily routine, thanking the Lord for His grace in even the most routine of things. Thanking the Lord for life’s difficulties that help us lean on him even more is the clear theme here. Alex Faith offers a strong verse and Ec Holmes brings the hook alive on this soulful track.

9. Eternal Pain: The first thing that jumps out at me about this song is just how the instrumental fits the tone and focus of this song. Sean’s raspy, whisper- like flow is perfect as he lays out the necessity of salvation speaking from the Lord’s point of view. Snippets of a sermon by John Piper help accentuate the song’s impact.

10. Prosperity and Pain: Sean speaks on the pain that can be caused by exposure to doctrine that is shaky, leaving faith that isn’t well rooted easily shaken. Speaking from his experience, Sean aims to encourage those who are dealing with the ill effects of preachers- he refers specifically to at least one- that do not have soundness of Word in mind. Some may disagree with the specific name- calling, but the overall message still stands.

11. Phill's Pain: Storytelling shows up again on this track, as Sean narrates the walk of one Phill from the doldrums of life to Christ’s feet. The song progresses into a steady stream of solid advice/ exhortation that could apply to anyone. Good song that fit perfectly with the subtly instrumental.

12. Persecution and Pain feat. God’s Servant: The encouragement continues as Sean speaks on the pain that is inherent to the walk of Faith after Christ. “No slave is greater than his master” helps sew together a strong hook from God’s Servant, who provided a nearly flawless verse. Definitely a head nodding track that will get some good replay mileage.

13. Work and Pain: The tempo slows to a near crawl as Sean makes his final appeal to the listener to take all that this saved life is seriously. We will suffer temporary affliction for the Gospel’s sake, but there is no reason for us to shy away from the work that he’s charged us to do. Christianity is largely about servitude and people worldwide need us to do the serving that Christ gave the perfect example of. Decent song with an excellent message.

14. Outro (Beautiful Music, No Song): Just like the parentheses suggests, no instrumental here, just Sean explaining his thought process in making this project and presenting a challenge to followers of Christ. Great explanation for the project matched up with a biblical appeal against apathy here.

Categorical Ratings Breakdown:

Originality/ Creativity (4/5): One of the first things that jumped out at me about Sean Demars is what seems to be his purposeful obliviousness to what’s “trendy” or “hot”. From his album’s concept, to his beat choice, to his one of a kind delivery there is no mistaking him for any other artist. Not focused on aligning himself with any specific style, he just aims to pour truth out in an honest form.

Lyrics (3/5): Sean is a very solid lyricist, not focused on shock value so much as just plain making sure there’s value in what he says. He’s not a punch line fixated writer, nor is he overly plush with the poetry, he just get the point across. There’s nothing gimmicky about him as a lyricist, his focus on this project seemed to be exposing his pain for other’s benefit.

Delivery (3.5/5): The reason I go 3.5 here is that though his delivery adjusted well depending on the tempo and tone of the song, he didn’t sound as crisp over slower tracks. Even so, the passion and strength behind his gruff whisper of a voice can not be understated; the purity of the emotion is what really carries this project and makes it worth listening to.

Beat Selection/ Production (3.5/5): This category is interesting because the best songs lyrically for Sean were more often than not over the best tracks. Only a couple tracks were underwhelming, surprising to say considering the lineup of producers (Wit, Wes P, John The Baptist, Big Juice, Doc Watson and Lon Richardson) but none were poor. Overall, the beat selection by Sean was strong and matched the overall somber, subtle tone of the project.

Concept/ Arrangement (3.5/5): The concept of chaose and pain is not new, but Sean shed light to depths of suffering and anguish that have seldom been touched. I felt that this concept is a cross between Pastor AD3's No Pain, No Love and Believin' Stephen's The Suffering Servant, but deeper into the wound. Sean arranged the songs fairly well, it wasn't about a full story or singular character so nothing bad there. A lot of respect has to be given to Sean on the feature side because he didn't aim for names or have too many people to assist him with one of the most gut wrenching (in a positive way) projects I've heard.

There's not much more that I can say to really give a full picture of the beauty that Chaos and Pain is. I know it's easy to look at the star rating above and wonder just how beautiful it could be if I settled at the above mark, but this goes beyond the technical points. A lot of rappers write and "mastermind" a project with hopes not only to please God but to impress the masses. There's not wrong in that but I am convinced that Mr. Demars had zero concern about impressing but moreso on impacting the listener. This album is a great listen for those who have got caught up in a comfor zone, whether in life or just musically, and will definitely cause some conviction to take place. 

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