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LOL
The Official Rick Ross Appreciation Thread. TEFLON DON JULY 20th
- Thread in 'Music' Thread starter Started by optimusprimeaphia,
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This guy Ross...
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i aint even a fan but dude makes great music and his albums have been gradually getting better
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It's just music, man... MUSIC....
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about to check it out now
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FakeShoreDrive losin' it's credability now?
What really goin' on?
Rozay Twitpicin' wiff' Larry Hoover Jr.
What really goin' on?
Rozay Twitpicin' wiff' Larry Hoover Jr.
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"Tears of Joy" is some seriously ill #@#@.
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Damn, this @!@$ is crack
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.
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Never one to really have high expectations for modern day hip hop albums, but this is the exception to that... I predicted a CLASSIC a lot earlier in the thread... Might I add I HATE these "Official" album threads, cause they're pointless... Just collecting pages, I rarely visit until the joint FULLY leaks...
But ANYway, I had Rozay ranked as #3 on my list of the BEST Active Rappers, he has been on somewhat of a roll as of late... Since Deeper Than Rap dropped, and he shook off the CO situation, he has really come into his own not only as an MC and lyricist, but MOST importantly as an artist. He set the bar pretty high with DTR, which IMO was maybe 3 or 4 songs away from being a CLASSIC...
After hearing "Mafia Music 2", I was OFFICIALLY anticipating the release of Teflon Don, that song is just something special... After that I think he entered his name into the competition of best ACTIVE rappers, and more or less solidified his spot with most. The song also symbolized the passing of the torch that BIG had with LAD and the whole mafioso music... And let it be known, I was the FIRST to draw those comparisons, and like MOST times, Diddy stole the %+%*...
Will Ross be able to live up to the hype?? Land his 4th consecutive #1 album?? And MOST importantly, is my prediction of a CLASSIC correct??... Lets find out...
But ANYway, I had Rozay ranked as #3 on my list of the BEST Active Rappers, he has been on somewhat of a roll as of late... Since Deeper Than Rap dropped, and he shook off the CO situation, he has really come into his own not only as an MC and lyricist, but MOST importantly as an artist. He set the bar pretty high with DTR, which IMO was maybe 3 or 4 songs away from being a CLASSIC...
After hearing "Mafia Music 2", I was OFFICIALLY anticipating the release of Teflon Don, that song is just something special... After that I think he entered his name into the competition of best ACTIVE rappers, and more or less solidified his spot with most. The song also symbolized the passing of the torch that BIG had with LAD and the whole mafioso music... And let it be known, I was the FIRST to draw those comparisons, and like MOST times, Diddy stole the %+%*...
Will Ross be able to live up to the hype?? Land his 4th consecutive #1 album?? And MOST importantly, is my prediction of a CLASSIC correct??... Lets find out...
Spoiler [+]
I'm Not A Star
The thing that I loved about DTR most was the soulful feel... Even tho Ross is from Miami, I've always felt that the soulful/east coast sounding production better suited his flow, because lets be real... He's not your EVERYday down south rapper. Is this a good way to start off the album?? Not what I was expectin, its by no means a bad song, due to the fact that he is a ghostwriter, has a DOPE flow he can jump on damn near ANY track and not sound out of place... This is nothing SPECIAL, but its pretty SOLID.
(What was soo wrong with Mafia Music 2?? That would've been PERFECT as the opening track... I'm dissapointed its not in the #1 position... Or even on the album at all... the %#%% ?? I know Def Jam doesn't have the smartest people employed but come on)
3.5/5
Free Mason
TheJay Z Steadman feature... This joint leaked after I promised myself I wouldn't listen to ANYmore leaks until the FULL joint was out there, so I've heard Ns talk about it in the barbershop... Plugged my ears when my cousin was playin it last week. This %+%* is pretty AMAZING, from the production, to John Legend's vocals... Rick Ross was REALLY on his toes on this, I guess he listened to "Light Up" and didn't wanna go out like Drake, he really spit a DOPE verse... But come on, when will people learn, Jay Z Steadman is gonna BODY you on your own %+%* about 99.5% of the time ("Pressure" - F&L being the exception). His verse was AMAZING... But N you STILL a Mason. ONLY gripe is that hook...
