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Album Reviews
The
latest in a recent stream of pop-influenced Gospel hip-hop
projects comes from Gotee Records, and is the work of
a 21-year-old Ohio native of Jewish descent. Defying
expectations from heads of all sorts, Are We There Yet
is an inventful collection of honest worship that no doubt
has hip-hop as its root. Yet, it's layered with a collage of
guitar-heavy alternative and rock influences that
unmistakeably seep through several tracks.
This is not an earnest attempt at building bridges, yet it
probably will. And with the honesty and self-deprecating
style that he exhibits, you never get a 'wannabe' vibe.
Proof at just how fresh this project is comes by way of the
artist's name, for here's an MC that takes the bold step of
using his own.
~
Melanie Clark
So
how good is the album? Good. Scary good, actually. Reuben
is a deliriously talented kid (listen to me. "Kid.") who
is already showing signs of greatness on his freshman
effort. There are stretches in "Hello Ego," "X-Ray," and
"Jezebel" when one cannot marvel at Reuben's potential.
His light-hearted, sometimes sarcastic--but very tight,
and well put together--songwriting makes for an album
that is both technically impressive and entertaining.
But...
The Hitch...
The unfortunate thing is, though, that Reuben comes
across as (and may well be) an Eminem knockoff. The
similarities between the two are impossible to miss. It's
not simply that both are white, and have contributed
considerably in helping bring rap to the suburbs again,
but that Reuben sounds hauntingly like his gutter-mouthed
counterpart. Though Reuben is squeaky clean, and is quite
an accomplished songwriter in his own right, he appears
to be CCM's answer to Marshall Mathers.
That, of course, does not diminish the album in any way.
Cuts like "Divine Inspiration," the aforementioned
"Jezebel" and "God Is Love" are highlights, and worthy
hits. Reuben rarely makes use of heavy instrumentation,
and in his case, this is a good thing. Save for "God Is
Love," the artist seems to falter when he attempts to
sing. "No Regrets," "Gather In" and "Draw Near" are weak
points on the album.
Others are truly a pleasure. Perhaps the best moment on
the album is on the final track, "God Is Love," which
features toby mac. "You gotta love God with all your
heart," raps mac. "And love your brother like you love
yourself...and John, that's a whole lot of love.
In Closing...
The great thing about critiquing this album is that, even
if Reuben reads it, he won't care what I say. To all
criticism of his work and his image, he's likely to
respond as he does on track 2: "I create for the creator,
not to impress you."
~
John Brandon
John Reuben(Homepage)
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