01 • Featured Video • Christian Hip-Hop

K’NEK & Mancito Telfort Put “WALK” in Motion

K’NEK and Mancito Telfort already gave “WALK” a clear assignment: representing Christ has to show up in more than words.

Now the record has a live performance video that puts that message in motion. The Southern energy that made the original record hit is still there, but the live setting gives the song another dimension.

“WALK” calls believers to remember that we represent Christ wherever God places us. Faith isn’t only something we say. How we live, move and treat people matters too.

TBK247 has been following the record from its original release into the new visual, so if you’re just discovering it now, there’s more of the story waiting.

02 • Project Watch • Album Alert Coming

Childlike CiCi Has Our Attention With Head High

Childlike CiCi followed her recent singles and collaborations with the new project Head High, released September 4.

But this isn’t getting our attention because of one isolated playlist appearance.

CiCi has kept surfacing.

Repeated appearances matter. Eventually an artist moves from somebody we noticed to somebody whose work we need to sit with. Head High has moved CiCi into that territory for TBK247.

There’s also a question we’re carrying into the project:

What does keeping your head high look like when confidence is rooted in Christ rather than ego?

We’re not going to answer that question for CiCi before we’ve spent enough time with the music. That’s exactly why this isn’t ending with a paragraph inside Christian Media Weekly.

03 • TBK247 Submission • Review Coming

Young Nippy Makes Us Stop With “The Blood Still Speaks”

Young Nippy came to TBK247 through the submission box with “The Blood Still Speaks.”

She described the record simply and directly: it is her testimony of how Jesus set her free and gave her life back.

That made us listen.

Then we discovered that the submitted song is also the title track of Young Nippy’s The Blood Still Speaks album.

We’re only a couple of songs into the full project. That’s important to say because we’re not interested in calling something an album review when we haven’t reviewed the album.

What we can say already is this: Young Nippy caught our attention.

04 • Latin CHH • September 4 Release

STIXX aka Conejo & mica Bring Steven Malcolm Into “THUNDER (REMIX)”

STIXX aka Conejo and mica take “THUNDER” back around with a September 4 remix featuring Steven Malcolm.

This isn’t a vague inspirational record. “THUNDER” is built around the promised return of Jesus Christ and the call for believers to stay ready with their eyes fixed on Him.

The production brings that message into an upbeat Latin setting, blending reggaeton and urban rhythms with faith-centered lyrics aimed at both the Christian Hip-Hop and Latin Christian communities.

The remix also carries a notable first: according to the supplied press release, Steven Malcolm’s verse marks his first feature on a Latin song.

There is real cultural connection behind the collaboration too. STIXX was born in San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato, Mexico and is now based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. mica was raised in a Dominican household in the Bronx. Both are identified in the release material as members of Rapzilla’s 2026 Freshmen class.

STIXX’s relationship with Steven Malcolm also goes beyond this feature. His supplied biography notes previous work with Malcolm as a producer, engineer and touring drummer.

05 • FiveTwenty • Boom Bap

iNTELLECT & Elan Brio Go Higher Through Adversity

iNTELLECT and Elan Brio reconnect following “Daily Operation” for “Take Me Higher,” a September 4 release through Polished Arrow Music featuring SKAMM.

Elan Brio handles the production, iNTELLECT handles the engineering and SKAMM supplies the cuts. Together they build around a boom-bap foundation that carries the feel of hip-hop’s golden era without turning the record into a nostalgia exercise.

The real subject is adversity.

“Everyone at one point in time has been low and experienced adversity,” iNTELLECT says in the release materials.

That low place becomes the starting point instead of the conclusion. “Take Me Higher” looks at the valleys believers experience while holding onto the truth that difficult circumstances don’t erase God’s sovereignty or His promises.

The FiveTwenty release connects that perspective with Lamentations 3:37–38 — a reminder that God remains sovereign over both what we understand and what we don’t.

For longtime TBK247 readers, Elan Brio’s name should be familiar. We’ve covered his music repeatedly, and his story has also moved beyond release coverage into deeper conversations about faith, identity, forgiveness and purpose.

06 • Pop / R&B • New Project

Jeannie Ortega Revisits Love and Identity on Phantom Love

Jeannie Ortega’s Phantom Love reaches into a nostalgic 2000s pop and R&B sound while looking back at toxic infatuation, identity struggles and the human desire to be truly known.

“Before Times Up” gives listeners an entry point into the project. The song focuses on the urgency of pursuing connection while recognizing how quickly encounters and opportunities can disappear.

For Ortega, the retrospective angle carries some weight. She navigated a major record deal and high-pressure industry spaces while still a young adult. Phantom Love allows her to revisit that period with the perspective of somebody who has lived beyond it.

07 • Afrogospel • Gospel

Malcolm Rue & A Tribe Apart Bring the Sanctuary Into “GIMME THAT”

Malcolm Rue and rising collective A Tribe Apart bring worship into an Afrogospel pocket with “GIMME THAT.”

The record reaches back into familiar church tradition by interpolating hymns including “Amazing Grace” and “Blessed Assurance,” then places those references over an Afrobeat groove.

Church keys, choir textures and heavy percussion help connect the sanctuary feel to the global bounce.

That’s what makes this one interesting. It doesn’t treat traditional church music and contemporary global rhythm as opposing worlds. “GIMME THAT” lets them meet.

08 • Christian Hip-Hop • New Release

Chris Caro Looks Toward Restoration on “REDEEM”

Chris Caro takes Christian Hip-Hop into a futuristic, atmospheric space on “REDEEM.”

The high-energy 160 BPM record pairs melodic rap with space-inspired production while dealing with something far more grounded: releasing past mistakes and trusting God to restore what was lost.

The repeated “deem” vocal turns surrender into something close to a chant, while the visual concept places a lone astronaut against the vastness of space — small against creation, yet still individually known and valued by the Creator.

Caro has shown TBK247 several sides of his music already. “REDEEM” adds restoration to that growing picture.

09 • TBK247 Featured Release • Christian Hip-Hop

Biggah Kai Gets Back “In Route”

Biggah Kai’s “In Route” isn’t simply another song in this week’s pile.

The self-produced Christian Hip-Hop record marks a return to music after more than a decade away.

That gives the title another layer. Sometimes being in route isn’t about how quickly you arrive. Sometimes the important part is finally moving again.

TBK247 already gave Biggah Kai the standalone treatment, so we’re not going to repeat his entire story here. The full feature is there for readers who want to understand the road behind the record.

10 • TBK247 Featured Release • Sweden

J.A. Qote’s Says THE SIGNS ARE CLEAR

J.A. Qote’s came through the TBK247 submission pipeline from Sweden with THE SIGNS ARE CLEAR.

The project has already received its own standalone TBK247 feature, so Christian Media Weekly doesn’t need to reduce that larger story to a few recycled paragraphs.

Instead, consider this your doorway into the project.