It is hard to give J. Atkins's album My Sacrifice a serious listen. Even though I am the furthest thing from a Christian-rock enthusiast, it is difficult to not view My Sacrifice as cheesy and insincere. Undoubtedly, J. Atkins was more focused on getting the message across than ensuring quality music. The tracks range from shallow attempts at rock on "You Are" to awkward attempts at R&B on "Something About Your Love" (especially considering the subject matter), to anemic African beat songs as heard on "We Have Come."

This is not a gospel music bashing review-give me Kirk Franklin any day. But something about J. Atkins's music just does not seem genuine. Perhaps it is the wide range of music covered by My Sacrifice, too many genres covered in the attempt to reach members of all audiences.

It would be poor reviewing not to express a level of impression with J. Atkins's ability to even cover multiple genres music. The instrumentation is solid, and the songs are composed reasonably well. Yet the music still sounds artificial and soul-less, although that had to be the last thing that J. Atkins was going for on an album dedicated to the sole purpose of praising Jesus. It is possible that J. Atkins's sub-par vocals contribute to the lack in sincere feeling. If the bland and nasal vocals were swapped with a passionate and soulful voice, this review could have gone in another direction. Unless you are a big believer in second chances, skip over My Sacrifice. Jason "Mr. Keys" Atkins has some soul-searching to do before thinking about releasing his next album.