Rick Ross: ? Forgives, I don't Review [Jono]

“Rick Ross” the star-maker, hottest MC in the game
(arguably) brings his newest offering ? Forgives, I
Don’t.
The traditional MMG sound is in full effect, complete
with street records and radio friendly girly songs.
Bringing some big name features to the table is
another staple in the “Ross” formula, however it
only works for him twice on this album. 3 Kings
feature Dr. Dre & Jay-Z falls flat due to an uninspired
Hov verse. It has plenty of redeeming qualities but
one can’t help but say its a let down.
Sixteen featuring Andre 3000 is an absolute gem.
Everything comes together on that record and A3K
brings more of his abstract lyrical musings and adds
some singing on the hook. Andre ultimately
becomes the album’s MVP to the chagrin of the
album’s star.
When it comes to content “Ross” doesn’t vary at all,
its the same topics from beginning to end and after
awhile (bout 10 songs in) I kinda clocked out and it
became background music. The street records were
welcome wake up songs but after that it goes into
the girly records and its sleepytime again.
It failed to engage me all the way through. “Hold Me
Back”, “So Sophisticated” & “911″ was a nice change
of pace in the middle but then it goes right back into
his more formulaic sound. The street records were
blocked here and maybe they shouldn’t have.
It doesn’t have high replay value to me but its not a
bad album, I see how ? fans would love it,
because its on par with the rest of his material but
maybe that is a problem because us casual fans are
pretty much “meh” on it altogether. It has what you
would expect from “Ross” but adds nothing new to
his oft-storied career.
Standouts:
**Sixteen:
A3K was a blessing to this album. He managed to
bring something new, it was a more engaging verse
than “Ross” himself spit. I also like the premise of
the song and the hook was interesting.
**Maybach Music IV:
Smooth as usual and “Ross” is in his zone on this
one as he usually does on his “Maybach Music”
song series. Ne-Yo plays co-pilot but its almost a
complete retread of the other ones however.
**3 Kings:
Only really a standout because of Dre & Hov but
neither really bring the heat. Dre just isn’t that good
a rapper and Jay-Z seemed aloof in his verse. Its a
track you get “up” for (as in you look forward to it)
but the execution lacks a bit.
**Street Records:
So Sophisticated, 911 & Hold Me Back are all
thumpers that will, as Mannie Fresh once bragged
“Knock pictures off the wall”…if your sound system
is strong enough. They are high energy, ? talking,
bangers in the same vein as BMF from his earlier
album Teflon Don.
Weaknesses:
Like I said it fails to engage all the way through, its
zone out music but I’m not exactly sure you want
the audience to zone out as much as a casual fan
would for this album.
“Ross” lyricism is the same ol same. Not much
variation on his voice or flows with the exception of
the street singles. On those tracks he’s not as laid
back but more aggressive and forceful perhaps
more of that was necessary on other records.
Content is also the same old same. Luxury rap is
fine because its what he does best but it got boring
after awhile. It seems like some of his verses could
be interchanged in other songs and not lose the
integrity of either song.
Final weakness is structure. The blocking of songs
like the “girly”/trickin songs near the end was a bit of
a turn off. This may be a personal slight because I
can’t stand trickin/girly records with RNB singers
and stuff like that but it takes away from the album
to me.
He also blocked the street records in the middle
which gives you able 15 minutes of energetic rap
but then it goes back to being smooth and non-
threatening. By spreading all these out he could
have made an album that breaks up monotony in
certain places.
All in all I gave it a 71% (regular; 75% deluxe) so its
an enjoyable album from a casual standpoint but
replay value isn’t there and playing it all the way
through more than twice is not likely. Some tracks
you will find yourself playing all the time, others are
just white noise. A casual fan should find plenty to
enjoy and a ? fan should be happy with the
overall project.
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