Livin' In Babylon was the album that introduced me to the rap duo 12th Tribe back in the day.  By the time I got to it, this was out for a good year or so, and was a friend's copy I borrowed to give it a good listen-to before I bought it.  At the time, I found myself impressed with the material contained on here, as it had that nice Run-DMC quality that appealed to me.  I did end up getting both this and their debut album; overall, though, Livin' In Babylon is the one that gets more listens.

As the follow-up to Knowledge Is The Tree Of Life, Livin' In Babylon keeps the strong Run-DMC feel to the rhyming and sampling.  However, I find the album a major improvement over the first, as the music and lyrics are a bit more mature, introspective and dare I say darker than the previous.  Livin' In Babylon might be considered a semi-concept album, as the overall theme running throughout deals with spiritual warfare and personal struggles therein.  The music borrows samples from various soul and metal records, and utilizes the guitars and vocals of Jimmy Brown of Deliverance in some instances.  Lyrically, it's a bit more personal and introspective than on the previous, but with the light of Christ Jesus shining in the darkness.

Livin' In Babylon is one of the few hip-hop CDs that I still spin on occasion.  It's definitely still different than what's offered up in terms of Christian rap and hip-hop.  And coming from someone that doesn't generally listen to rap much at all, I consider that a complement.