Personnel includes: Pastor Troy, Nature Boy, Co-Ed, Peter The Disciple. Producers include: Gene Griffin, Paul Wright, Pastor Troy, Carl Mo, Carlos Thornton. Pastor Troy's a cappella introduction to FACE OFF may trace its roots back to rap's precursors in the jailhouse rhymes of the early 20th century, but it doesn't take long to figure out that this denizen of the Dirty South could care less about the past. Micah LeVar Troy is the real deal, as is made obvious over the course of this successor to 2000's PASTOR TROY AND THE CONGREGATION. He's a cracked mirror, reflecting his life and times--dirty, druggy, down with his ni**az and with very little else. The backing is street-sparse, the rhymes simple, but Troy's imagery in a claustrophobic succession of raps such as the grinding "Move to Mars," an indictment of contemporary society, is painful, grainy, and undeniable. But lest all this in-your-face reality get too much too bear, he relaxes into the slow groove of "Can You Stand the Game," a smart take on the Bell Biv Devoe cut "Can You Stand the Rain."

• Genre: Pop
• Format: CD
• Released: 5/22/2001