Another rare hip-hop album that remains a fixture in Uncle NecRo's music collection.  12th Tribe came out with this debut back in the middle of the whole Christian rap explosion of the late 80s and early 90s.  And while there wasn't much during that explosion that really grabbed my attention (mainly because rap isn't one of my big choices in listening pleasures), 12th Tribe certainly did.

The duo's debut, Knowledge Is The Tree Of Life, has a nice Run-DMC vibe to it that appeals to me.  Back in my junior high days, I was one of the millions of white kids who snatched up Run-DMC's breakthrough Raisin' Hell, mostly because of their collaboration with Aerosmith on their cover of "Walk This Way".  Yeah, my music tastes were dictated by Top 40 radio back then.  Thing is, I thought the entire album was cool, not just the one song.  Knowledge Is The Tree Of Life has that same vibe.  They have that duo rhyming trade-off between the two, catchy beats, and samples from various rock and metal albums, giving the tunes a nice edge to 'em.  Lyrically, the album is pretty straight-forward in the evangelical vein, lauding the Bible and calling for repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ.  Basically, a good Spirit-filled holy hip-hop CD.  Not bad, really...