Lecrae - Rebel - Review

The album title refers to the fact that in order to truly be a rebel in today's fallen world, one must do the opposite of what the majority of humanity is doing - for by definition, the term rebel refers to someone who fights against the established ways. In a world marked by sin, the truest form of rebellion is to live a Godly life, chasing after Christ and not after money, sex, drugs, material possessions, etc.

With this premise established, the album sets out to provide anthems for this new breed of rebels to march to. Like it's title suggests, the song "Don't Waste Your Life" exhorts the listener to pour ones life into the things that truly matter, namely, serving God. If only we could visually see the amount of time that we spend on work, school, and personal pursuits in contrast to the time that we spend serving the LORD. Most of us, myself included, need to flip that ratio around.

Other stand out songs include:

"Identity" - A song that stresses the importance of us finding our identity in Christ and not in our material possessions. Da Truth proves to be a strong guest appearance, and a memorable RNB hook is laid on the track by J.R.

"Live Free" - This is an eclectic song that features an unorthodox beat, and an equally unorthodox rhyme pattern provided by guest Sho Baraka.

The album is also carried by strong songs such as "Rebel (The Intro Track!)", "Indwelling Sin", "Truth", "I'm a Saint", and "Beautiful Feet."

This is a superior album that is absolutely essential to any hip hop fan's collection. It is a worthy follow up to Lecrae's sophomore album "After the Music Stops."