In no other music genre, credibility
matters in rap music just as much if not more than the ability to make good
music. Much of this attitude comes hip-hop culture's obsession with
authenticity or "being real." It could also stem from the
media's obsession of exposing public figures of their true characters ever
since the Watergate scandal in the 1970s. Reporters realized that finding dirt
on famous people is big business, and the media has never been the same since.
As quick as they are to put stars on a pedestal, the media is quick to
take them down. Naturally, hip hop culture reflects this mentality, for many
hip hop enthusiasts criticized anyone who did not live the life that they talk
about in their music. Neither hardcore gangsta rappers nor politically
driven emcees are safe. If you start gaining notoriety, then expect the
dirt to come out. Expect any action, quote, or opinion to be overly
scrutinized. The microscope is on you, so you better have yourself prepared for
the storm.
Hip-hop is strange, though. Despite
this attitude, some rappers escape the mega criticism others face. The media will attack them. Other emcees will spend verse upon
verse disparaging their reputation, usually to gain more notoriety
themselves. However, these rappers
march on to super stardom. The best example is Ice Cube. As a
founding member of NWA and as a solo artist, he was one of the icons of gangsta
rap in the early 1990s. Funny thing is he had no criminal record before
he started rapping. In fact, he completed a year of college in Arizona
before joining NWA. His family was middle class, and he lived a life far
from the dope stories that he told. It did not matter that much because the
music was dope and also had some substance. He also had some respect for the culture, which is something
Vanilla Ice lacked, leading to his tragic yet hilarious downfall. Ice Cube's music began to reflect his
real life going into the 2000s, but surprisingly, fans clamored for him to
return to his gangsta form. He
eventually did with 2006's Laugh Now, Cry
Later, and it received positive reviews and some commercial success. As much as a rapper deals with the
critics about his or her background, the bottom line is that if the music is
banging, then the public does not care about their lives outside of it.
William Leonard Robert II aka Rick Ross aka Rozay seems to be next survivor of the credibility crisis. I remember hearing about Rick Ross as far back as 2002, but he really arrived in 2006 with the hit song “Hustlin’” off of his debut album Port of Miami. I was not a big fan of the song when it came out. In fact, I would often make fun of his line “whip it really hard, whip it, whip it real hard” when speaking about it. I also was not happy that he named himself after Freeway Ricky Ross, the notorious drug dealer from California whose drug trafficking in the 1980s had a lasting, malicious impact on the inner city. Furthermore, after starting a feud with fellow rapper 50 Cent, it came out that Rick Ross worked as a correctional officer in his life before rap, which somewhat conflicts with his drug dealer, mafia boss persona. Perhaps if he had owned up to it initially, it would not have been a big deal, but he denied it until 50 Cent released pictures of Rick Ross in his correctional officer uniform over the internet. With such a hit, especially from such a polarizing figure as 50 Cent, many wondered if Rick Ross would fade away as another fraud of the rap industry.
However, Rick Ross continued to gather a
following and eventually established his own imprint Maybach Music Group, which
has other popular acts such as Meek Mill (meh…) and Wale (good, but
inconsistent, but getting better).
Even I could not deny his impact after hearing him on Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. His performance on that album as well
as other songs finally raised my eyebrow, so I decided to give his fifth album God Forgives, I Don’t a listen. It seems that he is doing something
right with his music, and it is time for me to suck it up and jump on the
bandwagon.
I should make it clear that this is my
first foray into Rick Ross’s catalogue, so I cannot fairly weigh this album
against his previous work.
Nevertheless, this album feels like an artist finally delivering an
album that longtime fans knew that he could, raising the bar for Rick Ross as
well as his contemporaries. The
one aspect that stands out about this album is the production. Beat selection is an underappreciated
skill in rap music, even the most legendary emcees struggle with it (Nas. Mos
Def, Common, I’m looking in your direction). Rick Ross pulled together some of the best production of the
year with this album from Pharell Williams, Cool and Dre, Cardiak, Reefa, Rico
Love, and others. Tracks such as
the Cardiak-produced “Amsterdam” and the Jake One-produced “3 Kings” would be
good songs with anyone rapping over it.
