Fighter: Rick Ross
Trainer (Gym): DJ Khaled, Diddy (Maybach Music Group, Slip-n-Slide, Def Jam)
Cut Men: Timbaland, DJ Toomp, Metro Boomin, Beat Billionaire, Big K.R.I.T., Cardiak, CritaCal, Lex Luger, Deedotwill, V12 The Hitman, MoneyBag$, Tracy Tyler, Ben Billions, Bassivity, The Remedy Production Group, Eddie ‘eMIX’ Hernandez
Weight Class: Rap Superstar, Luxury Rapper
Notable Fire: Hood Billionaire, Trap Luv (Feat. Yo Gotti), Family Ties
Notable Trash: Coke Like The 80’s, Elvis Presley Blvd (Feat. Project Pat), Movin’ Bass (Feat. Jay Z), Burn
Tale of the Tape: If for no other reason than how he speaks about himself through song, we all know Rick Ross considers himself one of the supreme rappers in hip-hop. Historically, many elite emcees have attempted to climb the unclimbable mountain of dropping a classic double CD. Biggie, Tupac, Scarface, Jay Z, Nas and others have all done it, with varying degrees of success. These days, artists can rarely pull this off (save for E-40 who has seemingly redefined multi-album release), as dropping just one studio album in a calendar year is a tall task for even popular rappers. So this is what we’re left with: Rick Ross has dropped two albums within a eight month window.
Released on March 3, 2014, Mastermind was unable to live up to the rotund marketing campaign and lofty expectations Ross set for himself. Not without its share of bangers, Mastermind — an LP Ross sought to be more musically harmonious, as opposed to the more street-focused followup — can simply be categorized as inconsistent. But the opportunity presented itself for Rozay to end a tumultuous year for MMG on a positive note.
Determined to get this album off to a positive start, Ross expended arguably his illest record a mere two tracks in with “Hood Billionaire”. The title track made the hood proud, as Lex Lugar and Deedotwill laced this aggressive song with Lugar’s trademark drums and punchy brass chords that were reminiscent of those heard in the chorus on Jay’s “Hey Papi“, produced by Timbo. Of course, no Ross record would be complete without some classic “Bawse” talk, with given a title like “Hood Billionaire”, this song had to have in abundance. It did not disappoint.
“Let me show you how to get right, whip an ounce of that white/ Fast forward to a brick, now you livin’ that life/ I can get you that in my hood, I’m a billionaire in my hood/ Tryna buy a piece of the Dolphins, 5% and I’m good (WOOOO!! UGH!)/ NOW I THINK I’M DON SHULA/ Pull up with 20 bitches on the hundred footer/ All white me gusta, oh hallelujah/ Oh hallelujah, oh I maneuver”
Ricky reached into his seldom used bag of consciousness (sort of) and came up with a somewhat poignant collaboration with Yo Gotti. “Trap Luv” takes on the familiar narrative of the plight of the dope dealer, but shows a slightly different angle; from Ross outlining the difficulty of being a leader in the streets saddled with the responsibility of carrying his circle, to Gotti expressing his angst for those placing the superficial above family, and his (and Rozay’s) overall vexation with the lack of code in the streets today.
Yo Gotti wrote, “Niggas killing niggas like they got a license/ Niggas crossing over like they Allen Iverson/ Fuck that iPhone 6, they be tracking niggas/ I’m about to get a beeper, fade to black on niggas/ Gotti, goodnight, I’m gone/ I be back when they quit living through phones/ When niggas put the gram down and pick the grams up/ You got follows but no dollars man that shit ain’t adding up.”
In addition to other dope street anthems like “Family Ties” and “Phone Tap”, Ross also showed some of his trademark flexibility to make an enjoyable “Bonnie & Clyde”-type record with K. Michelle. However these records did not do enough to cover up Hood Billionaire’s glaring deficiencies. Most notably, the album seems to be loaded with filler material, a common affliction amongst multiple records dropping in a short time frame. Songs like “Coke Like The 80’s“, “Burn”, “Heavyweight” and “Neighborhood Drug Dealer” were either wack and or completely forgettable. Lazy beats, lazy lyrics, lazier hooks— if we’re grading on the “Rap Superstar” scale, these are mixtape songs at best. “Movin Bass” was the latest of an ugly trend of Ross & Jay Z collabs that seem to grow in disappointment as they rise in number.
Sidebar: Seriously, that song was garbage— the duo’s worst effort yet (a Hov verse would’ve helped). And it came on a Timbaland beat, which is even more tragic. If it’s any consolation, the Tink version was better than the album version.
Another significant problem with this LP was its noticeable lack of imagination (look no further than the album’s cover art). Hood Billionaire is essentially a collection of songs, nothing more. Granted, the Dade County product does consistently talk opulence, selling dope and the like, but that differs little from any other Ross record. Creativity can often seems like a chore to Ross, rather than a necessity, which is disappointing considering the talents he possesses.
Fight Night: Loser By Split Decision
Like most double discs, if you combine the best songs from Mastermind and Hood Billionaire, you’d get a excellent work of music; but when spaced over two whole albums, you get two incomplete projects. Once again, the standards need to be higher for someone of Rick Ross’ stature. The best assumption that can be made for this decent, but largely uninspired work would be that Ross was or is in a transitional phase of his career.
Some suggested the impetus for Ross putting out two records in 2014 was ultimately to get him out of his current Def Jam deal as quickly as possible. Based off some of his Mastermind lyrics, it sounded as though he just re-uped with the super label for a handsome sum. The particulars of that deal can only be speculated upon, but perhaps Ricky’s new deal didn’t kick in until his old one ran out, which had one remaining album due. Perhaps this explains the lack of marketing and publicity this record received compared to his March release, which resulted in Hood Billionaire debuting at #6 on the Billboard charts its first week, the lowest opening week sales of his career, and a 50% drop off from Mastermind. Perhaps this is why he couldn’t even allow Stalley’s album to get any shine whatsoever before he rushed his own onto iTunes. Perhaps he’s saving all his creative juices for his next release. Or perhaps we’re giving him too much credit.
In any event, Hood Billionaire is not a complete waste of time, but it’s far from Ross’ best work (it’s been awhile since we’ve gotten even a whiff of his best work). Luckily, this is why the man upstairs created the playlist— take your favorite joints off each album and throw them onto a single playlist and forget this, and a whole bunch of other unfortunate MMG stuff, ever happened in 2014.