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Rick Ross - Teflon Don - album review

RICK ROSS - TEFLON DON

 

Album rating -  8.5 out of 10

 

Well, I must admit I didn't expect too much out of this album. When I first saw track list seemed to me like there are waay too many guest appearances, but then again I had to admit he brought some of the finest names in the game, from producers to rappers. We can all agree that one name in the game clearly stands out H.O.V.A. and best belive he unleashed pure fire on provocative "Free Mason" with John Legend. Let's not get carried away.

 

1. "I'm Not a Star"   J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League 3:00 2. "Free Mason" (feat. Jay-Z & John Legend) The Inkredibles 4:07 3. "Tears of Joy" (feat. Cee-Lo) No I.D. 5:33 4. "Maybach Music III" (feat. T.I., Jadakiss & Erykah Badu) J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League 4:26 5. "Live Fast, Die Young" (feat. Kanye West) Kanye West, No I.D. 6:13 6. "Super High" (feat. Ne-Yo) Clark Kent & The Remedy 3:46 7. "No. 1" (feat. Trey Songz & Diddy) Danja 3:54 8. "MC Hammer" (feat. Gucci Mane) Lex Luger 4:58 9. "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)" (feat. Styles P) Lex Luger 4:10 10. "Aston Martin Music" (feat. Drake & Chrisette Michele) J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League 4:30 11. "All the Money in the World" (feat. Raphael Saadiq) The Olympicks 4:40

 

Let's begin with "I'm not a Star". William Leonard Roberts II. goes hard at this, produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E LEAGUE beat is a pure fire, just like we expected. Rick starts album with lines like:

 

"I'm not a star, somebody lied

I got pistol in the car, a 45.

If I die today remember me like John Lenon

Bury the Louie I'm talkin all brown linen

Make all of my bitches tattoo my logo on they tittie

Put the statue of ni**a in the middle of the city"

 

Lines like this  gotta put a smile on your face, again it  seems like there is some hope left for the Hip Hop music. Especially if you know that best is yet to come, of course next up is "Free Mason" featuring Jay-Z and John Legend. It is hard to be up to par to Jay on any song, imagine competing on song like this, well I can say they collabo is amazing, sounds to me like Sigel and Jay few years back, when The Roc was at it's finest. Chemistry beetween these three artists is unbelievable. Rick start off:

"I go in the grave before I be a bich n-gga
Better behave you dealin with some rich n-gga
we the lost symbols
speak in cryptic codes
ancient wisdom
valuable like gifts of Gold..."

 

Well you've could have seen it coming, playing with fire even after being accused of  taking oath as Free Masons. Ricky just went up with lines:

 

"my top back like JFK
they wanna push my top back like JFK
So, So I JFK,
Join Forces with the Kings and we ate all day
right now I could rewrite history
I stopped writing so f-ck it
Ill do it mentally"

 

Even Rick Ross stopped writing, haha, it's up to ya'll to decide, but at this point Jay kicks in:

 

"Ni**as couldnt do nothing with me
they put the devil on me
I would have preferred if ni**a squeeze the metal on me
Rumours of Lucifer
I dont know who to trust
whole world want my demise turn my music up"

 

Youn know that feeling when you know something special is coming your way, well thats how you feel when you listen to this song, because they just keep pushing the expectations higher and higher and belive me they deliver it.

 

"B**ch I said I was amazing
Not that I'm a Mason
It's amazing that I made it though the maze that I was in
Lord forgive me I never would've made it without sin
Holy water my face in the basin
Diamonds in my Rosary shows He forgave him
B**ch I'm red hot, I'm on my third six but the devil I'm not
My Jesus peice flooded but thou shall not covet
keep your eyes off my cupboard Im a bad motherf**ker
its HOV
just say you love it"

 

Yeah you saw it coming but they still suprised you, and surprisingly Rick came far from being labeled as "one hit-single". You can say with pride Hip Hop iz bizzack. Album continuous on, next up is "Tears of Joy" featuring Cee-Lo and production from No I.D. and intro from H. Newton "Power is the ability to define phenomena and make it act in a desired manner" and Ross once again spits fire:

 

"Smokin' a fat spliff in a brand new Benz

  No I.D. on a track let a story begin... Begin..."

 

"I'm still walking through the crowds like I can't be touched

 Tucked back, all black, Gretzky puck

 Ice skater, lil later might let me fu*k.. Damn she might let me fu*k..."

 

To me one of the weakest moments of the song is line:

"Biggie Smalls in the flesh, Living Life after my Death" -- my personal note to Ricky "You didn't need this one" at least you confirmed my suspections, you can read about it here. Not even that line could ruin great hook from Cee-Lo, his creativity grows from day to day, hope to hear more from him soon! Next up is "Maybach Music III" produced by great J.U.S.T.I.C.E League phenomenal beat just as we expected, song features odd combination of south and east T.I & Jadakiss &  Erykah Badu. Ms. Badu is vocaly untouchable as always, but Jada delivers poorly, sounds to me like a back-up verse for his single "Something Else". Everybody else make up for Jada's sorry verse especially Rick and T.I, who seems to be on a grind right now, maybe he release something worth listening and regains his King of the South crown.

