Rick Ross – “Set in Stone” review

Miami, Florida rapper, entrepreneur & record executive Rick Ross going solo for the first time in 5 years with his 12th studio LP. Making his debut on wax in 2000 on Erick Sermon’s 3rd album Erick Onasis, he would go on to drop Port of Miami & Trilla under Def Jam Recordings until forming his own label Maybach Music Group. Deeper Than Rap, Teflon Don, God Forgives, I Don’t & Mastermind are all rightfully regarded as his best bodies of work. Rather You Than Me as well as Port of Miami 2 & Rather You Than Me through Epic Records each had their moments, but Rozay’s independent debut Set in Stone seemed appealing considering the fact gamma.’s been distributing Maybach since 2023.

“Caviar Bumps” featuring Don Toliver on the remix produced by Fuse of the 808 Mafia talking about being the Miami version of Martin Scorsese whereas “Mahogany Caskets” featuring T.I. finds both of 50 Cent’s rivals trading verses with each other over a sample-based instrumental from Neff-U. The worst single by far was “Minks in Miami” featuring French Montana talking about elevating when it kills the vibes until “Face Down” featuring Rich the Kid gets sexual behind a captivating Metro Boomin’ & Mike Dean beat.

YFN Lucci’s appearance on “Ring Around the Rolls” was unnecessary despite the reference to the inaugural IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion, record-tying 3-time WWE Hall of Famer, Real American Beer founder, Real American Freestyle Wrestling (RAF) co-founder & known racist Hulk Hogan who passed away around this time last summer until “Camel Meat” recalls an event detailed in The Renaissance of a Boss over a STREETRUNNER instrumental.

“Maybach Music VII” featuring Jeezy marks the return of Rozay’s beloved series dedicated to anyone who owns a Maybach while “Living Large” featuring BigXthaPlug comes through with an uninspired anthem about their pockets getting bigger. “Purple Fentanyl” ends the 1st leg of Set in Stone hopping over an uncanny trap beat to discuss racing for millions while “#23” likens himself to the greatest basketball player of all-time: Michael Jordan.

Continuing the 2nd half, “Porsche GT3 (RS)” talks about sending a prayer to God every single morning he wakes up even if the beat doesn’t do much for me while the pop rap-flavored “City Lights” wasn’t any better because of them trying WAY too hard of chasing a radio hit. “Chain of Command” featuring Big Tony & Nino Breeze further commences the mediocrity trading underwhelming gangsta rap verses while “Remarkable Hu$$le” featuring Leon Thomas III remembers the late Nipsey Hu$$le over a Cardiak instrumental.

“Big Fish” featuring Gucci Mane links up for a disappointing ode to their wealth & after “Diamonds Never Die” featuring Ball Greezy & Kodak Black does a worse job at talking about hedonism, “She’s My Star” featuring Yung Miami makes up for it getting romantic over a J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League beat. “Do It 1 Time” featuring Young Breed reunites both Triple C’s members for an ode to the 305 & once “The Algorithm” spends the concluding minutes wanting to go to Mars with his lover to escape, “For the Money” courtesy of Pharrell divisively experiments with reggaetón & Afropiano talking about the paper.

To celebrate 2 decades of his debut, Rick Ross returns almost 5 years after leaving a major label making an statement of independence that I found myself to be largely indifferent towards & the amount of delays Set in Stone suffered didn’t exactly help. You get the usual luxurious subject matter the MMG founder has become known for despite the production side of things falling apart midway through & overloading it with guest appearances that either stick the landing or miss it entirely, which is why I can only see myself revisiting the portion I enjoyed & hope the next full-length has more consistency.

Score: 2.5/5

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Rick Ross – “Richer Than I Ever Been” review

This is the 11th full-length album from Miami, Florida rapper, entrepreneur, record executive & Maybach Music Group Rick Ross. Making his debut on wax in 2000 on Erick Sermon’s 3rd album Erick Onasis he would eventually make his full-length debut 6 years later with Port of Miami & was followed up by Trilla. Both of which were just ok, but it wouldn’t be until 2009 that Rozay would really solidify himself as a legend in the game as Deeper Than Rap, Teflon Don, God Forgives, I Don’t & Mastermind are all rightfully regarded as his best bodies of work. Rather You Than Me & Port of Miami 2 were both impressive as well, so to see him come back in the form of Richer Than I Ever Been had me excited given the mediocrity of both Expensive Pain & Folarin II earlier this fall.

