On March 17, 41-year-old hustler turned rapper Rick Ross released his ninth studio album “Rather You than Me.”
Rather You Than Me is an album that is best listened to off the coast of a beach with a fancy drink in your hand. It just has a rich, luxurious vibe to it. From the opulent think piece “Scientology” to the silky “Santorini Greece,” the album sounds like an ode to the old Grecian days.
Ross and Lil Wayne teamed up for the fantastic lead single “Dead Presidents.” The album also had features from Future, Yo Gotti, and Young Jeezy. Another hard-hitting single was “She on My Dick,” which featured an excellent collab with Gucci Mane. This song has a terrific bass, an easy to follow bridge, and it was made for the radio waves.
The most newsworthy song on the album is “Idols Become Rivals,” which is introduced by Chris Rock proclaiming that Wingstop has the best wings on the planet earth. Then Ross takes friend turned enemy Birdman to task over Cash Money’s notoriously suspect business practices. Some of those allegations include his refusal to pay producers like DJ Khaled and his treatment of rapper Lil Wayne. In this song, Ross basically casts himself as the bodyguard of not only his city but rap as well.
Tucked toward the end of Rather You Than Me is the fifth installment of Ross’s “Maybach Music” series; this one features the Detroit rapper Dej Loaf—an extraordinary talent who matches the vibe of the album with perfection. On Maybach Music V, Ross says, “Maybe this my magnum opus.” To me this just signals the start of a new era of music for Rick Ross. Modern, tasteful, but it still hits when it needs to hit.
