Tag: erykah badu

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Rick Ross-Teflon Don (Album Review)

Better late than never they say! Without further ado I bring you the review to the most talked about album of the summer! (It was even a trending topic on Twitter).I must confess something since Rick Ross came on the scene I always hated him.I never gave him a shot for his first single and the only reason I use to listen to "Hustlin" is to listen to the verse by Jay-Z.Then with the release of his second album I also ignored it until I actually heard it (not by choice) when my friend was bumpin' it in the car on the way to a restaurant.I quickly feel in love with a certain number of tracks and "Maybach Music" was my anthem for the summer.Flashback to last year and I went back into the not caring about Rick Ross even though I did download "Deeper Than Rap" I felt it wasn't as good as "Trilla".However "Magnificent" and "Valley Of Death" were my shit!Then here we are this year and he's about to drop another album and I quickly write it off again since my favorite rapper had just dropped his new album.I wasn't feeling his first single (at first) and I just thought it wouldn't be that good.Boy was I wrong! When I started to listen to the leaks off his album I thought he could make something amazing.His skills improved drastically and the beats he was choosing were sick.But enough with the history and onto the review! The album kicks off with a banger "I'm Not A Star" where contrary to the title of the song Ross spits some of the best bars of his career.Accompanied by the beat J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League served him,from the jump this album gets you hyped.I'll be honest when I first saw the track "Free Mason" with Jay-Z and John Legend I thought it was going to be a classic.It didn't meet my expectations but that's not to say the song is bad at all.Ross has this track on lock and John Legend provides a solid hook (singing background) and bridge.My problem with this song is Jay-Z's verse,throughout his whole career he's rapped about Illuminati and on this track he backs out and says he's not in it.His verse however isn't bad, it's really good just very disappointing to what he was talking about."Tears Of Joy" shows one of the deeper sides to Ross and you can have this song on repeat for hours and not get tired of it (well maybe the 1 minute intro in the beginning).Ross brings his A-game on this track and Cee-Lo sings his soul away on the hook. Another year another All-Star Maybach Music line-up.This time on "Maybach Music III" T.I. , Jadakiss and Erykah Badu are the guest on this version of the song.As with all the Maybach Music tracks the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League serve up a ridiculous beat (especially when Rick Ross verse starts).This track is a highlight for just the beat alone,but the verses are also on point in the track too (the first Maybach Music is still my favorite for now)."Live Fast Die Young" finds Kayne West going back to his College Dropout days and making his best beat in a long time and a very familiar cocky verse to make his fans happy he's not singing in auto-tune still!However with most of the album the guest is forced to play backseat to Rick Ross who out staged him own self in this song.I know there's better songs on the album but this is definitely my favorite one and a big summer anthem they just need to shoot a video for it."Super High" is the first single off the album and Ne-Yo plays the hook maker on this track.Like I said before I wasn't really feeling this track when I first heard it,but when I heard it recently I was mad at myself for not fucking with this song way sooner. "No.1" features Trey Songz and Diddy and for me I can't really stand this track but it could grow on me but for now I think it's the worst track on the album. The next two tracks on the album happened to be on his mixtape he released before the album and both beats sound very similar."MC Hammer" has a guest appearance from Gucci Mane while "B.M.F." features Styles P, and I'll just say you either love these tracks or you can't fuck with them.For me I loved both those tracks and yes I just said I loved a track with Gucci Mane in it so if you know me, you know it must be good!"Aston Martin Music" again finds a different side of Rick Ross as he's assisted by Chrisette Michelle and Drake on this track.This track is strictly for the ladies (What do you expect Drake is on the track?) and it could be another huge hit if the BAWSE decides to make it into a single.This is about one of the only tracks Rick Ross gets outrapped/sung at the same time courtesy of Drake."All The Money In The World" is the deepest track on the album where Rick Ross pours his heart out about the people he finds more valuable than money.Raphael Saadiq is the guest of choice on this track and he sings the hook and bridge that let Ross explore the more important things in life.Never thought Rick Ross would make a track like that, I personally love when rappers show a mature side to themselves and show growth as an artist. So I have to admit this time around Rick Ross was right about his album.It's not a classic but it's damn near close to it.When I listen to this album it makes me feel good and reminds me of the summertime and like more rich then when I started listening to the album (if that makes sense to you).Whatever he sells on this album he deserves it so much and this is the BEST album he's ever made.4.5 shots out of 5.