Inspired by you
Posted April 21, 2014
By AmandaDeWilde_NRT, Staff Reviewer
Rapture Ruckus has always written their songs with a specific person in mind, someone to encourage and uplift. Family or friend, vocalist and Ruckus founder Brad Dring will home in on the root of that person’s struggles and develop a song of hope. And as often happens when stories and music unite, these songs become a beacon of spiritual refuge not only for those by whom the song was inspired, but for hundreds of others who can relate.
So who inspired this New Zealand hip-hop band’s latest musical endeavor? You. The fans. You who’ve met the guys after shows and shared your stories. While you were inspired by their songs, they were inspired by your lives.
Setting the tone for the Invader Volume 1 EP is In Crowd, an anthem for the outcasts as it were, featuring Family Force Five’s very own Solomon Olds (a.k.a. Soul Glow Activatur). Brad Dring describes it this way: “This song is about celebrating our diversity. God made us all different and we’ve all got a unique quality that no one else has. It’s like everywhere you look there’s something that’s telling you how you need to look, what you need to wear, how you need to act. What the perfect person looks like. God didn’t make you to fit in with the crowd – He made you to stand out.”
The music video for In Crowd features Brad as a school janitor, jamming through the halls of a high school amassing his own “in crowd” of “uncool” kids. The video drives home the message that you don’t have to be a clone of society in order to matter. In fact, why blend it when you can stand out?
Everybody Get Up sports a unique blend of old-school funk and rap. Another call to stand out and buck against the flow, it challenges listeners to seek more out of life than cheap, fleeting entertainment. In one of the last lines, Brad states God’s transforming work in his life as the reason he wants to be a new kind of role model for today’s youth. “Some things in life that you just can't explain, like who I was to who I became. That's why I just can't be here to entertain. Gotta speak my mind, and go against the grain.”
Head Held High and Carry Me are similar to Rapture Ruckus’ popular single Hold On. These songs soar with hope in Christ and encourage those sludging through the darkness of pain and confusion that Jesus can light their way into a brand new day.
In This Together is a song of community, urging believers to be there for each other. A hand to hold, a listening ear, an uplifting word of truth. We were never meant to make it through our Christian walk on our own. We walk with a family of friends.
The title track of this EP, Invader (Part 1) is really one long rap verse, just about two minutes long. It nicely sums up the heart of the EP, stating that we will not conform to who this world wants us to be, but instead seek the ultimate power of Christ. A power that has dark forces running scared and scrambling to squelch our passion for the Creator.
And let’s not forget the amazing electric dance remix of In Crowd, remixed by David Thulin (recording artist, producer, and older brother of Press Play’s Jonathan Thulin). David’s remix is the perfect high-energy ending to the EP.
Although a bit more poppy than their 2011 release Open Your Eyes, Ruckus’ Invader Volume 1 delivers a strong message of spiritual identity and hope in Christ. I’m intrigued to hear what musical morsels Volume 2 will offer. View All Music And Book Reviews By AmandaDeWilde_NRT | View AmandaDeWilde_NRT's Profile
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