Trin-i-tee 5:7

Item: Trin-i-tee 5:7
Author: George Luke

(1998)

Reviewed by George Luke

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Label B-Rite MusicThe LighthouseUnsorted 1998

gospel hip hop r&b

Having already taken urban street culture by storm with Kirk Franklin and God's Property, this album sees husband and wife team Claude and Vicki Mack Lataillade, the brains behind the GospoCentric and B-Rite record labels, make further inroads into the hip and happening world of R&B. Chanelle Haynes, Angel Taylor and Terri Brown make up Trin-i-tee 5:7 - three young ladies from New Orleans who are at least four times over the legal soul limit.

All the stops have been pulled out on this album. A staggering eight producers/production teams have been drafted to produce; the list of songwriters goes into double figures. First behind the mixing desk is R. Kelly, writer and producer of "God's Grace," which is delivered in a style reminiscent of Bone Thugs 'N' Harmony. "Pray For Awhile" reminds you of Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey at their classiest; the old Negro spiritual "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep" gets the En Vogue treatment and sounds all the better for it, but the cover of "Respect Yourself," good though it is, just doesn't match up to the Staple Singers' original. "Holy & Righteous" is a nice acoustic guitar-led harmony fest, and "Call His Name" proves they can rap convincingly - although they could have chosen a tune with a bit more oomph to it.

In with all the serious singing, a sense of humor creeps through. On "Saved Boy," we find the girls ogling (I mean admiring) some handsome young man, until one of them pauses to ask: "I wonder if he's saved?" Elsewhere, we have a contender for the title of Most Bizarre Lyric Ever Written: "Give it what you've got for a pork chop" (don't ask; I haven't a clue what it means either).

Trin-i-tee 5:7 is a fine debut, but the involvement of so many people in its making gives the impression that someone at B-Rite didn't have absolute faith in their artist and was trying too hard to protect their investment. They shouldn't have been so cautious; these are no mere sisters with voices.