Rick Ross….Deeper Than Rap Review
Many times in hip-hop history, rap beef has inspired artists to create better works, and pull themselves out of creative slumps they were previously in. Jay-Z and Nas both came out of their feud with two outstanding albums, and an eventual truce and friendship which has yielded some excellent songs together.
People involved with a 50 Cent beef however, usually don’t end up so lucky. Rick Ross is the latest target of 50s verbal abuse, and the two have been exchanging words both in interviews and on record. This has lead Rick Ross to make some rather bold statements about his new album, Deeper Than Rap, namely that it would outsell 50 Cent’s albums and would be an undisputed classic for years to come.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Deeper Than Rap will sell, but can it really outsell albums such as Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, one of the highest selling albums this decade? And does Rick Ross really have a CLASSIC album in him? Only one way to find out.
Tracks
1. Mafia Music
2. Maybach Music II Ft. T-Pain, Kanye West & Lil Wayne
3. Magnificent Ft. John Legend
4. Yacht Club Ft. Magazeen
5. Usual Suspects Ft. Nas & Kevin Cossom
6. All I Really Want Ft. The-Dream
7. Rich Off Cocaine Ft. Avery Storm
8. Lay Back Ft. Robin Thicke
9. Murda Mami Ft. Foxy Brown & Magazeen
10. Gunplay Ft. Gunplay
11. Bossy Lady Ft. Ne-Yo 12. Face Ft. Trina
13. Valley Of Death
14. In Cold Blood
Following a rather irritating trend of hip-hop albums being released this year, Deeper Than Rap is rather guest heavy. Although artists like John Legend, The-Dream, Avery Storm, Robin Thicke and Ne-Yo are mainly included for hook work, it shows that Ross has never really been a strong hook writer, something that’s been evident throughout all his albums thus far, and mainly raises the issue of a lack of development from him.
That being said, John Legend and Robin Thicke are the standouts here. On “Magnificent” Legend’s smooth vocals add to the ‘rich life’ track and given Ross has been rapping for sometime now, and actually has two Gold albums to his name thus far, it’s believable that Ross is well-off. Meanwhile, Robin Thicke saves an otherwise forgettable song with a simple yet catchy hook (although it does sound very similar to The-Dream’s hook from “Like I Do” with T.I.) on “Lay Back”, although Ross does drop some entertaining lines (“My car’s a virgin, first one to hit it”).
Speaking of The-Dream, he checks in with one of his blander hooks on “All I Really Want”, and the song is really just the typical ‘ode to the ladies’ track that we’ve seen done better before. Avery Storm somewhat redeems himself for his abysmal performance on Jadakiss’ latest album with a much smoother showing on “Rich Off Cocaine”, the track itself though, is somewhat self-explanatory from the title alone, although he does show some sense of regret in the last couple of bars.
That really is quite a significant problem with Deeper Than Rap, it’s way too predictable and Ross has seemingly decreased his already small repertoire of topics to just wealth and women, with the occasional menace track thrown in for good measure. Some of the tracks do work when backed up by solid production or guest appearances. “Maybach Music II” is helped by one of the more vibrant beats on the album but T-Pain’s hook is decidedly average when compared to some of his other work and Lil Wayne’s verse is drowned out by the production almost entirely. Compared to Jay’s appearance on the original “Maybach Music”, it’s a sorry sequel save for the beat. There’s also a distinct lack of a big-time track like “Hustlin” or “Speedin” from his first two albums. The closest we get is “In Cold Blood”, a menacing track where Ross sends some jabs 50’s way to close out the album.
Ross himself though seems to have elevated his technical skills at some points throughout Deeper Than Rap (“Mafia Music”), but then turns around and stumbles around the beat on tracks like “All I Really Want” and “Gunplay”, the latter of which features the most redundant hook of the year. Even an established artist like Nas seems to suffer when around Ross, as his verse on “Usual Suspects” is one of the better ones on the album, as a Nas verse, it’s totally forgettable.