The beat on this track is about as sinister as Ross wants us to believe his C.O. past was. Officer Ricky does a good job of holding his own on this track though. I'm not sure whether or not I think having another 50 Cent foe (Bang Em Smurf) on the track talking as opposed to rapping was a good idea. Bang Em is pretty much irrelevant nowadays but it would have made more sense to me if Ross gave him a verse on this joint rather than just have him talking ish at the end. But some guys are arguably better at talking ish on a track than rapping.
In Cold Blood - Rick Ross
Midst of the war, I pi$$ on graves. Kids get grazed by my pi$$ poor ways: I thought it was kind of interesting that he mentions how he has (or can have) an influence on kids by the way he acts. Not sure if he threw that in there just because it rhymes (he's got a tendency to do that) or because he really has thoughts about that. I guess it was the former since he doesn't really expound on it.
Beat the case like Orenthal: LOL. OJ jokes never really get old.
Once the b*tch need an oil change, I go and buy a new one/Cuz I'm spoiled mayne: LOL. This guy never stops saying outlandish stuff.
Overall this album flows pretty well from beginning to end. Minus about 2 tracks that I would call just average I think Ross has a solid album. You might not like the content but the music is pretty good. He has always seemed to have an ear for decent production but his lyrics haven't always been up to par (a la Young Jeezy). But on this album Ross steps his game up enough lyrically to hold his own over some very good production. This is one of my favorite albums so far this year.
Previously:
· Mafia Music
· Maybach Music 2
· Magnificent
· Yacht Club
· Usual Suspects
· All I Really Want
· Rich Off Cocaine
· Lay Back
· Murda Mami
· Gun Play
· Bossy Lady
· Face
· Valley of Death
2 comments:
The tracks are hot...cant take nothing from it..but lyrically come on Mike--to try to call himself one of the best, I expect more.
For the average person that simply turns music on and rock to it without listening to its content sure they will be on it but minus the tracks--accapela (did a spell that right) its a bit dissappointing.
I agree with what you're saying. But at the same time I did not expect this to be a Nas or Jay-Z CD when it comes to lyrics. When you take into account how Ross used to rap and what he's doing now, there's a noticeable difference. So much so that I would consider him to be a respectable MC at this point. Not good, great, or anything beyond those two, but respectable.
Not to mention that even if he can't rap as good as other guys he sure as hell knows how to put together a CD that sounds good musically. Nas couldn't do that if you put a gun to his head and lately Jay-Z hasn't been all too impressive in that regard either. Of course they'll rip Rick Ross to shreds lyrically but in the end, music (in this case commercially viable hip-hop) is more than just lyricism. If I wanted to hear straight lyrics all day then there are plenty of underground cats I could listen to or not so underground cats that are out there. But in the end, if you have solid music combined with decent lyrical ability then I can get with it.
For example, Gucci Mane has some of the catchiest beats out there but I can't listen to dude because he simply sucks at rapping. Whereas someone like Drake is no Jay-Z or Nas but he puts out great music (ie - rhymes + the production) and that's a big part of the reason why I like his music.
But getting back to Ross though I think it's all relative. If all you want when you listen to rap is great lyricism before anything else, then Ross ain't gonna be the one for you when it comes to listening to full albums. But if you put this album up against anything HE has done before, it's Magnificent (ha).
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