The Hunter Envoy

Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Arts

On his second album, Trilla, Rick Ross rapped; "I'm the biggest boss that you've seen thus far." But in-between Trilla and his new album, Deeper Than Rap, Ross was exposed as the biggest fraud thus far, when pictures and documents showing his past life as a corrections officer surfaced on the internet. This was especially ironic since Ross made his career rapping about how much cocaine he sold. But with Deeper Than Rap, Ross proves that, officer or no officer, he's a legitimate rap star who's a boss in his own right.

One way that Ross, a Miami rapper who blew up in 2006 with his hit "Hustling," proves his right to be a boss is by taking on G-Unit honcho 50 Cent. No, Ross does not give 50 a proper trashing. He puts up a decent diss track with "Mafia Music"-which actually baited 50 into the battle, not the other way around as is usually the case with 50 Cent-and throws jabs at 50 throughout the album.

Of course, 50 did not take this lightly and has released an onslaught of videos in response to Ross. All of
the videos are outrageous, including one where 50 takes one of Ross' baby mamas shopping and a sex tape with Ross' other baby's mama which 50 narrates.

This is probably what prompts Ross to spit lines like; "I dealt with broads, and those, willing to sell they soul, over cars and clothes, man I'm talking petty hoes" and "Baby mamas I hate 'em, they just want you to pay 'em, I'm in love with my baby, maybe mad that I'm famous." And while 50's antics have certainly taken Ross' street credibility down even further, it can't bring down the quality of this album. In the end, success is the greatest revenge for Ross.

Success-and let's face it, incessant gloating-is covered well on this album with great tracks like "Rich off Cocaine" (Yes, he still raps about selling cocaine, a lot) and "Usual Suspects." Ross barely has any content in his music beyond living it up like a "boss is supposed to." The album is one great big celebration of having good money, good women, and living the good life. In other words, it's a gangster's vacation.

The content may be redundant and a bit tired, but what really makes this album stand out is that the beats are superb. The Inkredibles are in top shape for all three of their production efforts, which includes the grand lead single "Mafia Music," but J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League takes the cake with smooth sailing cuts like "Yacht Club" and "Magnificent." The silkiness of the beats, which bump at a slow tempo and never bang hard, fit Ross' perfectly because his appeal lies in his husky voice, but his lack of vocal dexterity is usually his downfall.

To top off the excellent production, the album effortlessly mixes hardcore cocaine talk with R&B crooning. John Legend, T-Pain, Kevin Cossom, Avery Storm, Robin Thicke, The-Dream, and Ne-Yo all feature on the album and provide catchy, super slick hooks. Nas, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Foxy Brown (who was rumored to be engaged to Ross at one point) and Trina all provide guest verses.

While all the top notch guest spots and excellent production values make this album a winner, it's still Ross' show. And even if few of the tracks on Deeper Than Rap are "deep" per se, who cares about being deep when your eating crab meat and popping bottles in a yacht somewhere in the Caribbean?

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