The debut album from the Tauranga-based musician succeeds at unifying mind, body, heritage, and culture. Hall makes sublime R&B and hip-hop exploring personal relationships and conflicts. Blended in is a chapter in Māori history framed by the 1864 Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina). Rules of Engagement is an album about battlefields—the literal and metaphorical, the push and pull—and love and lessons learned. “Forever” and “Sing Dance Dream” are restorative and inspiring, drawing comparisons to Beyoncé’s “All Night.” The martial drumming of “They Come Marching” and subdued “Te Ahi Kai Pō” are a distillation of the album’s strengths—message and method in lockstep, carried by Hall’s voice mixing English and Te Reo Māori languages.