Small Professor is a producer from Philadelphia who has been releasing music as part of groups like Them That Do and Career Crooks, as well as a solo artist. As a solo artist, Small Pro is best known for releasing a series of instrumental projects informally known as the Jawns Series. In the past, we’ve gotten releases such as Nasty Jawns, Queen Jawns, and Chicago Jawns. For his latest release, it’s time to put on your Sunday best for Church Jawns.

The Jawns Series is interesting, in part because it can be a little up and down. Sometimes it can feel like Small Pro is just putting together a collection of random, decent beats, and other times they can feel like fully formed, inspired projects. Church Jawns just might be the most inspired project to date. He’s certainly not the first hip hop producer to look to gospel for inspiration, but I’ve heard projects that run the gamut from interesting and inspired to lazy and just reaching for signifiers, so just turning to gospel music isn’t enough. It’s a matter of what you do with it, not just musically, but the message therein, and one listen to Church Jawns and it’s clear that this was a passion project of Small Pro and that he wanted to reconnect to his own relationship with the church, and specifically gospel music. There are of course some great organ and choir samples, and some clever flips to make it all his, but where the project really becomes special is the way in which Pro integrates some vocal clips, some times short and sometimes long, to give you some messages to really think on, whether it be about the representation of Jesus in paintings hanging up in the church, or just really personal pleas for spiritual guidance and fulfillment. More than anything, you can just hear how heartfelt and personal a project this was for Small Pro, and it absolutely resonates throughout the music.

When an artist has a series like as prolific as Small Professor’s Jawns Series, sometimes you need a nudge to know when a certain release is a standout and deserves some extra attention. Consider this your nudge, because Church Jawns is special. If you’ve never listened to Small Professor before, I can’t think of a better place to start.