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Review of Lecrae's "Rehab" (2010)Jan 12 '11 Write an essay on this topic.
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If you’re familiar at all with the subgenre of hip-hop that most would label either religious, Christian or holy (For some reason, in hip-hop, as opposed to any other genre of music in the ‘Christian’ media world, the ‘christian’ tag is embraced), there’s a good chance that Atlanta-based rapper Lecrae is the artist you have encountered. Occasionally referred to as the Jay-Z of Christian Hip-Hop, (Because of level of prominence, not similarity in style) Lecrae has become the poster child for the quickly expanding, in both size and legitimate talent, Christian hip-hop scene. "Rehab" is the rapper’s fourth studio album, a concept album of loose sorts, that, while bearing way too much similarity to Eminem’s latest album and concept (Which Lecrae acknowledged and discussed in a blog before either project was released), is a layered disc for both the established hip-hop head and accessible enough for posers and genuine newcomers to the scene, holy hip-hop or otherwise put out by Lecrae’s own record label, Reach Records. My anticipation and feelings leading up to the release of “Rehab” was noticeably different than what I had in mind last time anybody had heard from Lecrae, which would have been back in fall of ’08 with his junior release, "Rebel." Back in ’08, my personal hype for Creezy’s third album was close to unbridled, fueled by a huge leap of improvement through more focused lyricism and more up-to-date sounds from debut to sophomore album and some monstrous guest verses on labelmate’s records preceding “Rebel’s” release (“Who He Is” by Trip Lee and “Catch Me at the Brook” by Sho Baraka being some of those highlights worth the youtube search). The result may have been aided my new freshness to the CHH (Christian hip-hop) arena, but there wasn’t an ounce of disappointment in the final product. Flash-forward two years later with the date creeping up for “Rehab” and, unlike many people around me, I was a little cautious of what would be on wax this time around. This stemmed mostly from, like last go-around, what I was hearing from Lecrae on guest spots. What I was seeing was a goofier side of the Houston-born emcee, which was perfectly fine, but what that sillier side was producing wasn’t up to par of his previous work. DJ Official's debut project, “Entermission,” a recommended project, was where I was getting most of that negative evidence (I’ve probably played “Show Off” less than a dozen times). Everything certainly wasn’t all bad (“Nothing Without You” with J.R. is a beast of some candidly opaque bars) but I was conflicted and unsure of what to expect before I popped the disc into my car player and rolled out. The singles released before the album’s release just added to this frustrating dichotomy as one was an electric party banger and the other was an unjaded self-exmination heavy on minor keys. Both were official but I wasn’t sure which side of the playing field the album would fall on leading up to it. Turns out that was all largely unfounded. The menacing heartbeat of the stuttering bass that open up the album on "Check Me In" paint the perfect, bleak picture of a strung-out addict of any kind, in conflict with himself, walking through the doors of a rehabilitation center to do whatever is necessary to remove the sickness running through his body. As such, it sets up the mood of the album perfectly. "Killa" with its echoing beat and simultaneously sensual and unsettling female vocals that haunt the whole song add to the slightly disturbing atmosphere. That off-kilter atmosphere isn’t used to frighten, but instead to simply convey the seriousness about the conflict and battle taking place in Lecrae’s mind. The candidness of the lyrics would shock if the listener didn’t relate to what they've thought before so perfectly. Just as you’ll often hear people say that the first and hardest step is admitting you have a problem, once Lecrae does so the mood changes, slightly. “Divine Interventation,” featuring the absolutely stunning pipes of J.R. (Who also produced the track) is a hard track to latch on to, as opposed to what follows, so it doesn’t get as many plays standing by itself. I’m not sure what it is exactly that makes it hard to connect to…I think it has to do with the scattered, imposing beat underlying ‘Crae’s verses, because the paused, dream-esque chorus by J.R. is a winner. That minor hiccup is quickly swallowed up in “Just Like You,” an open-hearted record that is this album’s equivalent of a session in rehab with a therapist. Lecrae’s guts get absolutely spilled on this track as he gives us his testimony of growing