He’s cashed out and he’s back. With the release of his ninth studio album “Rather You Than Me,” Rick Ross continues his flamboyant hustle of the industry rap game.
With rhymes finer than wine about his overtly luxurious habits, a slew of well-curated features and his trademark arrogant grunts — the ones that seem to speak to his identity as a veritable hip-hop godfather — this album has all one could ever want from Rozay. The beats induce serious head-bobbing, and there are certainly enough quotable lines to sate the listener’s lyrical needs.
Ross’ versatility is underrated. Though many would say he predominately showcases harder-hitting beats, he sounds incredibly smooth on the many production styles featured on “Rather You Than Me.” “Santorini Greece” exemplifies this, with his deep voice rhyming about “hot pastrami for my Jewish chicks” over a whiny, divine beat.
To become a good musician, it takes talent and hard work. To make exciting bangers packed with features, however, it takes money and connections. Ross finagled Future, Jeezy and Yo Gotti on the rolling “Dead Presidents.” Additionally, Ross juxtaposed his southern charm with the East Atlanta Santa, Gucci Mane, on the eloquent “She on My D—k.” Chris Rock praises Ross in the intro for “Idols Become Rivals,” a rolling testimony showcasing Ross’s thoughtful writing ability.
Highlighting the album, Ty Dolla $ign glides in with a smooth chorus on “I Think She Like Me.” This track may be the album’s best — Ross spits about “baby makin’ in the Maldives” over a beat that includes xylophone and trumpet samples.
The back half of this album isn’t as consistent as the first, but it’s still not without points of interest. “Powers That Be” is an inherently sleek cut, but is brought to another level in the same way that many of the tracks are — the help of features.
Nas makes “Powers That Be” a solid track with his expert flow complementing Ross’ own. Ross himself said in an interview with Complex that this album was “most definitely Rick Ross on his A-game” — he might as well star-stud the effort to beef up his approach. Ross is a lot like DJ Khaled in this manner. He realizes that he can find the best production and guests, and slaps his name on it to let you know that he’s a master of curation.
“Rather You Than Me” is rife with great moments and an overarching sense of baller mentality — this is prime Rozay.
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