Stones is the ninth studio album by Canadian Christian rapper Manafest. It was independently released on July 21, 2017. The release was fan-funded through a Kickstarter campaign and is Manafest's second fully independent album since his departure from BEC Recordings. Background On October 5, 2015, Manafest released three bonus tracks via PledgeMusic to those who supported his 2015 album Reborn. The second track given to fans was a demo song entitled "I Won't Give Up". It was retitled "Won't Give Up" and musically altered before being debuted as a single on April 29, 2016. This track eventually went on to be the closing track for the album Stones. On February 20, 2017, Manafest launched a Kickstarter project for a new album entitled Stones. On the same day, Manafest also released the title track to fans (via email and Dropbox) who had supported his previous fan-funded projects. On March 21, 2017, Manafest debuted the second single from the album entitled "House of Cards" to pledgers. On May 9, the song was released to project backers for early download. On May 26, 2017, Manafest announced that pledgers would be getting two unreleased bonus tracks, as well as the instrumentals for the album. Around the second week of June, 2017, pledgers began receiving their copies of the album, a little less than a month ahead of the release date. Critical reception The album received generally positive to average reviews from multiple professional music sites and reviews. Amanda DeWilde of New Release Today stated, "After nearly twenty years of writing music, Manafest has certainly reached the point in his career of knowing what his fans like and exuding confidence in his unique style. Stones is all about unapologetically pursuing your God-given talents and passions despite the voices telling you to stop, whether they be from the devil, the overly critical, or from inside your own head." Matt Conner of CCM Magazine went on to say, "Five years have passed since Manafest last delivered an all-out rock assault, which makes Stones a special surprise for fans of albums like The Chase or Fighter. The heavy instrumentation matches the found themes, giving the album a darker, more authentic mood than other releases....Modern rock fans will enjoy the majority of Stones while longtime fans will appreciate throwback tunes like the Caribbean feel and flow of 'Coming Back'." Ryan Dekkinga of Shockwave Magazine praised the album saying, "This