"Live Fast, Die Young" boasts with production from Kanye West and his guest appearance, this is one of the highlights of the album, Rick found the way to express himself on this beat, and Kanye made amazing beat, maybe it's a leftover from his debut The College Dropout, if nothing else brings back the memories... Kanye goes hard on this one, he delivers that crazy flow, sounds satisfied, something powerful is driving him across the track and with each line he shows his lyrical skillz, he secured his spot in top 10 in game right now. Also, Rick is up to par.

"Tinted glass on my '57, n**ga wit' a attitude (Me)

Young and radical, methods are mathematical (Ha)

Let my convertible marinade on the avenue

Mommy that's half a million, I'm livin' la vida happy though

Die young but fu*k it, we flew first class

Turned you to a rich bi**h buy you first clas"

 

So Kanye had to give his best effort:

 

"For all my young ladies that's drivin' Miss Daisy

Drivin' me crazy, rock the beat baby!

Hop up out the rrrt, she beat up the payment

I don't give a rrrt, baby he craazzy"

 

"We 'bout to hit Jacob the jeweler

So I could be like Slick Rick and rule ya

Dr. Martin Louis the King Jr.

And I'ma never let the dream turn to Kruegers"

 

And he delivered it:

 

"The store just froze

And I know, they trying to get their cool back

And them ghetto bit**es hollin' "How you do that?" (Un)

So they could never say we never lived it

And if I see Biggie tonight I loved every minute"

 

"Super High" features Ne-Yo and production from Clark Kent, proudtion is superb, takes you back to '98 and gives you that warm feeling of something similar to "Feelin it" and "Brooklyn's Finest", Clark still got it, and Rick's superb delivery made this a classic hit.

 

"We doin it big, its goin down, 9/11
Im doin it big, pullin up in a 911
I been tryna fu*k for months, babygirl its now or never
Got the condo on the beach, hope through our storms we shall weather
We shinin when its pitch dark
Yea this bi**h a movie, but this time I play a big part
Uh, fu*k the marketing, look at what Im accomplishin
Im beatin nig**s by margins bigger than Fran Tarkenton"

 

Ne-Yo made the hook, imho he sould concentrate on these type of beats because he spits pure fire, his voice sounds better than ever and he could be next hook-for-hire for all the big boys. WATCH VIDEO

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"No.1" features Trey Songz and Diddy, produced by Floyd Nathaniel Hills, better known as Danja, his sheet includes "Put You On The Game" by  The Game, "Promiscuous" and "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado, "SexyBack", "What Goes Around...Comes Around" and "My Love" by Justin Timberlake among others, such as "Love Story" by Katharine McPhee, "Innocence" and "Earth Intruders" by Björk, and "Give It to Me" and "The Way I Are" off Timbaland's second solo album. So you know to what to expect, Diddy made this a club banger/ summer time anthem for the clubs across the world, best belive Diddy when he says:

 

"We No.1 we get mad more paper, ain't nothing like Bad Boy paper..."

 

"M.C. Hammer" typcal gangsta rap produced by Lex Luger, ballad of Ricky's life, new cars, drug money, and his Hammer ready for the hammer time, song features Gucci Mane, I can't say Gucci delivered it but song will surely gain significat buzz in the South. Ricky Rosay as usual, nothing like Hustlin' but still enough to bump in your ride.

"B.M.F" - Blowin Money Fast also produced by Lex Luger, beat is perfect for your car, will keep your woofer busy! Song features forgotten Styles P. Song didn't reinovate the wheel, same Ricky from few years back:

"Self made, you just affiliated
I build the ground up, you bought it renovated
Talking plenty capers nothing's been authenticated
Funny you claimin the same bi**h that I'm penetratin
Hold the bottles up, where my comrads
Where the fuc***g felons, where my dawgs at.." 

 

SP the Ghost spits nice as usual, but nothing too special:

"The thirty-six holes leave you bleedin' fam
Word to them 36oz in a kilogram
Blunt tip, orange like Caviar
Wild n'out, fishtailin' Subaru Rally car
Out the passenger, Lettin' the automatic off
A egg of that girl I'll knock ya Mommy and ya Daddy off
F*ck around and knock the emblem on the caddy off
Four shooters buggin' out, blickin at ya caddy doors
Did I mention guns from, Red Dead Redemption
Nine mils, fifty clip extensions
Hope it like a mattress in the hood, I'm flippin' on it
And the money's like a chair, I'm sittin' on it"

 

"Aston Martin Music" features Drake and Chrisette Michele, well from the beginnig you can see that Maybach isn't the only car Ricky drives, song is nice still nowhere near Maybach Music and personaly car-inspired music starts to bore me. Seems like hangin out with Jay-Z easily gets Chrisette Michele on your hooks.

Album closes with "All the Money in the World" featuring Raphael Saadiq, song shows Rick's maturity and down-to-earth look on life even after all this fame, money and Maybachs.

As we finish this album nice feeling you get as the album starts just don't last all through to the end, but it shines some light at the end of the tunnel and leaves much hope for hip hop and rap music in the next few years.

Enjoy the album, support artists and LEAVE COMMENTS!

About the Author

http://www.hhunit.com

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