4.75/5
Tears Of Joy
Huey P intro... I'm lovin this joint already... Cee-Lo feature... I'm a groupie for damn near ANYthing with Cee-Lo (except Gnarles Barkley). This song is just beautiful, I don't even know what else to say... Loved the BIG line, loved the honesty of this record, of course Cee-Lo BODIED the hook. This song deffinetly met the expectations I had for this album. As FAKE as this N is, he be sayin some REAL %+%* ala Ice Cube & NWA
5/5
Maybach Music III
This leaked sometime last week, held out on listenin tho... This is the third (Officiall) installment to an already classic series, this time he recruits TI, Al-Queda Jada, and Eryka Badu... Looks good on paper. As far as the actual song, TI is TI, I know I can't be the only one getting bored with dude... He should've took it to the next level a while ago, its like he peaked, he sounds the exact same as the last time I heard him, the verse is by NO means bad @ all, but Ye bodied the first verse of MM2... Jadakiss, who I'm almost 100% positive doesn't own a Maybach, well he's Jadakiss, basically spits a verse that you'd expect him to spit. Ross comes through and bats clean up, which is MUCH better than the job Weezy did on MM2, but overall this is the worst of the OFFICIAL MM trilogy... Eryka Badu doesn't really add anything to this song, she doesn't hurt it either... But its basically what you expected. No expectations are exceeded here. But its a SOLID track none the less.
4/5
Live Fast Die Young
The last song of the leaks I listened to it... This joint is just AMAZING, I've prolly listened to this joint OVER 50 times... Kanye comes through with some above avg production (He hasn't lived up to the standards he set early in his career for a while now... But a lot of cats won't admit that). But Ross is in his lane on this joint, this the line he has to straddle, between songs like this, the honesty of a "Tears Of Joy" and the mafiaso characterization of a "Mafia Music 2"... The stars just alligned for this joint. Ross verses, while they prolly won't change the world, are effective... & Kanye, well he's Kanye... But why is he spittin BETTER verses than Jadakiss??
5/5
Super High
The single... Its been out there for some time, did virtually nothing on the charts or the radio tho... Loved this joint since I first heard it. Just soulful as hell... Ne-Yo, who's sexuality is STILL in question shows up on the hook for this one, over some pretty dope scratches from DJ Clark Kent and a clever NWA sample... How this song didn't pop still puzzles me... This song is GREAT... I guess enuff white people didn't like it?? #kanyeshrug
4.5/5
No. 1
Did I just hear Diddy's $$!#!$ voice... OK. This is just a disaster, and its not even THAT bad of a song, the production is pretty DOPE... The chorus albeit a lil ******ed it actually cool in its own way... I don't know if I can HATE on Diddy for his verse cause I KNOW that snake didn't write the %+%*. The best part of the song is when Diddy blurts out "sit down %+##$" before his verse The album was taking on a certain sound, this song just TOTALLY ruined the wave... They could\ve just gave Diddy 2 verses, gave Ross one, and put this on that GARBAGE !$! Dirty Money album that will prolly NEVER see the light of day... Oh yea Trey Songz (ANOTHER guy who's sexuality is in question sings a pretty ******edly-yet-clever hook)... If this is #1 ANYthing, it would be the #1 MISTAKE on this album.
3/5
MC Hammer
A song named after one of my favorite childhood rappers... How bad could it be?? Wait a minute... the SAME $$!#!$ song off Albert Anastasia EP (which I didn't enjoy)... This song kinda sounds like the other song, BMF (which is comin up next)... This just went from a GREAT album to a *%%+%# up mixtape in 2 tracks... Not that this is a bad song, but it $%$+@ up the cohesiveness of the album, something that he damn near mastered on DTR. There's a line about being uncircumcized, not sure if it was a play on words, but if so, this may be a case of "when keepin it real goes wrong"... Maybe that's why he made a point to say "My %*+$ clean" 30 times... (Not that I care, but wasn't Gucci Mane suppose to be on here??)
3.25/5
BMF
I thought I JUST heard this beat... Yea but this is one of the HOTTEST singles on the street right now, I'm not the biggest fan of this song. First you were MC Hammer (a gangster in his own right), now your Big Meech/Larry Hoover... He's more like Big Meat, just PLAYING the role of a gangster. The hook is infectious, this is the type of southern record that NY automatically embraces, and even if they didn't he threw Styles P on here... I always forget he's on this track. Pretty good song, but once again this is the 3rd track in a row that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the previous 6...
4/5
Aston Martin Music
This leaked a week or so ago, listened to it once or twice... This %+%* is smooth as hell, this would've fit perfectly on the album is it wasn't for the 3 previous songs which were about as RANDOM as anything you'd hear on an album. Not sure who's idea it was, but prolly one of the brainiacs running Def Jam further into the ground, but how do you get one of the HOTTEST rappers of the moment to be on a track... And not even include his verse?? I mean who does that??... Back to the track, production is smoother that a muh****a... Crissete Michele does her thing on the hook (Take that Eryka Badu)... My only gripe is Drake's EPIC verse not being included in ANY capacity... Not a smart move.