up without a father, in the hood, with dissatisfaction and worthlessness that led him to claim Jesus as his savior. J. Paul, a relatively unheard of crooner, handles chorus duty with proficiency. I was created by God but I ain't wanna be like Him, I wanna be Him The Jack Sparrow of my Caribbean I remember the first created being, And how he shifted the blame on his dame For fruit he shouldn't have eaten And now look at us all out of Eden Wearing designer fig leaves by Louis Vuitton Make believen’ ”Gotta Know” is a personal album highlight, largely for the subject matter that finds Lecrae going through the cycles of complaining, contemplating and confessing (Not sin as much as dependence) with a simple but worthwhile beat composed of a tolerant piano and looping, understated drum taps. Remember when I said that Lecrae baring his lighthearted side doesn’t necessarily equal a bad product? ”Used to Do it Too” is my favorite example of that. This bouncy track is repetitive without being grating and infectious without overstaying its welcome. Florida-based emcee K.B. (Who just signed with Reach Records) absolutely steals the show with his machine-gun flow and confident wordplay (rhyming goblin with Godhead, for a tiny example) in the second verse. This track also serves as a fork in the road for the album. Despondency isn’t as prevalent from here on out, almost as if the surgical/painful part of the rehab process is largely done and now what remains is the ‘light’ stuff. Not that light describes the remaining musical mood. ”Children of the Light” is a nice surprise of a typical Lecrae track infused with tinges of reggae, provided by guest Dillavou, and rap/rock confidence by Sonny Sandoval of rock-group P.O.D. fame (A truly surprising collab but one that works). Sonny’s verse is actually the highlight, if not the most complicated, on the track and the airy guitar atmosphere and concluding solo create a standout that might take some time to grow with you before you agree with that description. ”High,”featuring the coy cleverness of Sho Baraka and legit swag of Suzy Rock pump up the bass for another party jam which serves as running fuel for the following "New Shalom," a high-paced praise track that, in production and chopped-n-screwed chorus (Crafted off a line from guest Pro’s sophomore album’s “Redemption” ‘Hold Me Down’ track) is an aggressive charge against the rapper’s old lives and a joyful noise to the One responsible for their new shalom (peace). Pro has received a lot of criticism since being mentored by Lecrae when they both were residing in Memphis…A lot of people were calling Pro’s large change in worldview and slight change in style as copying Creezy. I don’t put much weight behind those complaints, but this track doesn’t help Pro’s declaration that “I ain’t no copy of Lecrae,” (From his track “Clear the Air”) as the two are practically inseparable and indistinct to a less-discerning listener as they switch up verses and bars. I say that out of fun with no spite, unlike others who may make the same call. Pro also offers up possibly the most clever lyric of the track, referencing every Reach Record artist and most recent album in some way in a handful of bars: “I go hard, watch me Rebel with Lecrae Give my whole life for the King Don't Trip, just let em invade I Sho Baraka Obama this peace is more than just worth it So call Tedashii, tell em Identity Crisis averted” "40 Deep" is the obligatory 116 Clique track, and to say that it’s anything under a level of bananas is to sell it short. Cheesebeats offers up this monster of a beat that blends intense drum rolls with the speed of an automatic weapon firing unlimited ammo and label mates Tedashii and Trip Lee toss their fuel onto the pure fire that this track is. I’d say that the guest emcees destroy the track, but it simply explodes from all the heat stuffed into its four-minute existence. ”Walking on Water” is another beast of a beat, boosted by a hype chorus (The female singer who belts it out is uncredited, but if I had to guess I’d say its Suzy Rock making an encore appearance). The verses here are a little shabby, save for the concluding one, but the track is so fast-paced and hyper that one hardly notices. ”God Is Enough” is yet another banger in succession, this time featuring St. Louis rapper Flame (Whose recent release, ‘Captured,’ needs to be copped by most everyone reading this) and the eclectic Jai (Who only needs to release an album to give her potential some gunpowder to blow up into hype with)The mood here is more relaxed than the pulse-pounding the last two tracks birthed, but it is still energetic with equal parts thick and shimmering in the beat and head-bobbing infection in every other part of it. The album begins its slide down to its