Hell Rell :: Hard as Hell

It might be an exaggeration to call Hell Rell a forgotten rapper, but when I hear people reminisce about rap music from the first decade of the 21st century, Durrell Mohammad’s name never seems to come up. I can’t help but find this a curious omission. I’m not saying The Diplomats (DipSet) were the greatest rap crew or anything, but they were strong representatives for New York City in general and Harlem in particular. Their pride in their turf informed their music and in turn inspired a loyal fan base who supported them collectively and individually. The only thing Rell did “wrong” was be the fourth man in a three man rotation. Cam’Ron was the leader of the crew, Jim Jones was the face of the DipSet, and Juelz Santana was the “rapper’s rapper” who got the respect. Rell got overlooked by everybody except his own crew, and when that crew fell apart his career did too.

You can’t help but notice Rell still reps the crew on 2009’s “Hard as Hell” even though nobody else was bothering to do so. He also had to go to Real Talk Entertainment to even get it into stores, although the secondary market suggests it didn’t matter if it got pressed physically or not. Most of all though you can’t help but notice that he musically and lyrically sounds like 50 Cent on songs like “In These Streets.” He doesn’t have Curtis Jackson’s trademark slur, but the menacing mood and dark keys are trademark Jackson of the 00’s, and you can close your eyes and hear either man rapping this song. “One thing about me/I am a G/I would never turn rat and start to eat cheese.”

Now you might think I’m dogging Rell for it, but you’d be mistaken. It’s honestly not a bad fit for him even though Jackson had arguably peaked and started his musical descent around the time this album dropped. That worked out just fine for 50 as he got into other endeavors as an actor and a producer that kept him relevant beyond making hit records. The downside here is that people weren’t checking for a second 50 Cent when the first was still active. Rell was trying to “Take ‘Em to Church” and people were already praying at a different temple.

“Everything you hear in my raps, nigga I live it.” Thanks to Cozmo’s production, Rell a/k/a Ruger sounds more than convincing, spitting hard convictions over a nicely layered set of bass, drums and sped up R&B samples. “Nigga I get paid to sound this hood.” He unintentionally illustrates the problem with “Hard as Hell” with that line. Rell checked all the boxes — he sounds like NYC, his aura is strong, his vocals are clear, his bars are competent. What’s wrong then? His forced conviction. He reps for The Diplomats when they no longer repped him. He reps for New York when an increasingly smaller percentage of them were fucking with him. Rell sounds comfortable with his spot at a time when the walls of the empire were crumbling around him. “Getting paid” wasn’t enough. He needed FIRE.

The same syndrome affects “Rise 2 Tha Top.” It’s a tale of woe about growing up having nothing and being constantly frustrated with your lot, “but God don’t forgive suicide” so you just keep going regardless. He gets hassled by his peers, hassled by the cops, hassled by the haters “who want my demise” but he keeps rising to overcome it. He makes fun of Rick Ross for being a corrections officer but Hell Rell is such a minor factor he never warranted a clap back. Is that unjust or is that just the hell that Rell is in? Listening to him I can’t help but think he joined forces with the wrong team. He expected to rise with the top to the cream but he was Pippen without a Jordan.

“Heaven Is in the Sky” finds Rell reminiscing about all the peers he’s lost over the years. How do I tell you again that it’s both poignant and pointless? I don’t like saying it because Rell isn’t even doing anything bad on this song or this album. From start to finish it’s SOLID. Producers like Hollis, Cozmo and Vince C. laced his tracks well. The mixing was clean. The tracks have the right amount of bump. If this was an undiscovered rapper or an unreleased album, we’d be talking about a “hidden gem” of sorts with “Hard as Hell.” We’re not. Rell had a baseline level of competence he never seemed to rise above or sink below. Other DipSet rappers had memorable amounts of variability from great to awful (particularly Cam’Ron) but Rell stayed solid and unintentionally dug the grave of his career. He was never the best or worst rapper out of Harlem, and sadly that means he was easily forgotten.