4.25/5
All The Money In The World
He raps about losing his father, and his upbringing... This joint is smooth as hell. The hook here is pretty ******ed... But in a clever way. Raphael Sadiiq shows up here, his vocals have sounded better, but its not that BAD... Maybe it would sound better if he was singin somethin LESS ******ed. But theres really nothing BAD to say about this song other than that, its deep, heartfelt, and its a great note to end the album on... Would've preferred if he hit us with 32 or 48 bars and just spilled his heart on this joint instead of letting a WASHED up raphael Sadiiq have a field day with that last 2 and half minutes of the song... But hey, NObodys perfect...
4.25/5
Verdict:
The first question I'll answer, 'was it a CLASSIC?'... Tho it did have potential to be one, it didn't quite have enuff of THAT calibur of material to be considered one... Don't get me wrong there is some GREAT music on here, but musically, and lyrically he didn't really take it to the NEXT level like I thought he would... He more or less played it safe, he tried to cater to the south with "I'm Not A Star", "MC Hammer" & "BMF"... I'm sure Diddy talked him into doin "No. 1" and for whatever reason he listened...
As I always say, the difference between making GOOD music consistantly is an artist's ability to tell a GOOD idea from a BAD one, somethin that Rick Ross has more or less done well throughout his career, but in this case he made some mistakes... The album flowed pretty well through the first 6 tracks (even tho I would've preferred "Mafia Music 2" being the intro over "I'm Not A Star")... Things just got bumpy with "No. 1" coming out of NOWHERE, andn if the song wasn't already bad enuff you let Diddy rap on there?? Then hearing 2 tracks that were on the EP didn't really do much for the overall product either.
The honesty of a "Tears Of Joy" is what is missing, its on here, but too far inbetween, on DTR is was just as much a Mafioso record, as it was a personal one, and he did a great job balancing that. Here he had more of an agenda, and it becomes obvious the further you get into the album. Its kind of overloaded with features, and that takes away from the album ever capturing a personal feel.
Curtis Jackson is somewhere MAD... Between dodging haymakers from Brazilians, he has to deal with his nemisis making yet ANOTHER solid album, while he barley stays afloat...
Had "Mafia Music 2" been the intro, done away with "I'm Not A Star"... Get rid of "No. 1", and if "MC Hammer" & "BMF" could've just been thrown @ the end of the album as hidden bonus tracks, and replaced tracks 7-9 with some %+%* in the vein of a "Rich Off Cocain" or somethin with the depth of a "Valley Of Death" or heartlessness of "In Cold Blood" this album could've truly been something SPECIAL...
Standout Tracks:
Free Mason
Tears Of Joy
Live Fast Die Young
Aston Martin Music
Overall:
4/5
The thing that I loved about DTR most was the soulful feel... Even tho Ross is from Miami, I've always felt that the soulful/east coast sounding production better suited his flow, because lets be real... He's not your EVERYday down south rapper. Is this a good way to start off the album?? Not what I was expectin, its by no means a bad song, due to the fact that he is a ghostwriter, has a DOPE flow he can jump on damn near ANY track and not sound out of place... This is nothing SPECIAL, but its pretty SOLID.
(What was soo wrong with Mafia Music 2?? That would've been PERFECT as the opening track... I'm dissapointed its not in the #1 position... Or even on the album at all... the %#%% ?? I know Def Jam doesn't have the smartest people employed but come on)
3.5/5
Free Mason
The
4.75/5
Tears Of Joy
Huey P intro... I'm lovin this joint already... Cee-Lo feature... I'm a groupie for damn near ANYthing with Cee-Lo (except Gnarles Barkley). This song is just beautiful, I don't even know what else to say... Loved the BIG line, loved the honesty of this record, of course Cee-Lo BODIED the hook. This song deffinetly met the expectations I had for this album. As FAKE as this N is, he be sayin some REAL %+%* ala Ice Cube & NWA
5/5
Maybach Music III
This leaked sometime last week, held out on listenin tho... This is the third (Officiall) installment to an already classic series, this time he recruits TI, Al-Queda Jada, and Eryka Badu... Looks good on paper. As far as the actual song, TI is TI, I know I can't be the only one getting bored with dude... He should've took it to the next level a while ago, its like he peaked, he sounds the exact same as the last time I heard him, the verse is by NO means bad @ all, but Ye bodied the first verse of MM2... Jadakiss, who I'm almost 100% positive doesn't own a Maybach, well he's Jadakiss, basically spits a verse that you'd expect him to spit. Ross comes through and bats clean up, which is MUCH better than the job Weezy did on MM2, but overall this is the worst of the OFFICIAL MM trilogy... Eryka Badu doesn't really add anything to this song, she doesn't hurt it either... But its basically what you expected. No expectations are exceeded here. But its a SOLID track none the less.