conclusion with the somber "Boasting." ‘Crae, against the backdrop of sunrise-esque acoustics and low-key bass thumps, testifies to his goal of boasting in the work of Jesus on the cross and not anything he may accomplish on a microphone. There is a lot of meat here, lyrically, than the simple message would imply and so it demands replay. ”Background," is very Drake-esque; that is, a foggy beat made up of patient, airy vocals (provided by guest C-Lite) and subtle undertones of bass and piano. ‘Crae’s verses are a little more aggressive than the beat would suggest, as this extension of the message of previous track finds Lecrae communing with God about what he wants his role to be in this work of God-glorifying hip-hop that he’s involved in. “Some call it Sovereign will / All I know is you the Boss” raps Lecrae at one point. We’re still in Rehab, let’s not forget, and the concluding pair of tracks bring us back to the reality that brought us into this time of cleansing. ”New Reality” is a plea to the listener, via a serious, snappy cloak of a beat. It’s not hard to imagine Lecrae’s conversation to the listener being similar to one that prompted him to check into his spiritual rehabilitation all the way back at track one. Theme closer ”Release Date” is a perfect conclusion to the saga. In front of a rolling piano, Creezy confesses, contemplates (’They say when in Rome, do as the Romans / But I find when I do that, I die like Romans too’), lashes out against himself (”I would live for me, I made myself an altar / I sacrificed myself, for lust I was a martyr”), praises his Savior for deliverance (”I get choked up / I’m drowning in your grace…Who would’ve thought that red cross could rehabilitate”), once again relinquishes control of his life to that same Deliverer, and packs his bags as he metaphorically walks out of the rehab center. Musically, I love how guest crooner Chris Lee Cobbins has the last minute of the track all to himself as it helps paint the picture of ‘Crae walking down the steps out of rehab, while being acutely aware of the fact that there are both people still walking through their own rehabilitation. Chris Lee comes back for one more round on the bonus track, ”I Love You,” Lecrae’s love jam for his wife. It’s happy and smooth, biblical and a welcome entry into the tragically narrow category of love joints by Christian emcees. Like “Recovery,” “Rehab” has been nominated for a Grammy. But while Em will be competing with fellow hip-hoppers for rap album of the year, Lecrae will be ‘competing’ with Switchfoot, David Crowder Band (A talented worship group) and a handful of other christian rock bands in the ‘Best Rock or Rap Gospel album.’ Some, myself included, would call foul, but the thing is that you get the impression from this album that Lecrae himself truly doesn’t care. He has bigger goals and ambitions than to bring home some hardware and the fact that I can say that with confidence is testimony to how much of his own heart he gives us on this record. Yes, “Rehab” is Lecrae’s best album, but it certainly doesn’t include many of his greatest songs. In the category of singular songs, ‘Rebel’ would be considered superior. ‘Album’ is the key word here, because digesting ‘Rehab’ otherwise is to be underwhelmed and to miss the entire concept of the combined tracks. Take the high rating seriously and check in to rehab if deep down you know you need/want to. 4.5 Stars Postscript: I’ve noticed similar themes of restoration, redemption and wrestling through those themes in some of the major hip-hop releases this year. Em’s “Recovery,” T.I.’s “No Mercy” and “Rehab” are some of the major ones that I’ve seen wrestling through this idea of perseverance through addiction or hardships. As a student of culture, child of God, and a holder of a Christian worldview (I reserve the right to exclude parts of that that may get tagged under that heading) it’s interesting to see how a variety of people deal with their individual trials in their context and with or without the help of a higher power. Em conquers his addictions and demons with the strength he conjures up within himself, Lecrae throws himself entirely on a God based on his track record of proven faithfulness displayed by his sacrifice of His Son, and T.I. finds himself somewhat in between the two, simultaneously trusting God’s grace and his own prowess. Em seems to be successful, in the short run, based entirely off ‘Recovery,’ as does Lecrae while TIP seems to feel successful on some days and utterly depraved on others (‘Welcome to the World’ for the former and ‘No Mercy and ‘Castle Walls’ as examples of the latter). Just observations, but gives added perception when listening to any of them.  |
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