Rapper Russ' album, “Zoo,” released Sept. 7. The lyrics are fueled less by the arrogant attitude that filled his previous music and more by his anger at hate he has received from the rap community.

A spunky, poppy and inevitably toe-tapping overture fills the Huntington Avenue Theatre, aided by a nine-person orchestra so zealous it might as well be a pit of 100 musicians. With an energetic...