Teflon Don (album)

Background

In 2010, Ross announced to MTV that his next album would be entitled Teflon Don. On the remix to his earlier single, "Maybach Music 2", DJ Khaled hyped the album, along with "Maybach Music III". In April 2010, on his official website, he stated that "Super High" would be the first single. Artists Kanye West, Jay-Z, T.I., Raphael Saadiq and Drake were confirmed to be on the album. Producers for the album included No I.D. and Kanye West.

Release and promotion

The album was set for release on June 29, 2010, but was pushed back twice to a July 20 release date. It was released through Maybach Music Group and Def Jam Recordings. Ross supported the album with his international Blowin' Money Fast Tour.

Singles

The album's first single, "Super High" featuring Ne-Yo, peaked at number 100 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Its music video received airplay on MTV and BET. The album's second single, "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)", was released on June 29, 2010, and features the rapper Styles P. The song reached number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. The radio single was "Live Fast Die Young" which was sent to Rhythm/Crossover radio on July 13, 2010. It did not receive promotion and did not chart. The song "Aston Martin Music", featuring the Canadian rapper Drake and the American singer Chrisette Michele, debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 after heavy downloads the week of the album's release. "Aston Martin Music" was released as the album's third single on October 5, 2010. It peaked at number 30, making it the highest peaking single from the album.

Critical reception

Teflon Don received positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 79, based on 18 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Critics noted it as Ross's strongest album at the time and found its production cinematic and "epic". Allmusic writer David Jeffries gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and viewed it as an improvement over Ross's previous album Deeper Than Rap, stating "Teflon plays up the chilled and soulful elements of its predecessor, meaning Ross has graduated to a level where words like 'organic' and 'poignant' come into play". Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson called Ross "a competent rapper" and complimented his "ear for lush, expansive beats". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described him as "a ferocious character, an impressive rapper... a clever and loose thinker" and wrote that Teflon Don "establishes him as one of rap’s most potent and creative forces". Sean Fennessey of The Washington Post praised Ross's lyricism and wrote that he "is an enunciator of the highest order, his voice a tidal wave baritone... his word choice and onomatopoetic gestures... are unmatched in rap right now". Brian Richardson of Tiny Mix Tapes gave it 3½ out of 5 stars and wrote "he employs such confidence and panache staying within his limitations". XXL writer Rob Markman gave the album an XL rating and stated "if it is simply judged on the music, Teflon Don is damn near spotless. The lyrics are on par, the beats are lush, and the imagery is larger than life".

However, some critics thought that the album favored style over substance and criticized Ross's lyrics. Slant Magazine's Jesse Cataldo wrote that "despite fitful spots of brilliance, [it] feels distinctly swampy... too often comes off as a conspicuous mishandling of both assets and signifiers: too much drug posturing, too much repetition, too little real effort". OC Weekly writer Nate Jackson gave the album a C+ rating and stated "Ross squanders opportunities to expand the content of his verses beyond the digits of his bankroll". Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club gave it a B rating and stated "Producers [...] provide lush, cinematic, larger-than-life soundscapes for Ross’ crass consumerism, while classy guest vocalists [...] regularly outshine the star... the only thing deep about Ross are his pockets and his rumbling voice. Teflon Don excels as sleek, smooth, shiny pop escapism, pure and simple". Wesley Case of The Baltimore Sun noted his lyrics as "sleek, too-often shallow", but praised its "elegance" and "grandiose stunting". USA Today's Steve Jones gave the album 3 out of 4 stars and wrote that Ross's "booming voice and colorful tales of ill-gotten wealth are hard to ignore. His Maybach music always sounds good rattling the trunk, even if your ride is less ostentatious". Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media compared the album's embracement of "an aura of dominance" to late-1990s hip hop music and elaborated on its indulgent Mafioso-themes and sound, stating:

Ross' greatest gift is the ability to conjure a fully-formed Planet Boss, a refuge from the dwindling fortunes of gansta rap and the general economic downturn ... J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, No I.D., and Kanye West create beats that really do sound like they're fantastically out of reach to anyone but the financial elite, and you can hear every dollar that went into the record ... Lyrics that might look clumsy on paper turn into grand pronouncements through pure self-belief. And like a great action hero, Ross never lets cleverness get in the way of saying something memorable. Understandably, money is about the only tie Planet Boss has to reality, and nearly every interaction can be broken down as a financial transaction.

Saxon Baird of PopMatters viewed that Ross's performance compensates for his "wet-dream fantastical lyrics" and stated "Ross is good at what he does and rap needs guys like him to liven up the party and get us hyped". Rolling Stone writer Jody Rosen complimented Ross's "gloating with wit and goofiness", stating "[he] pours out smart rhymes over sleek, synth-heavy beats". Tray Hova of Vibe lauded Ross's "penchant for exaggerated 16s and larger-than-life soundscapes" and "knack for picking colossal beats". Ben Detrick of Spin commented on Ross's assumption of his "kingpin" persona, stating "If the Miami rapper has been a shell, though, he's become Fabergé on Teflon Don, his fourth and best album. The songs here are baroquely structured, richly musical creations with humor and emotional depth". Jayson Greene of The Village Voice noted Ross's subject matter as "transcendent absurdity" and called the album "ridiculously extravagant and extravagantly ridiculous". Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss gave it 3½ out of 4 stars and commended Ross's "chimerical mythologizing", while noting its sound as "beautifully constructed... a symphonic grandeur to match Ross’ elaborate delusions". Steve Juon of RapReviews gave Teflon Don a 7.5/10 rating and wrote "Over a short but impactful 50 minutes of music, the gravelly guru of hustling expands his repertoire beyond debates about authenticity... he's still able to weave together dope beats with great stories". was number 30 on Rolling Stone's list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010. Pitchfork Media placed it at number 38 on its list "The Top 50 Albums of 2010". In 2012, Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the previous decade.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 176,300 copies. It is Ross's first album not to debut at number one in the United States. It also entered at number two on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Rap Albums and Digital Albums charts. In its second week, the album dropped to number three on the Billboard 200 and 63,000 copies. It moved to number five on the chart and sold 39,000 copies in its third week. In the United Kingdom, Teflon Don entered the UK Albums Chart at number 169, and also at number 23 on the Top 40 RnB Albums chart. In Canada, it debuted at number 17 on the Top 100 Albums chart. Up to May 4, 2012, the album had sold 724,000 copies in the US. The album was then certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Track listing

Writers for Teflon Don adapted from physical edition booklet.

Sample credits

Personnel

Credits for Teflon Don adapted from AllMusic.