Soundbite: "The Audacity"

Spose opens his third full-length album with a seemingly existential rap about his belief (or lack thereof) in God. It’s an incredibly personal opening to a song and sets a tone for an album that deals with a lot of the artist’s personal matters.

While Spose (whose real name is Ryan Peters) certainly is not the first rapper to talk about himself, he manages to do so in a style that’s refreshing on “The Audacity!” He focuses more on emotional aspects of his life and his struggles, rather than building himself up as an icon ““ he presents himself as a person, flaws and all.

In tracks such as “2002” and “Million Dollar Bill,” Spose focuses more on personal issues than anything else.

“2002” deals with Spose’s own struggles as an up-and-coming rapper, while still showing confidence in his abilities. The other track, “Million Dollar Bill,” is addressed to his mother, promising that he will make his way to the top of the music industry as a rap star.

Tracks like “Gee Willikers” continue along these lines, with insights into his struggles as a white rapper. Other songs, such as “Jimmy!” or “Nobody Else,” break away from the autobiographical trend of the rest of the album. The latter is a love song that is either tongue-in-cheek or not very good (with lines like “I don’t wanna be too robust / But girl, you don’t suck”). The former shows off Spose’s ability to craft an interesting story.

Unfortunately, while Spose’s raps are smooth and interesting, instrumentally the album is fairly sparse. While this might not bother fans of similarly styled hip-hop or rap artists, those who aren’t as accustomed to rap-heavy songs might find the instruments lacking a real presence.

The focus of these tracks is most definitely on the rhymes, with backing music usually consisting of little more than a drum beat, occasional bass line and one or two simple keyboard or guitar lines.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since Spose’s rhymes are pretty slick and his flow is very smooth and captivating. Listening to Spose rap is almost like listening to someone reciting poetry, with keen attention paid to meter and rhythm. Those who are fans of similar rap styles (think Jay-Z or Atmosphere) will not be disappointed.

But even with this in mind, the lyrical content proves to be a little light, with most songs running over the same ground time and again. While listening to Spose is momentarily captivating at the time, his music leaves the mind almost immediately, failing to create a lasting impression. Although his raps prove to be an interesting tale the first time through, there isn’t much reason to come back to the album after it has been listened to once.

Furthermore, there is a certain synergy between the vocals and the instruments that is missing on the album. It almost feels more like a spoken word CD than an actual album ““ there is nothing here that would really inspire someone to dance or sway or even nod his or her head.

While Spose certainly tells some entertaining stories and manages to provide some solid rap work, the album falls a little flat musically. Still, there is definitely something here for rap fans, and while others might not find it to be their cup of tea, Spose manages to deliver what he promises in the first track ““ one man’s personal insights delivered via rap.

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