Whole Truth

Back after "going commercial" with 2009's The Big Picture, the gospel rapper splits the difference on his 2011 release, The Whole Truth. Both the aboveground sound of 2011's mainstream charts and the underground hunger of Da' T.R.U.T.H.'s early efforts are represented, along with an avalanche of emotion, much of it stemming from the rapper's very public "hiatus" and the near breakup of his marriage. Confessional lyrics recall the early days while the beats point toward a chart-topping future and the blend generally works, although the ultra-slick house number "Can't Believe" seems an out-of-place, Usher-like experiment. ~ David Jeffries