The-Dream tags along for the opener “Little Havana” advising listeners that you gotta learn to use your mind to help keep you out of certain situations on top of a Boi-1da instrumental whereas the Timbaland-produced “The Pulitzer”, which has a more ominous sound & boastful lyrics. Benny the Butcher comes into the fold for the lavish “Rapper Estates” talking about living big time, but then “Marathon” weaves in a glistening STREETRUNNER beat reminding that he’s more than rich.

Future accompanies Rozay on “Warm Words in a Cold World” alongside Wale coming fresh off performing during former WWE Champion, NXT Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 8-time WWE tag team champion Big E’s entrance at WrestleMania XXXVII this past spring although his 2nd reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion came to an end by former WWE United States Champion Apollo Crews for an infectiously fun ballad about icing out their shawties leading into the DreamDoll-assisted “Wiggle” which is basically a failed attempt at strip club banger despite the Don Cannon instrumental.

“Can’t Be Broke” has an admirable concept on top of Johnny Shipes’ production being another notable factor, but Yungeen Ace & Major 9’s performances are both wack as fuck. “Made It Out Alive” has one of the weaker beats on the album even though Rozay kills it lyrically detailing him surviving the hood prior to Gordo, araabMUZIK & Infamous bringing in the horns for “Outlawz” with 21 Savage declaring themselves as such forever.

The song “Imperial High” has a grim DJ Toomp instrumental comparing himself to royalty while the Black Metaphor-produced title track has a more piano heavy sound talking about being at his wealthiest. To finish the album off, “Hella Smoke” with Wiz Khalifa for the glossy weed smoking theme.

Ross has always stayed consistent with his music, but I feel like Richer Than I Ever Been is one of his best albums thus far. The production is top notch as to be expected & lyrically, it’s nice to hear him take listeners through where he’s at currently.

Score: 3.5/5

Rick Ross – “Port of Miami 2” review

Rick Ross is a renown 43 year old rapper, entrepreneur & record executive from Carol City, Florida that made his debut on wax in 2000 on Erick Sermon’s 3rd album Erick Onasis. He would eventually make his full-length debut in 2006 with Port of Miami, which was followed up in 2 years later with Trilla. Both of which were just ok, but it wouldn’t be until 2009 that Rozay would really solidify himself as a legend in the game. As Deeper Than Rap, Teflon Don, God Forgives, I Don’t & Mastermind are all rightfully regarded as his best bodies of work. The last time we heard from Ross in a full-length capacity was in 2017 with Rather You Than Me & to commemorate the 13 year anniversary of his debut this month, he’s back with a sequel to the album that started it all.

“Act a Fool” featuring Wale begins bragging over a vibrant trap beat referencing 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & $7 Productions co-founder The Rock. The next song “Turnpike Ike” gets luxurious over a beautiful piano instrumental from Jake One while the track “Nobody’s Favorite” with Gunplay sees the 2 talking about their success over a nocturnal trap beat. The song “Summer Reign” gets romantic over a moody beat while the track “White Lines” gets mafioso over an atmospheric beat.

The song “Big Tyme” talks about doing it huge over a lavish Just Blaze instrumental while the track “Bogus Charms” with Meek Mill sees the 2 talking about living on over a beautiful piano instrumental from StreetRunner. The song “Rich N***a Lifestyle” with the late Nipsey Hu$$le needs no further explanation over a blaxploitation-esque instrumental from Cardiak while the track “Born to Kill” with Jeezy sees the 2 talking about death over a dreamy trap beat.

“Fascinated” is a tribute to his friends that’re either dead or in jail over a smooth instrumental & while the track “I Still Pray” with YFN Lucci & Ball Greezy does have one of the most fanciest instrumentals on the entire project provided by DJ Toomp, the lyrics are a vapid diss towards their haters. The song “Running the Streets” with A Boogie wit da Hoodie & Denzel Curry sees the 3 talking about their place in the Florida hip hop scene over a church-esque instrumental while the track “Vegas Residency” is a party anthem with a harmonious instrumental from none other than the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League.

The song “Maybach Music VI” was probably the most anticipated on the entire album, because it was said to feature both Lil Wayne & Pusha T. However despite Pusha not appearing on the song at all, it still sounds grand both lyrically & sonically. The album then finishes up with “Gold Roses”, which is basically an equally boring sequel to that “Money in the Grave” single that Drake dropped not too long ago.

This could very well be better than the original Port of Miami, in my personal opinion. Not only does Rozay continue to show how amazing his ear for production truly is, but his mob bars are of course a lot sharper than they were on his debut & most of the features on here add to ’em pretty solidly. You can also tell that he really took his time with this one in comparison to rushing out some of his latest projects like Hood Billionaire & Black Market.

Score: 3.5/5