Album Details

• Artist: Jita
• EP:
Power Of One
• Label: BeatSquad
• Year of Release: 2010
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: carlito on 2010-08-20

Contemporary gospel music has often taken flack throughout the years, being criticized as "cheesy", or having a very "dated" sound.  In many cases this is true, as Christian artists have strived to mimic what's on the radio, rather than carve out a niche all their own.  As a result, the genre - for the most part - stays within the confines of the church community.  But every so often, an artist emerges to break the mold and be the exception to the rule.  Jita is one of those artists that show such promise.

On her EP release Power of One, we are given three versions of the album-titled song: contemporary, Spanish, and one with what I would consider as having a Caribbean flare.  This is a fun song with a message that can definitely be utilized in a joyous church celebration.  The lyrics sound particularly pretty in Spanish.

"Lean On" exemplifies Jita's smooth voice over lush synthesized chord progressions.  I could have listened to the song without any drum programming at all.  Her voice could have carried the entire track with very light instrumentation.  It takes on more of an RnB feel once the drums come in after about a minute in.  The lyrical content has both spiritual and emotional implications.  With lines like, "I ran into your arms today.  I ran so I could get away - from all the news and all the pain", it's hard for people to not find something to relate to.

The real gem of the album, though, is the remix for "I Need You".  This is house music packed with lots of harmony and soul.  A wonderful dance track that competes with the best of them.  This song reminded me of the classic house number "Good Life" from Inner City (which by the way, is a huge compliment).

The word that keeps coming to mind when listening to Jita is "smooth".  Vocally, she stays in her lane, only venturing out when needed.  There's no Mahalia Jackson wailing  on here, but you'll be hard-pressed to find Jita sing a bad note.  I sure would love to see her do some more dance numbers in the vein of the "I Need You" remix.  But, I suppose that would depend on where and how the Spirit leads.

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