Black Mask Black Gloves [PA]

Performer: Hell Rell
Artist: SEN; J.R. Writer
Distributor: Redeye Music Distribution

Notes: The rugged Bronx rapper and Dipset member known as Hell Rell follows up his acclaimed debut, FOR THE HELL OF IT, with a sophomore effort equal to its predecessor in both style and substance. Forever focused on his cash, Rell rips tracks by A.RAAB MUZIK, Kajmir Royale, Manti, and Hasiditty, declaring that "My birth certificate is a hundred dollar bill/My social security card is an ATM card." BLACK MASK, BLACK GLOVES features guest spots from JR Writer and Sen of 730 Dips. Hell Rell has some points to make with Black Mask Black Gloves. First, he has a lot of cash (not only does his jumbo-faced, diamond-encrusted watch on the cover look expensive, but according to him, his birth certificate is a hundred dollar bill); second, he isn't afraid to maim or kill to get his money ("I have a million enemies, killed one in May, one in June"); and third, he is nicknamed Ruga, after the guns he uses to make his cash (his alias is shouted as a catch phrase proudly throughout every song). Now, while this may all sound very familiar, the key factor that sets Ruga apart from the vast amount of other rappers who brag about their street cred, ice, and ability to use a gat, is that he sounds wholly authentic when he boasts his credentials. He explains that if he were not a rapper he would be a crack kingpin, and if you analyze his imposing personality and his infatuation with drugs, violence, and making big money, and then consider that he spent two years in prison for drug charges, his backup occupation seems entirely feasible. "Realest Ni**a Doin' It" drives home the point that he's a genuine thug, and shows why hard-hitting has become synonymous with the name Hell Rell. Over the threatening bangs of the beat, he sells coke, receives fellatio unwillingly, shoots cops, bombs blocks, steals armored trucks, and threatens to curse out the listener's mother. Temper fuels the gist of the album, and though he can throw in the occasional amusing anecdote with acrobatic abandon, after a while the limited topics wear thin along with the relentless in-your-face rhyme style. Relieving the monotony, mates Sen and Jr Writer each make an appearance before "Rumors" addresses slanderous remarks about them and the rest of 730 Dips; "Come on Baby Girl" changes pace into a love ballad (albeit a thuggish one), where he sweet-talks his woman like DMX with romantic promises of taking her to Paris to buy her shoes and Italy to buy her a slice of pizza; and "Push 'Em Back" is an urban tutorial about what to do while in the clubs. Even when the flow starts to filter and fails to sound original, the solid production maintains interest with stripped-down beats, '70s creamy spy jams, '80s keyboard lines, and head-bobbin' drum machine blasts to keep things moving. ~ Jason Lymangrover

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