4/5
Live Fast Die Young
The last song of the leaks I listened to it... This joint is just AMAZING, I've prolly listened to this joint OVER 50 times... Kanye comes through with some above avg production (He hasn't lived up to the standards he set early in his career for a while now... But a lot of cats won't admit that). But Ross is in his lane on this joint, this the line he has to straddle, between songs like this, the honesty of a "Tears Of Joy" and the mafiaso characterization of a "Mafia Music 2"... The stars just alligned for this joint. Ross verses, while they prolly won't change the world, are effective... & Kanye, well he's Kanye... But why is he spittin BETTER verses than Jadakiss??
5/5
Super High
The single... Its been out there for some time, did virtually nothing on the charts or the radio tho... Loved this joint since I first heard it. Just soulful as hell... Ne-Yo, who's sexuality is STILL in question shows up on the hook for this one, over some pretty dope scratches from DJ Clark Kent and a clever NWA sample... How this song didn't pop still puzzles me... This song is GREAT... I guess enuff white people didn't like it?? #kanyeshrug
4.5/5
No. 1
Did I just hear Diddy's $$!#!$ voice... OK. This is just a disaster, and its not even THAT bad of a song, the production is pretty DOPE... The chorus albeit a lil ******ed it actually cool in its own way... I don't know if I can HATE on Diddy for his verse cause I KNOW that snake didn't write the %+%*. The best part of the song is when Diddy blurts out "sit down %+##$" before his verse The album was taking on a certain sound, this song just TOTALLY ruined the wave... They could\ve just gave Diddy 2 verses, gave Ross one, and put this on that GARBAGE !$! Dirty Money album that will prolly NEVER see the light of day... Oh yea Trey Songz (ANOTHER guy who's sexuality is in question sings a pretty ******edly-yet-clever hook)... If this is #1 ANYthing, it would be the #1 MISTAKE on this album.
3/5
MC Hammer
A song named after one of my favorite childhood rappers... How bad could it be?? Wait a minute... the SAME $$!#!$ song off Albert Anastasia EP (which I didn't enjoy)... This song kinda sounds like the other song, BMF (which is comin up next)... This just went from a GREAT album to a *%%+%# up mixtape in 2 tracks... Not that this is a bad song, but it $%$+@ up the cohesiveness of the album, something that he damn near mastered on DTR. There's a line about being uncircumcized, not sure if it was a play on words, but if so, this may be a case of "when keepin it real goes wrong"... Maybe that's why he made a point to say "My %*+$ clean" 30 times... (Not that I care, but wasn't Gucci Mane suppose to be on here??)
3.25/5
BMF
I thought I JUST heard this beat... Yea but this is one of the HOTTEST singles on the street right now, I'm not the biggest fan of this song. First you were MC Hammer (a gangster in his own right), now your Big Meech/Larry Hoover... He's more like Big Meat, just PLAYING the role of a gangster. The hook is infectious, this is the type of southern record that NY automatically embraces, and even if they didn't he threw Styles P on here... I always forget he's on this track. Pretty good song, but once again this is the 3rd track in a row that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the previous 6...
4/5
Aston Martin Music
This leaked a week or so ago, listened to it once or twice... This %+%* is smooth as hell, this would've fit perfectly on the album is it wasn't for the 3 previous songs which were about as RANDOM as anything you'd hear on an album. Not sure who's idea it was, but prolly one of the brainiacs running Def Jam further into the ground, but how do you get one of the HOTTEST rappers of the moment to be on a track... And not even include his verse?? I mean who does that??... Back to the track, production is smoother that a muh****a... Crissete Michele does her thing on the hook (Take that Eryka Badu)... My only gripe is Drake's EPIC verse not being included in ANY capacity... Not a smart move.
4.25/5
All The Money In The World
He raps about losing his father, and his upbringing... This joint is smooth as hell. The hook here is pretty ******ed... But in a clever way. Raphael Sadiiq shows up here, his vocals have sounded better, but its not that BAD... Maybe it would sound better if he was singin somethin LESS ******ed. But theres really nothing BAD to say about this song other than that, its deep, heartfelt, and its a great note to end the album on... Would've preferred if he hit us with 32 or 48 bars and just spilled his heart on this joint instead of letting a WASHED up raphael Sadiiq have a field day with that last 2 and half minutes of the song... But hey, NObodys perfect...
