Rick Ross
Teflon Don
Maybach Music Group/Def Jam
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4)
Rick Ross’ rap career should have ended two years ago when the website The Smoking Gun released a photo of the portly MC working as a Florida correctional officer, as big of a hip-hop no-no as one can fathom, especially for a rapper who crafted a larger-than-life drug kingpin persona. But Ross ignored the backlash (without confirming or denying the the photo’s authenticity), focusing so much on his lyrical craft that he morphed into one of rap’s most formidable MCs.
Teflon Don, his fourth album, isn’t the exact culmination of Ross’ ascension but it’s undoubtedly another stellar notch in his ginormous belt. The key is its slim 11-song tracklist, a deft move that shows Ross values pacing and song selection.
After an opening shot of J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League-produced adrenaline (“I’m Not a Star”), the record’s arc swells and builds on elegance (the shimmering, Erykah Badu-crooned “Maybach Music III”), complex reflection (“Tears of Joy,” featuring Cee-Lo) and grandiose stunting (“Live Fast, Die Young,” with an appropriate guest verse from the song’s producer, Kanye West).
