''Theophanies'' was the second album from hip hop duo

Hazakim Hazakim, (pronounced ''ha-zah-keem''), is a Christian hip hop duo originally from Columbus, Ohio. The group consists of brothers Michael "Mike" Wray and Anthony "Tony" Wray. Hazakim is known for hip hop music that is uniquely Messianic; even rap ...

. The album was released on June 23, 2009, through Lamp Mode Recordings. Although ''Theophanies'' was

's second album, it was their first studio album to be released on a record label with national distribution. ''Theophanies'' helped to establish

's unique sound and approach to lyricism in the

christian hip hop Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United S ...

genre.

Background

Following their independent 2001 release titled ''Hip-Hologetics'',

signed with Lamp Mode Recordings in 2007. ''Theophanies'' was released by Lamp Mode Recordings two years later on June 23, 2009. It was produced entirely by

and contained guest appearances from fellow label-mates Shai Linne and Stephen the Levite as well as MuzeOne. Messianic Jewish scholar Dr. Michael Brown is also heavily featured throughout the album.

Music and lyrics

The musical backdrop of ''Theophanies'' features a unique blend of

East Coast hip-hop East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx, New York City. In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip ...

with melodies and sounds synonymous with

Middle Eastern music The various nations of the region include the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East, the Iranian traditions of Persia, the Jewish music of Israel and the diaspora, Armenian music, Kurdish music, Azeri Music, the varied traditions of Cypriot ...

. While the lyrics are nearly entirely in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

, sections of the album contain

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. The lyrical content of ''Theophanies'' focuses heavily on the theological concept of

theophanies Theophany (from Ancient Greek , meaning "appearance of a deity") is a personal encounter with a deity, that is an event where the manifestation of a deity occurs in an observable way. Specifically, it "refers to the temporal and spatial manifest ...

in the Old Testament. The premise of the album is that

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, most often referred to in the album by his Hebrew name,

Yeshua Yeshua or Y'shua (; with vowel pointing he, יֵשׁוּעַ, Yēšūaʿ, labels=no) was a common alternative form of the name Yehoshua ( he, יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Yəhōšūaʿ, Joshua, labels=no) in later books of the Hebrew Bible and among Jew ...

, is the ultimate revelation of God to man. This divine Messiah, they argue, appears throughout the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

as the

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

Messenger of God's presence, and revealed Himself in time and space, most definitively, as

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

. Throughout the album

cites, in rap form, passages from the Hebrew Bible where a divine visitor, who seems to carry the prerogatives and name of the God of Israel, manifests in a physical form. The album ends with a declaration that this messenger was, in fact, the pre-incarnate Son of God, Jesus. In this way, the album makes a case for the deity of Jesus using the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

. This concept of Jesus's pre-incarnate appearances in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

is known in

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theology, theologian ...

as a

christophany A Christophany is an appearance or non-physical manifestation of Christ. Traditionally the term refers to visions of Christ after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension, such as the bright light of the conversion of Paul the Apostle. Also, following ...

Reception

''Theophanies'' was met with positive reviews.

Rapzilla Rapzilla is a Christian hip hop online magazine. The website contains many sections such as latest news, album reviews, articles, interviews, music downloads, videos, release dates, and columns. Rapzilla is known for its up-to-date news. The we ...

critic Claude Atcho wrote, "Overall, ''Theophanies'' is nothing short of remarkable." Elsewhere, the unique style and approach of ''Theophanies'' garnered praise as the album was dubbed a "classic". Due to the positive reception ''Theophanies'' received,

's subsequent album, '' Son of Man'', was able to crack multiple

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

, despite the five year gap between projects.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Christian hip hop albums