Ziggy tha Don

From the time you press play, it's obvious where hip-hop artist Ziggy tha Don and mixtape host Wildman Teddy-T are taking you on this musical journey. You're transported into a supersecretive sitdown with the "head of the family," and Teddy-T is playing Marlon Brando himself. They're playing on the fact that Ziggy the Don is an Italian/West Indian lyrical phenom, but it's their wit and creativity that pull these skits together. In fact, The Inheritance is filled with Teddy-T's comedic outtakes, but nothing can steal the shine from Ziggy's potent delivery and cocky don-status attitude. You can hear Broward County in his swagger on laid-back cuts like "Haters Make Me Cry," in which he says with great conviction "Dear Lord, hear me calling for you/I pray for haters all the time/They know not what they do." At times, it's obvious that the main theme throughout Ziggy's verses are making money and "cutting up" ladies in grand fashion. Is it cliché for hip-hop? Sure, but from a lyrical standpoint, Ziggy is able to take listeners on a musical journey with lots of twist and turns — each track different from the last. Although certain songs tend to highlight excessive gunplay and illegal activities, there are other playful tunes like the Frank Sinatra-esque "It Doesn't Get Cold" and the supermelodic "Mary Jane"* that could make the strongest anti-weed smoker want to taste the cannabis. As a whole, this mixtape has something for everyone's musical walk of life — from hip-hop heads to Dirty South bass junkies. — Andre Uter