On top of that, the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League-produced “Maybach Music IV” is
a stellar song WITHOUT ANYONE rapping over it. Of all the producers, though, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
definitely deserves the gold star, as they produced 3 stellar tracks on the
album as well as the bonus track “Triple Beam Dreams” featuring Nas.
Of all the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League tracks,
the track that really raised my eyebrow was “Sixteen” featuring Andre
3000. The smooth-out, saxophone
supported backdrop expresses why the League is one of the best producers in the
game right now. It is a shame that
this not was a single because the beat alone demands replay and a plethora of
freestyles to be done by other artists over it. This 8-minute mammoth of lyrical exercise also features Rick
Ross’ best verse of the album, talking about the struggle of limiting your
artistic expression to only sixteen bars:
It's funny how things change, funny how time fly
More than my feet travel, the more that I feel fly
More that I make now, the more that the chicks smile
She called me a local nigga, I opened a Swiss account
Eisenhower status, Etta James on the dash
Smooth as John Coltrane cruisin in the Cadillac
Uhh~! Seville - feel my life on the real
We the Last Poets so this is a world premiere
Rollin like Mick Jagger, the women just gettin badder
All I see is the money, +Cream+, Eric Clapton
And all I wanted was one, sixteen ain't enough
Talkin that fast money, fifteen every month
When your people labeled poor, that motivated me more
Everything I ever wore was once worn before
Roll with the punches now it's box office numbers
Dressed like Sammy Davis, steamin my marijuana
Double MG's, double M fees
We in every hood, nigga government cheese
Yacht to Yachtmasters, Ol' Dirty Bastard
Floor seat for the Heat, paper that I'm stackin
Better put away a penny for the rainy days
Pick and roll, give and go, fuck a fadeaway
Living like Scottie Pippen, dribble riddles for vittles
Started off with a scribble, now I'm flowin a river
Ross came with for this one, but he had to
when he is sharing auditory space with 3 Stacks. I find it interesting that this was the only song on the
album without his “M-M-M-M-M-Maybach Music” tag, which I think he did out of
respect for Dre. Problem is, when
you have Andre on your song, just expect to be outshined:
It feel good when the hood pseudo-celebrate
Hence, why every time we dine we eat until our belly ache
Then go grab the finest wine and drink it like we know which
grape
and which region it came from, as if we can name 'em
Hint hint, it ain't, um, Welch's
Hell just fell three thousand more degrees cooler
Ya'll can't measure my worth
but when you try, you'll need a ruler made by all the Greek gods
Because the odds have always been stacked against me
When back's against the, wall
I feel right at home, y'all sitting right at home
All Kelly green with envy while I'm jelly beans descending
into the palm of a child, looks up at moma and smile
with such a devilish grin, like "Where the hell have you been?"
She yelling that selling's a sin, well so is telling young men
that selling is a sin, if you don't offer new ways to win
A dolphin gon' shake his fin, regardless if he gets in
or out of water, most important thing for him is to swim
And Flipper didn't hold his nose, so why shall I hold my tongue?
I miss the days of old when one could hold his gal on his arm
And I set off these alarms, when camera's snap snap snap snap
Return fire, pa-pa-pa, pa, pa-pa, pap-pap-pap
They'll learn why, mere privacy, so essential
They won't make no laws, I break their laws til they see out our
window
I take the fall to make them all treat humankind mo' gentle
Forsake them all, I hate them all, don't like' em, don't pretend
to
Sometimes it seems unfair for Dre to rhyme
with some folk. I got to give them
props for trying. Nevertheless,
the album as a whole has instilled in me more confidence in Rick Ross to make a
quality product.
The only complaint I have is including the
track “Hold Me Back” right before ”911” when both tracks sound pretty much the
same. First, it retreats back to
Rick Ross’ hardcore gritty style that is okay at times, but putting the songs
together after the near-superb offering that preceding takes the whole album
down. Surprisingly, it is not
until “Touch’n You” featuring Usher where the album seems to get back on track,
and the fact that I can ignore my utter hatred for Usher to hear this track
just shows how great of an achievement this album is. Rick Ross has established his place in rap has proved a lot
of haters wrong. He cannot escape
his past no matter what he does, but talent has nothing to do with the life
that you live. Either you have or
you don’t, and Rick Ross is showing that he does. I am curious about his future offerings, but God Forgives, I Don’t will do for now.
