Rick Ross - Trilla

Genre rap Publisher Def Jam External Links Rick Ross Website

In his sophomore effort, will Rick Ross emerge as a legitimate player in the rap game? Or will he suffer the fabled slump that plagues so many artists on their 2nd album? The answer is mired somewhere in the middle. Ever since his mainstream hit, "Hustlin,'" listeners outside of area code 305 have come to know the man known as "The Boss." On Trilla, Ross sticks to the same script as his first album. Money, drugs, cars, and women are all reoccurring themes on this 15 track disc. Fans will be happy to know that Trilla is straight Miami Dade County. Just about every one of the 15 tracks on this disc you could bump to in your car. Unfortunately, unless you are a die-hard Rick Ross fan, I highly doubt that you would subject yourself to such torture. Two things prevent Ross from making a truly great album, 1. sub-par production and 2. his unwillingness to expand the content of his rhymes. The aforementioned two factors seem to be a common trend with rap albums releasing these days. A catchy hook and commercial success seem to mean more to record companies and rappers than consistent production and some thoughtfulness.

If you want to hear 60 minutes of songs talking generically about drugs, cars, women, and being rich, then look no further because Rick Ross has these subjects down pat. On the production side, J.R. Rotem, Kanye West, Mannie Fresh, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League all handed down their spare, unused beats to aid Ross. Nothing comes off as emphatic or a certified banger. As a hotly anticipated album with a delayed release date, this is a very disappointing final result. Don't get me wrong, there are a few gems.

"Maybach Music" featuring Jay-Z is the strongest track on the album with "Luxury Tax" featuring Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, and Trick Daddy coming in a close second. But songs like "I'm Only Human," "Here I Am," and "Money Make Me Come" (I can't even make that song title up) are so bad on all accounts that it brings down the album as a whole. Content withstanding, the fact that 10 songs on the album feature another artist really shows that Ross is a long ways away from holding his own and being the star that we all hoped he would be. The bottom line is that this is a release that will be collecting dust in a of couple months. It's tolerable, but a lack of inspiration, depth, and content variation consistently plagues the album. It's said that an artists 2nd album is the one that defines their career. For Rick Ross' sake, I hope that's not the case otherwise he won't be around for much longer.