In just over three years, Miami based Khaled Khaled (yes, that’s his first and last name) has gone from being Terror Squad’s DJ, to being one of the biggest names in the business. He is now mentioned in the same breath as other superstar hood DJ’s, like Funk Master Flex, DJ Clue, and DJ Drama, among others. Perhaps its his penchant for yelling his name and his trademark slogans (Listeeennn! We The Best!, etc) over his tracks, in his usual, raspy, grunting-like-he’s-taking-a-shit style, which nevertheless gets the crowd open every time. More hypeman than DJ, more executive producer than producer – whatever the argument is – DJ Khaled is here to stay, and has made a name for himself with his rich posse cuts and hood anthems.

We Global is the third annual “mixtape-album” from the man, showing a brand of commercial consistency we haven’t seen from virtually any of his peers as of late. Each of his albums have been led by huge posse cuts such as “We Taking Over”, “I’m So Hood”, and “Holla At Me”, featuring the usual suspects Fat Joe, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, T-Pain, Akon, Trick Daddy, etc. This recipe for success hasn’t failed him yet, as each of his albums have debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, and this time is no different. We Global is his new catchphrase and album, and it’s led by yet another huge club smash, “Out Here Grindin”, a blistering Runners produced knocker featuring Akon, Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, Lil’ Boosie, Ace Hood, and Plies. See a pattern yet?

Despite the formulaic approach, The Runners have come into their own as producers, and “Out Here Grindin” captures them in the prime of their career, as each of the hood-star generals drop their sixteen bars. Kanye West also is treated to a Runners beat on We Global, with the album opener “Go Hard”, as he joins T-Pain in a celebration of the vocoder. Like or not, it’s a different style of song for Kanye – even from what is heard on Heartbreaks and 808’s – as The Runners produce the perfect Southern beats, giving a glimpse of what Kanye would sound like as a “gangster rapper”. These two opening selections will sell the album alone.

Next up, “Go Ahead”, features Rick Ross, Fabolous, Flo Rida, Fat Joe, and Lloyd. Each of the emcees delivers rhymes about women they’ve got their eyes on, over an up-tempo Runners club-track, however Lloyd’s choice of hook lacks the hit-making madness of previous Khaled entries from T-Pain or Akon. “She Fine” is another potential club hit, as Sean Paul leads a Danja produced track, as Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes donate verses to Khaled’s repertoire. On the solo tip, both Nas (“I’m On”) and Game (“Game (Red Light)”) have cuts on We Global, but both are substandard fare, neither of which outshine anything on their respective albums.

The album takes a turn for the worse in the second half, as much of the rest of it spotlights local talent from the state of Florida. “Final Warning” is an absolute mess, as the team of Rock City, Ace Hood, Blood Raw, Bali, Lil Scrappy, Shawty Lo, Brisco & Bun B define why you’ve never heard of most of them before. “Fuck The Other Side” also falls flat, as Trick Daddy and The Dunk Ryders perform over the most derivative of Southern beats. The same can be said for the repetitive “Blood Money”, featuring Rick Ross, Brisco, Birdman, and Ace Hood, and the unfortunate Johnny Osbourne sampled “Bullet”, also featuring Ross. If only local hero Pitbull could have saved the latter half of this album with a club banger of his own, but sadly “Defend Dade” is anything but.

Perhaps the biggest fault on this album is the overuse of Khaled’s new artist Ace Hood, who appears on four of the album’s thirteen tracks, never really justifying his presence on any of them. Or, it could be that the star power was spread too thin. Or, perhaps it’s the abundance of Florida based up-and-comers that dominate the second half of the record, which pales in comparison to the first. At this point in the game, we all know better than to purchase a mixtape-album, but Khaled knows some 300,000 will do it anyway – he’s global.