Reviewed by Steve Hayes

Rapid Fire come from Clinton, Arkansas and their name, they claim, stands for Rhythm And Praise Innovatively Delivers Fire In Real Evangelism. The group comprise of Rocky "T-Rock" Thomas and wife Mandy along with son Blaze and their ministry takes in hip-hop, martial arts, drama, dance and preaching. Rapid Fire kicks off the project with the declaration that "He's the God of this City" and the "God of all America". The album is passionate and mixes furious rhymes ("Marchin On") with a spirit of worship - the dancey "Praise The Lord" to the vocals of "One Of The Nine" looking at being ungrateful unlike nine of the ten lepers (Luke 17). The album is thoroughly Biblical and Christ-focused with a mainly though not exclusively a southern flavour both in beats and delivery ("Lift Him High", "He Is Jesus", the high energy of "The Saints") but with a rock edge at times ("Genesis" and "The Blood"). There is a personal edge to the project with a clear heart of compassion ("Prodigal Son"). There's a number of jump-up and uplifting southern grooves as Rocky rolls - a nice touch is the guest vocals of son Blaze on "It's All Good". And you get value for money in this 21-track project.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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