Though Cam’ron’s Diplomats crew is no longer the commercial juggernaut it was in 2004, the group's members continue to release albums and mixtapes at a dizzying pace. Hell Rell’s 2007 solo debut For The Hell of It, was more or less buried in an avalanche of concurrently released Diplomats related offerings. This is unfortunate because while the relatively soft-spoken Hell Rell lacks the self aggrandizing charisma and love of free associative word play that makes Cam’ron and Juelz Santana such distinctive MC’s, he is a far more focused lyricist than any other member of the Diplomats. In his strongest moments his gravel-throated delivery recalls that of a young Scarface, while his deliberate, uncomplicated cadences give his work a solidity and coherence that many other Diplomats releases lack. Black Mask, Black Gloves: The Ruga Edition is Hell Rell’s second full-length, and marks a distinct improvement on his promising if somewhat scattershot debut. Though there are some unnecessary and overly indulgent moments, tracks like “Push’em Back” and “Get Ready” are weighty, gleefully pugnacious numbers painstakingly equalized for trunk rattling impact.