Rapture Ruckus - I Believe

Reviewed by Greg Inglis

This is the second album from the New Zealand-based rapper and features the superior production talents of Brian Gardner whose previous credits include Eminem and 2Pac. There are echoes of the aforementioned Slim Shady on tracks like the powerful "Rhymes For Times" but the mix of hip-hop and crunching guitars is closer in sound to Mike Shinoda's "Fort Minor" or earlier than anything else. Throughout the album, Ruckus lays his cards on the table with hard hitting lyrics that challenge the listener to make a difference where they're at, most notably in the rallying call of "Move". With so much energy here there is a short instrumental towards the end to give you time to get your breath back before the radio friendly "Get Ready" hits the speakers. Be warned, this is a tune which will be doing Muhammad Ali-like rounds in your head. You can feel the passion oozing from every corner of this release both in the delivery and the lyrics themselves but it lacks the real distinctiveness of artists like 4th Avenue Jones who bring greater variety to the musical table. More of a scrum than a ruckus but plenty here for the musically open minded to feast upon.