Since Spillage Village, a rap collective founded by JID and EarthGang, released their first album called “Bears Like This” in 2014, the group has signed to J. Cole’s Dreamville and released three more albums, “Spilligion” being the latest. The group is made up of JID, Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot from EarthGang and 6lack, Hollywood JB, Jurdan Bryant, Mereba and Benji. The album includes features from Chance the Rapper, Ant Clemons, Ari Lennox and more. The name “Spilligion” is a combination of the words spillage and religion. 

The album has 12 songs and is overflowing with religious allusions and packed with variety, like other Spillage Village projects. The overall sound of the album is a “soulful mix of rap, R&B, funk, and gospel” as Peter Helman said in his article about the album. Most of the song titles such as “Baptize,” “Ea’alah (Family),” “Mecca” and “Oshun,” reference religions. In “Ea’alah,” Venus references how the current state of the world is similar to the “end times” described in the Bible. 

The best songs on the album are “End of Daze” and “Ea’alah (Family).” JID’s verses in both songs stand out more than the others with captivating flows and powerful lyrics. His verse on “Ea’alah (Family)” addresses many relevant issues while his verse on “End of Daze” follows the religious theme of the album. The entirety of the song “End of Daze” is about how the artists would react if the world was ending. The rappers talk about the things they would do “before it’s all said and done.” Another song that really stood out to me was the last song on the album, “Jupiter.” This song contrasts a happy upbeat rhythm and tone with lyrics about how everyone is about to die. One of the best lyrics from the album is from the intro skit “Spill Vill” when Big Rube says “Arguin’ ’bout it would only divide us to be conquered/It’s like never openin’ a package that could’ve saved your life/’Cause you was too damn busy arguin’ over whether UPS or FedEx delivered it.” 

At first, I thought the album was just mediocre, but after listening to it a few more times and really digesting the lyrics and everything that is going on in the songs, I have grown to appreciate it a lot more. Overall, I give the album a solid eight out of 10.