We Global (Deluxe Edition)

Album Review

Getting back on track, DJ Khaled's We Global corrects all the mistakes made on his disappointing sophomore effort We the Best and gets back to the high-quality control of his debut Listennn: The Album. Like both previous releases, We Global finds the Terror Squad DJ commissioning tracks from the A-List, adding his shout-outs over top, and handing production over to the likes of Cool & Dre, the Inkredibles, and Danja along with a handful of cuts for the underappreciated team, the Runners who can go convincingly hard (the street single "Out Here Grindin'") or brilliantly slick (the R&B-flavored, Lloyd showcase "Go Ahead"). Important names like the Game — who's focused like a sniper on the great "Red Light" — and Nas — who sounds absolutely Illmatic on his hectic cut "I'm On" — get their own tracks, but most cuts are either giant baller anthems with freestyle after freestyle or more interesting and tighter collaborations, like the good timing "She's Fine" from Missy Elliot, Busta Rhymes, and dancehall don Sean Paul. Khaled's love of the warmer territories is further supported by Floridian Rick Ross' appearance next to another reggae man, Baby Cham, plus the expected guest shot from Pitbull who closes the album with a Dade County hip-hop history lesson. Khaled's lone production here is "Standing on the Mountain Top," a theatrical showcase for newcomer and protégé Ace Hood who lands on three more cuts and nails each and every one with his fresh-off-the-streets delivery.