So many times you hear that the mixtape was better than the album.  That’s not normally the case with artists such as Rick Ross, who put their time in with good albums, but when you release a tape with a name that conjures images of that gangster shit, you draw attention to see whether or not you can bring the raw. With the Albert Anastasia EP (EP only in the sense that most of these guys are dropping 20 track monstrosities while Rauce settled for 13 jewels) Rick Ross has thrown down a gauntlet leading to his coming retail release, putting the streets on notice.

Rick Ross’relationship with Diddy is clearly cemented by the over two minute ego stroking tirade on the intro, which serves as the fluffer for the remainder of the tape. A waste of a really dope beat by Infamous. “MC Hammer” is a fairly clever allegory to the 90s pop rapper that finds Ross up to his ankles in street rhetoric. Lex Luger’s production on both this and the track “Blowin’ Money Fast” featuring Styles P is very similar to any number of a dozen songs by Jeezy, T.I. or Ross himself a few years ago. Styles takes it back to the hard and away from the boom-bap collaborations he’s been doing lately.

The Runners deliver a beat that they’ve done more than once before with “Fire Hazard” complete with the double drum, the high hats and the tuba. The Trey Songz-crooned falsetto drips all over “All I Need” which begins a string of three smoothed out tracks in a row including the John Legend-helmed “Sweet Life” and the previously released Clark Kent-produced gem “Super High.” The trio of songs adds that good living aspect that all mob stories possess, setting us up for how drastic the fall is when you realize you can’t keep one foot in the game and one foot away from it.

The gutter comes back with murderous efficiency as crime rhyme legend Kool G Rap, Mr. Giancana, delivers two back to back body bag verses on both “Knife Fight” and “White Sand”(although his name doesn’t appear in the credits for “White Sand”). Unlike many of G. Rap’s pairings, Ross isn’t blown away and they work together very nicely.

The album closes out with a slick interpolation of the Master P classic “No Limit Soldiers” entitled “300 Soldiers”. Ross refits a few lines from the song to go with his gangster narrative and adds a bit more lyrical weight to the fairly pedestrian, but effective rhymes the original rappers. There is a bonus Masspike Miles feature that neither adds or detracts from the general narrative.

The Albert Anastasia EP is focused and tight in theme. It’s strictly for those that appreciate that hard core music. Points off for wasting a dope beat on Diddy rambling and too many retread production tracks. It’s not as good as a Rick Ross album, but the surprises (no DJ yelling, a better than average verse from Baby, two very dope Kool G. rap verses, and the nod to N.O. history) make for a satisfying listen.