Ben E. Hunter, a New Orleans native, is perhaps most associated with reggae music and its socially conscious messages. On Break Out Bold, the guitarist, vocalist and composer sits down for an all-acoustic solo album that shines the light on him for his poetic nature and spirituality.

Hunter’s original compositions, like “I Shoot Fire When I Talk,” stand out for their personal delivery, his soft singing backed simply by his guitar. For the most part, they are unpretentious and reference the city in subtle ways, as on “Gris Gris Suit.” A few, such as “Coins in the Box,” drift a bit too far into obvious references like Bourbon Street. Hunter often redeems himself with the honesty of his love songs, like “Adela” and the unlikely named—except for some background revelry—“Super Sunday.” Hunter gets to the roots of blues on “Ugga Boogie Stew,” a front porch tune that talks about a black cat woman.

It changes the flavor a bit from the similar tone and rhythm of much of the material.

We hear the voices of New Orleans political activists Doratha “Dodie” Smith and Jerome “Big Duck” Smith speaking at the Community Book Center on Hunter’s “Freedom Rider.” Significantly, the repeated Mardi Gras Indian phrase in this song, “no humbow” (won’t bow down) is a theme in Smith’s oration.

Hunter, a spiritual poet of the community, explains the rather revealing photo of himself on the album’s cover as his way of “exposing my innermost feeling to the world.” His words, however, are enough to make his heart an open book.