Excellent (album)

Excellent
Studio album by Propaganda
Released September 25, 2012 (2012-09-25)
Genre Christian hip hop, spoken word
Length 43:37
Label Humble Beast
Producer Beautiful Eulogy
Propaganda chronology
Art Ambidextrous
(2011)		 Excellent
(2012)		 Crimson Cord
(2014)

Excellent is the fourth studio album from Christian hip hop and spoken word artist Propaganda. Produced by Beautiful Eulogy, it was released by Humble Beast Records on September 25, 2012. The album charted on the Billboard 200 at No. 184 and met with a positive reception from critics.

Recording and release

Excellent was produced by the hip-hop group Beautiful Eulogy.[1] It was released on September 25, 2012.[2] The same day, a music video for the title track was released.[3] A second music video, for "Redefined Cutter", followed on March 25, 2013.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
CCM Magazine[5]
The Christian Manifesto[6]
Christian Music Zine[7]
Cross Rhythms[8]
HM[9]
Indie Vision Music[10]
Jesus Freak Hideout[11]
New Release Tuesday[12]
Rapzilla[13]

Excellent met with positive reception from music critics. At Rapzilla, Nyon Smith rated the album a four out of five stars, stating that Propaganda made "something that is life-applicable and life-relatable", but opined that, while a good poet, Propaganda should have rapped more.[13] Ian Harvey of HM rated the album four out of five stars, writing that Propaganda is setting "the bar higher for the word than imagined."[9] At CCM Magazine, Andrew Greer rated the album three stars out of five, noting the album's "easy oscillation between rap and spoken poetry."[5] Steve Hayes of Cross Rhythms rated the album nine out of ten squares, stating that "The only pity is that it's so short."[8] At Jesus Freak Hideout, Scott Fryberger rated the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, commenting on the lyrical depth of the album.[11] Dwayne Lacy of New Release Tuesday rated the album four stars out of five, saying that the release will leave the listener intellectually stimulated.[12] At Indie Vision Music, Jessica Cooper rated the album a perfect five stars, considering Excellent "a superior piece of art stuffed with truth, bursting with originality, not lacking in boldness, that accurately conveys his brilliance as an artist."[10] Michael Wildes of The Christian Manifesto rated the album four stars out of five, writing that "Excellent is a paradox; it holds up pictures of broken images that we constantly look at throughout life, analyzes them for those values and calls them to a greater standard."[6] At Christian Music Zine, Anthony Peronto rated the album a perfect five stars, saying that "the poetry will widen your perspective while Beautiful Eulogy’s original production will surely keep your ears from falling into habituation."[7]

Commercial performance

For the Billboard charting week of October 13, 2012, Excellent charted a No. 184 on the Billboard 200, No. 14 on the Christian Albums chart, No. 17 on the Top Gospel chart, No. 19 on the Rap Albums chart, and No. 43 on the Independent Albums chart.[14]

Track listing

Tracklist
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Don't Listen to Me"  Jason Emmanuel Petty, Courtland Urbano 2:31
2. "Excellent"  Petty, Bryan L. Winchester 2:08
3. "Redefine Cutter" (featuring Theory Hazit)Petty, Thomas Joseph Terry, Urbano 3:28
4. "Raise the Banner"  Petty, Terry, Urbano 4:22
5. "Excellent Analogy"    1:33
6. "Conquer"  Petty, Winchester 2:53
7. "Precious Puritans" (featuring Kevin "K.O." Olusola)Petty, Terry, Urbano 4:09
8. "Forgive Me for Asking"  Petty, Terry, Urbano 4:53
9. "I Ain't Got an Answer" (featuring Sho Baraka)Petty, Amisho Baraka Lewis, Terry, Urbano 5:08
10. "Warm Words"  Petty, Terry, Urbano 3:27
11. "Lofty" (featuring Joel Davis & Beautiful Eulogy)Petty, Joel Benjamin Davis, Terry, Urbano 4:42
12. "Be Present (Live Performance)"  Petty 4:23
Total length:
 43:37

Chart performance

Chart (2012) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[15] 184
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[16] 14
US Top Gospel Albums (Billboard)[17] 17
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[18] 43
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[19] 19

References

  1. ↑ "Propaganda – Excellent Download". Humble Beast Records. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  2. ↑ Horton, Chad (September 4, 2014). "Propaganda 'Excellent' Cover, Release Date & Tracklisting". Rapzilla. Philip Rood and Chad Horton. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Propaganda - Excellent". Humble Beast Video. YouTube. September 25, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Propaganda - Redefined Cutter - @prophiphop @humblebeast". Humble Beast Video. YouTube. March 25, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Greer, Andrew (December 1, 2012). "Propaganda: Excellent (Humble Beast Records)". CCM Magazine. p. 52. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Wildes, Michael (September 26, 2012). "Propaganda | Excellent". The Christian Manifesto. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Peronto, Anthony (September 24, 2012). "Propaganda – Excellent (Review)". Christian Music Zine. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Hayes, Steve (January 7, 2013). "Review: Excellent - Propaganda". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Harvey, Ian (November 1, 2012). "Propaganda – Excellent". HM. p. 48. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Cooper, Jessica (October 8, 2012). "Propaganda – Excellent | Reviews". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Fryberger, Scott (September 21, 2012). "Propaganda, "Excellent" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  12. 1 2 Lacy, Dwayne (October 23, 2012). "Propaganda is not afraid to tackle tough issues and real questions". New Release Tuesday. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  13. 1 2 Smith, Nyon (October 15, 2012). "Review - Propaganda 'Excellent'". Rapzilla. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Propaganda - Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Propaganda: Billboard 200". Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Propaganda: Christian Albums". Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Propaganda: Top Gospel Albums". Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Propaganda: Independent Albums". Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Propaganda: Rap Albums". Retrieved May 8, 2014.
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