Rain had one fuck of a task on his hands. The relatively unknown Boston producer was tapped by lyrically revered Project Move veteran Moe Pope to compose the follow-up to the latter's 2008 victory Megaphone, which was slow to burn but finally earned its due rep as a distinguished contemporary rap artifact.
Fortunately, Rain aced the assignment by rising above beatmaker status and diligently synthesizing boom-bap with rich organic syrup to spoon atop Moe's tragic essays. Life After God is a mostly melancholy meditation, since Moe was both depressed and polluted through much of the writing process. But his rhymes — all of which are "misfit in the room of hoes that's materialistic" — are nonetheless enlightened nuggets that sparkle beneath the variegated highlights of Rain's drizzle. The post-Motown "City Lights" with Edo G throws back, "Bullitt" pushes forward, and the piano play on "Bang Bang" is (and I hate this adjective) timeless.
At its best, Life After God finds Moe meeting Reks on "Foolish" (which is anything but) and spitting like a BP-sponsored porn star on two versions of "Rock Me." Moe don't preach, but he sure does know how to communicate.
