What immediately stands out about this album are the multitude of guests the duo invited and the fact that a large part of the tracks got a hip-hop vibe. Where those guests are concerned, the duet with Sizzla, who once again whips out his "false-setto" again in 'War Is Ugly', couldn't convince us, but the combinations with Reemah ('Burn Down'), Kabaka Pyramid and Jah9 (who pop up in a remix of 'Lion Is A Lion', a song Pressure already recorded solo back in 2016) are very strong, and 'Peace And Love' with Anthony B can also absolutely convince (even though it sounds a tad as if Pressure was invited by Anthony B instead of the other way around). After the sudden demise of Virgin Islands reggae legend Vaughn Benjamin, 'The System' - dating back to 2015 - suddenly turns into something quite magical, and Pressure dedicated the entire album to his good friend and colleague.
We had to get used to the hip-hop vibes on 'Rebel With A Cause', but Pressure proves it is certainly not a gimmick by inviting American veteran Redman for the title track. For 'Jah Is Real', a duet with Protoje, Busspipe and Tippy I event went r&b.
However, our personal favorite from the track list is opener 'King Selassie First', an excellent ode to His Imperial Majesty. Second bullseye for Pressure Busspipe and 'Tippy I' Alfred!
Pressure and Tippy I will present 'Rebel With A Cause' live on March 21st at
Warande -Kuub as part of
Unity!
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