H.N.I.T.H. Review – Rick Ross – Teflon Don

Old hip hop heads will say that back in the day, you street cred was everything. However, in 2010, maybe your street cred doesn’t have to have to be proven. The game has changed indeed. Before buying this album, well you might ask yourself, how can a former C.O drop albums with names like “Trilla”, “Deeper than Rap”, and the lastest installment “Teflon Don” and be met with good success? Theres a lot of things I could say to knock Rick Ross, like he needs guest appearances to sell, and he jacked Biggie’s swag, but I cant hate the player, gotta hate the game.

Rating:

H.N.I.T.H.

Like past projects, Ross creates another solid release with hard beats and guest appearances to carry the album when his lackluster lyrics cannot. However, while never possessing the “rewind that” crafty lyrics, Teflon Don has great production in places they need to be. The album starts with “I’m not A Star” which is a very hard beat that will bump in cars for the rest of the summer. It’s a solid song and is also the only song without a guest appearance.

Unlike past projects, Rick Ross gives the listener the best track in the second song “Free Mason ft. Jay-Z & John Legend”. I’m not sure if Rick Ross is an alleged Mason, or he’s just hopping on Jay’s steez, but with a crazy verse from Jay-Z, it takes the track to new heights making it the best cut on Teflon Don. “Maybach Music 3” comes next which is another great beat with appearances from T.I., Jadakiss, &Eryka Badu singing the hook. As a surprise to me, Jadakiss has somehow entered the Maybach Millionaire status, which is crazy because dude doesn’t have Maybach money; bet on it. However, it still remains a very good song.

By now, its evident that the production is good enough to carry the whole album, and this remains true on Ross’ first single “Super High ft. Ne-Yo”. However, the Kanye produced “Live Fast, Die Young” quickly comes along to destroy the tone of the project. Some people jockin this song, but I’m like, the beat is sloppy and so is the hook. Definitely not up to par with what we have come to know as Kanye production, and the hook “Live Fast, Die Young” is kind of blasphemy due to the message it can give to the its audience. It has an unnecessary break point in which the beat repeats “Hey, Hey, Hey” and I just think its trash. The next disaster comes with “Number 1 ft. Diddy & Trey Songz” which is a terrible track on so many levels. These two tracks alone mess up the gusto of an album entitled the Teflon Don, because its sounds more like something you hear on the poppy radio stations.

The album regains street cred fast with Ross’s two street anthems released on his Albert Anastasia EP, “MC Hammer” and “Blowin Money Fast”. These two tracks have carried Rick Ross back to relevancy before the album dropped, unlike his semi-popular “Super High” being the first video and single. They possess the two hardest beats and biggest club anthem potential. Ross states in “B.M.F.”:

“I build the ground up-, u bought it renovated

Talking plenty capers nothings been authenticated

Funny you claiming the same b*tch that I’m penetrating

Hold the bottles up-where my comrades

Where the fucking felons–, where my dons at!”

The album ends with “Aston Martin Music”, which despite the cliché title, is a very good song. Drake destroys the hook with the “But Here goes Nothing” line, and that definitely takes the track to the next level. The last track is “All the Money in the World” which is semi-decent, but I’ve heard way better Ross. Raphael Sadiq sings the hook and sounds like a kid with a cold which I thought was pretty funny.

Overall, the album deserves its rating of 3.5 mics. Before you think I’m hating, just think that’s 7/10, same rating I gave Thank Me Later which means its a very solid release. Nothing too crazy, just a very solid album from Rick Ross making it his 3rd straight solid release.