With his feet planted in the real world and his eyes on the afterlife, Texas rapper Trip Lee brings Dirty South swagger to Christian rap on his third album, Between Two Worlds. Musically, this is pure Southern rap. The tempo is slow, the bass is low, and strings and synths create an almost cinematic sense of darkness and tension. Where Trip Lee changes things up is in his message. Instead of a world of jewelry and syrup, Trip’s world is one of hope and redemption, showing an artist who’s not trying to just get by, but is searching for a way to live his life right without compromising his ideals. Trip’s message is one of positivity and faith rather than pure scriptures, but the religious message is certainly there. What makes it work is that he’s able to get his point across without out and out preaching, concentrating more on telling a story than trying to prove he’s got his Christian bona fides. Fans of Trip Lee’s earlier albums will definitely enjoy this one, and while more secular listeners might find the message a little thick at times, Between Two Worlds might prove to be a surprisingly pure light in an otherwise hedonistic genre. – Gregory Heaney