Rick Noble (aka Rick Thret)

This is one of those albums that are infuriating. On the first instalment in the "Mental Adventures of the Space Ryder (Rick Thret)," Rick Noble often rhymes over cheesy beats that tend towards the radio friendly variety, but vocally he aspires to be so much more. In fact, Digital Warfare... screams cheese, beginning with the use of Rick Noble as an alias (ranks up there with Erick Onassis) to the name of the record label (We'De Crew) to much of the production (mostly self-produced) and choruses. What makes Digital Warfare so infuriating is Rick Thret is better than that. Rick is a witty MC that can flow over a beat and drops some memorably unique rhymes. When the production gets a little more on the creative side, the ante is upped and Rick Thret comes best. It all comes together on "Art Of Escape" and "Mental Intercontinental," where Thret produces some bouncy beats that avoids the cheese of much of the rest of the album. If Thret releases more of these types of songs, he may just become a force to reckon with in Canada, but as it is he will probably blow up a bit with this album of radio jams. This Is... Digital Warfare is an acceptable debut album that reveals an MC with plenty of skill, but who needs a little more work on his production. Still, it is a solid party album, if you're looking for one.