It’s safe to say that Christian rap and hip hop don’t have the largest niche in Murfreesboro. The ‘Boro’s scene largely consists of twee indie psych quartets bashing around house shows and college guys planning to be the biggest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world. Needless to say, I wasn’t fully prepared for CHANGE’s blatant second track, “I Need Jesus,” two minutes into The Leak. The sound of an autotuned voice claiming that he’s got all the clothes, fame and fortune, but “it just ain’t the same” without Christ in his life either prompts a listener to react immediately with an “aw, shit” and turn it off, or a very specific audience to turn it up.

The project of Steven North (a.k.a. Humble Me) also features Haystak, JellyRoll, Quick and D-Way, and CHANGE has another EP to its name in addition to The Leak, both of which are products of a reformed lifestyle that’s in some way the subject of every track on the album. Against a backdrop of modern and trendy hip hop rhythms, lyrics cover typical territory (young delinquent days, broken homes, but also praying every morning, etc. “I know these kids need a positive message”). CHANGE is sending one on a trim, polished and squeaky clean record that, in all honesty, you’ll either hate, not because of the music so much as because of the genre, or love for the same reason.