Tedashii is Christian rapper from Houston and is a member of the 116 Clique, which includes artists such as Lecrae and Andy Mineo, both of whom have worked with Tedashii before. “Never Fold” is Tedashii's fifth studio album, following his 2014 release, "Below Paradise." While the production on this album is good, Tedashii does have moments of inconsistency in his lyricism.
“There’s a Heaven” starts the album with Tedashii singing about there is a heaven for everybody. Normally, he never starts an album this slow. However, the piano and his distorted singing mesh well together, making this track a decent start to this album. It then picks up the pace with “God Flex” which features his 116 Clique member Trip Lee.
“God Flex” is a banger in which Tedashii talks about relying on God’s strength. The beat is amazing, with the trap drums and bass lines acting as a cushion for the song. Tedashii definitely matches the energy on this track with his gritty voice. Trip Lee has a more laid back flow on this track which, surprisingly, does not bring down the quality of this track. Where the song shines most is in the interlude towards the end, where the beat switches to add another layer to this song.
“Get Out My Way” is another high energy track featuring Lecrae who is also a part of 116 Clique. He starts the track with an aggressive verse where he talks about the rough times he went through to get to where his is now. Tedashii then comes in and expands on the subject, while using his aggressive delivery. Unlike “God Flex,” the beat is consistent for the most part and it doesn’t do anything special for the song. However, it is still one of the best songs on the album.
“Son of Sam” attempts to slow down the pace as Tedashii shares his struggles with depression. While the beat is very simplistic, it comes in strong with some trap drums. Tedashii’s flow is more timid than before, and it meshes well with the beat. The only part of this song that falters is when Tedashii lets the hook overtake the song instead of having a better verse.
“My Lifestyle” is another banger where Tedashii again talks about his everyday struggles with depression and being a celebrity. While he’s good on this track, Tedashii’s flow can sound a little repetitive.
“Smile” is the album’s single and Tedashii touches on smiling through all pain people go through. The beat sounds good with an upbeat playful tempo and Tedashii is decent on this track, with his flow and lyricism and while singing some of this song’s hook.
The album also delivers songs like “Step into Love” and “Gotta Live,” which are just bad, commercial songs. The beats sound redundant and boring, and Tedashii doesn’t bring anything new to these tracks. However, Sarah Reeves and Jordan Feliz do deliver good performances on their songs, which made them at least listenable.
Overall “Never Fold” is decent and would definitely fit better on a playlist than by itself. While Tedashii does deliver a good performance on this album, some of the tracks lack consistency. 3/5
