Lecrae - Rebel (2008)

01. Rebel Intro
02. Don't Waste Your Life (feat. Cam & Dwayne Tryumf)
03. Go Hard (feat. Tedashii)
04. Identity (feat. Da T.R.U.T.H. & J.R.)
05. Indwelling Sin
06. Breathin' To Death
07. Truth
08. Desperate (feat. Cam)
09. Change
10. Fall Back (feat. Trip Lee)
11. Live Free (feat. Sho Baraka & Jai)
12. Got Paper
13. I'm a Saint
14. The Bride
15. Beautiful Feet (feat. Dawntoya)

REVIEW:

One of the most highly anticipated Christian rap albums of the year is finally here. And just like when Reach Records label-mate Trip Lee came out with 20/20, Rebel is already topping charts. Currently the album is #22 on the top selling albums list and #4 on the top selling hip hop/rap list on iTunes. Rebel is selling like hotcakes. Which is great, because people shouldn't be passing on this masterpiece of an album.

Rebel is all about not conforming to the ways of the world. Rebelling against the culture. A culture filled with sin. And in doing so, following Christ and his teachings. All the way from track 1 to 15 the album takes a radical stand against popular ways and beliefs. You can feel the passion behind Lecrae's words as they sink in deep. It's very in-your-face, and at times, even fanatical. Lecrae has always been this way, only this time, more so. Which is great, because it helps push the message and the theme across effectively.

Another reason Rebel really hits home is because there is so much focus on personal, everyday life issues most people can relate to. Often times Christian rap artists can get so caught up with theology in their lyrics that they tend to get lost on the listener. It can get too deep, and generally if a person can't relate to the lyrics, they won't get much, if anything, out of them. And they'll get zilch if they can't understand a word of what is being said. Lecrae, however, doesn't have that problem. Anyone can relate to these lyrics. They hit hard. They stay in your mind. They leave you blown away. Rebel is a fine example of the way songs should be written to get a point across.

Rebel is also so relatable because it is very sin-conscience. There is a focus on sin, on almost every track. Everyone knows they've done wrong. People deal with their wrongdoing every day. Because sin is so deeply-rooted in today's culture. The culture itself is sin. Of course, this is where the album's theme comes in. Rebellion. Rebellion against sin. And every time sin is focused on in a track, a way out is always shown - a way to rebel.

The album starts of with a bang, with the two tracks "Don't Waste Your Life" and "Go Hard" bringing encouragement to stay strong in the faith and not to live a watered down, lukewarm life. "Don't Waste Your Life" blew my mind. It's an up-beat club banger complete with synths and even, if you listen closely, electronic background vocals. The rapid fire lyrical action from both Lecrae and Dwayne Tryumf was just outstanding. Cam glides in on a smoothed R&B chorus and one of the biggest hits of the year is born. "Go Hard" has a more darker, grimy sound. A classic Dirty South track which features Tedashii shouting out the chorus and providing a verse. "Identity" deals with the identity people place in materialistic things and how our real identity is only found in Christ. CMR label-mates J.R. and Da T.R.U.T.H. both feature on the song.
And then we have "Indwelling Sin", which is scarily similar to a song by Knine (released in 2005) called "I Don't Love You", in that both of the songs depict a conversation between the rapper and Satan, with the voice of Satan being played by the modified voice of the rapper. Satan tries to deceive Knine into following him, while Knine rebutts with reasons why he won't. The same thing happens in Lecrae's song. The tempos of the songs are different but they are still quite alike. I don't know if Lecrae borrowed the idea from Knine or whether it's all just a coincidence, but personally, I liked Knine's better.

"Breathin' to Death", "Desperate", "Change" and "Live Free" all show man's struggle with sin and how we can Rebel against it with the power Christ gives us. An interesting note on "Change" though: I was suprised to hear Lecrae actually singing on the chorus. He did have the assistance of backing vocals, but you can definitly hear his low tones over the beat. And though he probably won't be releasing any R&B albums, he did a good job. "Truth" breaks down popular theological and philosophical ideas and provides plain answers in layman's terms. It leaves you feeling well-fed because it all makes so much sense.

"Got Paper" has both positives and negatives. On the positive side Lecrae conveys a message against materialism and the love of money effortlessly over a nicely constructed dirty south beat by K-Drama. On the negative side the song consists of yet another chopped & screwed chorus. Chopped & screwed is fine, but recently it has been way over used in christian rap, to the point where it's just not original anymore. In just about every album Reach Records has released there has been at least one song with a chopped & screwed chorus. It's tired. It's had its day.

The production on Rebel can easily compete with any mainstream secular release out there. The usual Dirty South sounds you'd expect from a Lecrae album are all there. But this time the bar is set even higher musically. Real Talk's production was great, After the Music Stops was even better, but Rebel tops them all easily. You can be sure that a lot of people will buy the album for the music alone.

Rebel features all the usual artists from the CMR/Reach circle. Every one of them brought their A game. But it would've been nice to see different artists featured for once; let some other labels or independent artists get in on the action. Dwayne Tryumf was at least a start (although it has been rumored that he may sign with Reach Records soon).

With Rebel, Lecrae has really shown he is one of the best in the game. The theme of rebellion suits Lecrae's passionate spirit. And every lyric on the album is heartfelt. Lecrae confronts the listener with the issues of a sinful culture and shows us the way out. Positioning himself with talented producers will help to get these messages out into the hip hop community very effectively since the music is so competetive. Rebel is a masterpiece sure to remain in CD and mp3 players for a long time, and the impact it has on its listeners will last for eternity.