Rick Ross – Rich Forever

The thing with Rick Ross is that he is so big in the rap game right now that even if you’re not a fan you cannot ignore what he does. To be honest I don’t really dig any of his albums, I’ve never been able to get in. Let me try to explain.

I know people have discussed his ‘credibility’ but here’s the thing: if we were in a movie, this credibility thing wouldn’t really matters; we would only consider the performance. Al Pacino is not Scarface in real life but then a lot of rappers have Pacino’s face on their T-shirts. Couldn’t it be the same in Hip Hop? Couldn’t a rapper play the part just like an actor? And funnily enough I think Rick Ross is ‘physically’ good at playing his own part (I’d rather compare him to Orson Welles than Notorious BIG if ever we had to compare him to someone); and he does have a good presence and a voice.

My only problem is with the script of his ‘story’. He only seems to be giving one perpetual side of the picture, like a forever frozen fantasy; you never get a sense of a struggle, of any complexity. In a way I would like him doing a song about having been an officer and the road to get to where he is now. There is something too clean about him, about the image he wants to give of himself. Some rappers are superficial and I can be okay with it because it fits them but I don’t accept Rick Ross’ shallowness. It’s almost like he is hiding in it; among the diamonds, the cars, the yachts and the chicks. There’s something very self-centered about him.

So I was a little bit reluctant to get into this mixtape. Ironically the first song ‘Holy Ghost’ is quite interesting in terms of theatricality, the way he uses his voice. If only the rest had that dramatic aspect to it. Unfortunately I get tired hearing Rick Ross rap after a while. Not to say that all the songs are bad. ‘Mine Games’ sounds good for a more radio-orientated song. I also like ‘Keys to the Crib’ with Styles P and the nocturnal ‘Stay Schemin’. John Legend brings some colors to the mixtape on ‘Rich Forever’. But among the guests only Nas on ‘Triple Beam Dreams’ seems to help Ross raises his bars.

Maybe what Ross misses is some madness, some real lunacy. There’s something of a giant king inside of him trapped inside the cage. It’s almost like without his diamonds he’s afraid of losing his spot and he has to cling to them to keep the charm alive. What would Rick Ross be without diamonds cars and money? Maybe that would be interesting.