Rick Ross – God Forgives, I Don’t (2012) – Review

Review: Rick Ross is having a great 2012. His mixtape Rich Forever is solid. His Maybach Music posse album Self Made: Vol. 2 has some good stuff on it. And, his fifth solo album, God Forgives, I Don’t, is probably his best album to date. Like Teflon Don and Deeper Than Rap, this album is packed with guest appearances. Ross has his Maybach Music crewmates Wale, Stalley, Meek Mill, Omarion, as well as pop and hip hop’s biggest talents like Drake, Usher, Ne-Yo, Andre 3000, and Dr. Dre and Jay-Z on a good track entitled 3 Kings. Unlike Teflon Don however, Ross is not overshadowed by all the features. Here, Ross has some of his best rhymes and deliveries (building off the great work he did on Rich Forever). God Forgives, I Don’t also is excellently produced and really engaging musically. Ten Jesus Pieces has one of the best musical accompaniments of 2012. For Ross fans, this is an album very much worth picking up, and for commercial hip hop fans this also certainly worth checking out as it is one of the better releases this year. 3/5

Essential Tracks:

1)      Ten Jesus Pieces – Produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, featuring Stalley

2)      Pirates – Produced by Kenoe and Got Koke

3)      Diced Pineapples – Produced by Cardiak, featuring Wale and Drake

Available on CD and Digital Download

Meek Mill – Dreamchasers 2 Mixtape (2012) – Review

Review: The Philly MC Meek Mill, member of Rick Ross’s MMG, is one of MTV’s 2012 Ten Hottest MCs, along with other MMG members Ross and Wale. Though, personally, I am very surprised to see him there, especially with his latest mixtape Dreamchasers 2, the follow up to a fairly weak Dreamchasers Mixtape. Much of Dreamchasers 2 is mixtape quality street bangers. Musically, the album is not very interesting, as most of the beats are generic throwaways. Though, Jahlil Beats, Cardiak, KeY Wane, and Beat Billionaire provide some decent stuff – but again, mixtape quality. Normally, this would be fine, but many of today’s best new artists in hip hop put out mixtapes that are better than most other artists’ albums, and thus there is a high bar to strive for, and this tape is nowhere near as good. Not to mention, Meek Mill is often overshadowed by his many guests. Big Sean, Wale, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake all outshine him on the tape. It is not to say Meek Mill is bad, as that is not the case. Dreamchasers 2 is just disappointing because Meek Mill is supposedly one of the hottest MCs right now, and fans of his music know he can put out great tracks like Tupac Back. This mixtape is fine for fans of MMG and Meek Mill, but certainly not a must for fans of hip hop in general. 2/5

Editor’s Essential Tracks:

1)      Take U Home – Produced by Beat Billionaire, featuring Wale and Big Sean

2)      Flexing – Produced by Jahlil Beats

3)      Burn – Produced by Jahlil Beats, featuring Big Sean

Available on Digital Download

Maybach Music Group – Self Made, Vol. 1 (2011) – Review

Maybach Music Group – Self Made, Vol. 1

The group is made up of label head Rick Ross’s three newest high profile signings: Wale, Meek Mill and Pill. Each has had their successes and failures before Ross brought them in (for example Wale released his debut album in 2009 Attention Deficit, which was one of the best hip hop albums of the year, but did not sell very well). This album is essentially a glorified mixtape, a little more polished sonically, but lacking great production throughout (though there are a few fantastic beats on it). That being said, it does serve as a great introduction to these artists and their rhyming skills – each with their own unique sound (personally I am a big fan of Wale, but Meek Mill has caught my interest due to this album). During the first listen-through, the album just sounds like a series of street-bangers in the mold of Ross’s own Lux Luger produced hits B.M.F. and MC Hammer, and certainly Ross played a major role in shaping the sound of this album and lends his voice to most of the songs in some capacity (after all he is the biggest name in MMG). However having gone through the album many times now, it offers a few chill and laidback grooves as well (reminiscent of a number of the track off Ross’s own Deeper Than Rap) that give the album a nice break.  It does not feature too many well-known producers, but Just Blaze and Lux Leger (producing the un-Lex Luger sounding That Way) each laydown a track. It also features a good list of hip hop’s hot MCs like Curren$y, J. Cole and CyHi Da Prynce lending verses. Some complain that Ross is trying too hard to get his MCs to do songs that sound just like his, but this is an MMG album, not a Pill, Meek Mill or Wale solo album (we will have to wait for their solo releases scheduled for 2011/12 to see how much Ross has indeed influenced them sonically). However, lyrically all three MCs touch on the material they are known for. While the album lacks great songs (though an argument can be made for Tupac Back and 600 Benz), it is solid throughout with really no bad songs or moments. For fans of the MCs, it should hold them over until the solo releases drop. 3/5

Editor’s Song Picks:

1)      Tupac Back – Meek Mill featuring Rick Ross, produced by Mike Will of Eardrummers

2)      600 Benz – Wale featuring Rick Ross and Jadakiss, produced by Cardiak

3)      Rise – Pill & Wale featuring Teedra Moses, Cyhi Da Prynce & Curren$y, produced by Cardiak

Available on CD and Digital Download