Mar 17, 2017

Will be posting all my reviews in this thread rather than littering the music SXN. Let me know if you'd like a mention for future reviews.

Latest: FUTURE HNDRXX - Future

The Stanfield Review Archives

[2014] Monster - Future
[2015] Barter 6 - Young Thug
[2002] The Eminem Show - Eminem
[2017] CULTURE - Migos
[2017] Rather You Than Me - Rick Ross
[2016] Everybody Looking - Gucci Mane
[2017] Top 5 Projects 2017 Q1
[2017] FUTURE/HNDRXX - Future

 

Mar 19, 2017

I know its still early days but I've been bumping this album non-stop since it leaked.

Spoiler: REVIEW: Rather You Than Me - Rick Ross

Rick Ross is a master fabricator. We all know the story of Officer Ricky the C.O. who contrived his own fictional tale of rags to riches as an infamous d--- dealing kingpin from the port of Miami. His exposure as a former correctional officer however, did little to detract from his success, if anything, it seemed to empower him. It seemed he could tell any story he wanted to and still get away with it. The more grandiose and absurd his decrees of insane wealth, lavish kingpin lifestyle and drugs, guns and money galore, the better. And to an extent, this has worked in his favor. Ross might be a fictional storyteller but he’s pretty d--- good at it. It also helps that he’s marketed his brand and image to perfection; it’s all about luxury, insurmountable wealth, magnificence to the fullest degree. I mean the man had Martha Stewart promoting his album for god’s sake.


Like 2015’s severely underrated Black Market, the 9th album in Ross’ ever-expanding, consistent and increasingly matured discography – Rather You Than Me is an exercise in the art of stunting. The entire album is padded in plush, rich production that borders on ostentatious. The opening track Apple of My Eye might be the best opener of 2017 so far with a beautiful array of wailing guitars and a perfectly thick, juicy bassline speckled with tinkering piano keys and the ever soulful Rapahel Saadiq crooning his heart out. The lushness is oozing through the speakers before Ross has even said a word. And when he does, he sounds more focused and self-aware than ever; the song is littered with surprisingly nimble multisyllabic wordplay and quotables galore.


“I’m happy Donald Trump became the president/because we gotta destroy before we elevate.”


His smooth baritone flow glides through the beat on wings of diamond encrusted gold. And if that wasn’t luscious enough, the sheer opulence of Santorini Greece makes you feel like you’re floating on the deck of a yacht into the sunset, bottle of champagne in hand, while a mythological goddess at your side plucks at the lyre. Again, Ross turns the focus inwards and injects an admirable sense of internal reflection into equation, amidst the usual braggadocios proclamations. He’s not just plainly stating the numbers anymore. So while there’s the obligatory references to Cuban kilos, bank accounts and money so long it’s out of reach he’s also delving into own vices on the brilliant Scientology, picks into racial prejudice and police injustice and even his (frankly, very concerning) medical history.


“Diabetes rampant in my blood line/that’s why fat boy be happy to see the sunshine.”


Despite all the brash overconfidence, Ross for once actually sounds a little vulnerable. The guy that wants “fried chicken at my funeral” is the same “only fat n----- jogging on the beach,” in Santorini. It’s almost as if he’s admitting to feeling a little out of place amongst all the glitz and glamour. At the end of the day, he’s still that same fat fried-chicken munching C.O. from Miami. What the h--- is he doing on a Greek isle in the Aegean Sea?



Scientology is a keen observation on the state of the rap game; Ross has never sounded so dexterous, so astute and at the same time, so cognizant of his position, not only in the game but where he stands with his own conscience as well. The focus becomes razor sharp on Idols Become Rivals, a cold-hearted letter to Birdman, decrying Stunna’s alleged stalling of The Carter V and his general mistreatment of those signed to Cash Money imprint, over an equally cold hearted instrumental. It’s a fascinating listen, Ross’ lyricism and story-telling abilities have improved tremendously, he delivers a host of venomous barbs with stony cold precision. It will be interesting to see if Birdman ever takes the time to respond.


As per usual, Rozay provides the listener with an assortment of classic boss-sized bangers from the big bad blaring trumpets and rattling drums of She on My d-ck, which features Gucci and Ross trading bars that sounds like Godzilla and King Kong smashing buildings to the boisterous, blustering posse cut Dead Presidents, featuring Future, Yo Gotti and former rival Jeezy raging all over a brutal concoction of Lex Lugar-esque violent clashing drums and heavy trunk-banging bass. (side note: Future is sounding particularly vicious on this one, in stark contrast to his last outing Hndrxx). Ross sounds just as comfortable over these early 2010’s-sounding explosive symphonies as he does over the lush opulence of Apple of My Eye or Santorini Greece and the effect balances out the project well.


The feature list may seem long but the guests are well utilized over the course of the track list; Young Thug contributes a solid albeit strange sounding verse to Trap Trap Trap, yet another song that falls into the ‘b-----r’ category on the album. MMG-alumni Wale and Meek Mill both bring their own sounds to the aforementioned Trap and Lamborghini Doors, respectively, though both pretty much sleep-walk through their contributions.



The long list of Nas/Ross collaborations yields more juicy fruits in the form Powers That Be but the consistently rich and velvety feel of the album tends to drag on just a tad too far and the second half of the album feels as though it loses a bit of steam, instrumental-wise.

Despite the few shortcomings, Rather You Than Me is an excellent addition to Rick Ross’ discography. After a phenomenal run spanning from 2006 debut until 2012’s Rich Forever mixtape, Ross’ career trajectory seemed to be on a downward trend; although his output wasn’t overtly bad it appeared his career was naturally petering out, as careers in hip hop often do. If Black Market hinted at a resurrection of sorts, RYTM alludes to things far greater for Floridian bawse. In contrast to contemporaries such as Jeezy, who seem to have run out of things to say (See Church in These Streets), Ross seems to be heading in the opposite direction, firmly cementing his legacy with each successive project he puts out. The flamboyance has been fleshed out with real, meaningful substance and its substantiated further by Ross’ expanding skills as wordsmith. Those one-two punch bars that sounded simple and hollow in some of the early parts of his career now land where they’re meant to, gelled together by thorough contemplation and vivid introspections. RYTM comes together as a triumphant victory lap as Ross slowly but surely turns his fictional world into a plush, luxurious reality that’s starting to look a lot like a story we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

Rating 8.5/10

 

Mar 19, 2017

good s---