4.25/5
Verdict:
The first question I'll answer, 'was it a CLASSIC?'... Tho it did have potential to be one, it didn't quite have enuff of THAT calibur of material to be considered one... Don't get me wrong there is some GREAT music on here, but musically, and lyrically he didn't really take it to the NEXT level like I thought he would... He more or less played it safe, he tried to cater to the south with "I'm Not A Star", "MC Hammer" & "BMF"... I'm sure Diddy talked him into doin "No. 1" and for whatever reason he listened...
As I always say, the difference between making GOOD music consistantly is an artist's ability to tell a GOOD idea from a BAD one, somethin that Rick Ross has more or less done well throughout his career, but in this case he made some mistakes... The album flowed pretty well through the first 6 tracks (even tho I would've preferred "Mafia Music 2" being the intro over "I'm Not A Star")... Things just got bumpy with "No. 1" coming out of NOWHERE, andn if the song wasn't already bad enuff you let Diddy rap on there?? Then hearing 2 tracks that were on the EP didn't really do much for the overall product either.
The honesty of a "Tears Of Joy" is what is missing, its on here, but too far inbetween, on DTR is was just as much a Mafioso record, as it was a personal one, and he did a great job balancing that. Here he had more of an agenda, and it becomes obvious the further you get into the album. Its kind of overloaded with features, and that takes away from the album ever capturing a personal feel.
Curtis Jackson is somewhere MAD... Between dodging haymakers from Brazilians, he has to deal with his nemisis making yet ANOTHER solid album, while he barley stays afloat...
Had "Mafia Music 2" been the intro, done away with "I'm Not A Star"... Get rid of "No. 1", and if "MC Hammer" & "BMF" could've just been thrown @ the end of the album as hidden bonus tracks, and replaced tracks 7-9 with some %+%* in the vein of a "Rich Off Cocain" or somethin with the depth of a "Valley Of Death" or heartlessness of "In Cold Blood" this album could've truly been something SPECIAL...
Standout Tracks:
Free Mason
Tears Of Joy
Live Fast Die Young
Aston Martin Music
Overall:
4/5
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dam his tears of joy is off the hook... my comp not playing the whole thing tho
DYNAMICS
formerly diplomat tdot
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Changes I made...
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just listened to "Tears of Joy" and my my my its something fierce
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DTR was not cohesive at all. The joints with Ne-yo, Foxy, Trina and (arguably) f'd up the cohesiveness of the album to me. Hated that because it began stellar and ended greatly...espcially when I added "Cigar Music" as the final track.
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Yea about to replace that MC Hammer with the one w/o Gucci...
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People saying DTR wasn't "cohesive" can really go suck on something. The only song I didn't like on that album was the song with the Dream. It was an experiment on the boards gone wrong. Ya'll asking for "the same type of feel throughout" but when Jeezy gives that to ya'll on Trap or Die, ya'll complain its too similar. Yall really don't know what the hell ya'll want.
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Ross kinda dropped the ball IMO...the music is good as usual Ill give him that...album was a step back from where I thought he would take it tho
I remember when the talk was pretty much like dude got this "Mature Rap lane he leading and its dope"... I kinda wanted to see more of that
Im not a Star, BMF, MC Hammer although dope....shoulda been replaced with some tracks that shows why he shud be mentioned among the "best rappers" of today to ppl on the fence about him
all the rest of the tracks are on point but carried musically wit Ross playing the background...so to me he really didnt gain any ground...
I remember when the talk was pretty much like dude got this "Mature Rap lane he leading and its dope"... I kinda wanted to see more of that
Im not a Star, BMF, MC Hammer although dope....shoulda been replaced with some tracks that shows why he shud be mentioned among the "best rappers" of today to ppl on the fence about him
all the rest of the tracks are on point but carried musically wit Ross playing the background...so to me he really didnt gain any ground...
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QFT...
N prolly couldn't handle the pressure... That's what seperates a Ross from a NaS or Steadman, where they embrace that double edged sword of high expectations, I think it kind of OVERwhelmed Ross here...
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The Kid Nimley wrote:
QFT...
N prolly couldn't handle the pressure... That's what seperates a Ross from a NaS or Steadman, where they embrace that double edged sword of high expectations, I think it kind of OVERwhelmed Ross here...
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Im not a star is not 3.5/5 lol
and
" uncircumcized, "
Thats not what he said
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I can agree with this. More Cigar Music and Mafia Music.
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He said...
"My top back...
I'm circumcized..."
But that doesnt make the song ANY better, or the beats ANY less identical...