It should come as no surprise to you all that I've never been a fan. I don't hate the dude or anything, but his music has never been all that interesting and he's kind of terrible as a rapper. I'm not going to sit here and lie, (which already gives me more credibility than our host) up until a few weeks ago, I'd never listened to a full Rick Ross project. But I knew I'd be writing this sentence sooner or later so I went ahead and listened to Teflon Don, Rich Forever, (his two projects that most people consider to be his zenith) and Trilla (his unanimously worst effort) to see where Mastermind would rank among his catalog. I will say that the public got it right on this one. I was pleasantly surprised with Teflon Don, while Trilla really did gargle as much rhinoceros cum as I thought it would.
But things aren't all great in MMG world right now. Just think about how hot they were in 2012 and where they are now. Still a relatively big part of the game, but they've cooled off significantly, while TDE has effectively taken over their spot. The blame can be shared by the entire crew. Stalley has yet to make anything out of himself, no one bought The Gifted, Self Made Vol. 3 disappointed, and most importantly, Dream Chasers 3 was fucking horrible. (C'mon guys, were we really expecting something with that cover?) So as I'm sure Rick knows, Mastermind is the biggest moment of his career, along with his label-mates. I fully expect Officer Ricky to come out guns a blazing, doing his best to make the statement that the Maybach Music Group is still running hip hip.
I'm actually fairly excited to see how this sounds...
1. Intro
With as much hype as I made up for Mastermind in that last paragraph, I was hoping to be blown away, but that not the case. Just another intro here.
2. Rich Is Gangsta
Well our host starts off by saying "fuck them cops" and unless I'm in for an hour for emo self hatred, he lied right off the bat, which is kind of funny to be honest. On a serious note, it sounds like he's going for a much different tone with the instrumental. (Unless he was going for this on God Forgives, I Don't, which I didn't even bother listening to) The beat still sounds huge, but rather than going for the Lex Luger feel, he throws in a shit load of horns that make this track feel way more celebratory than I was expecting. Not necessarily a bad thing, but if he was trying to sound intimidating, he should have gone for something else. Anyways, the only lyrics that really caught me were those couple of shots he threw at 50 Cent. If they're still having problems, then this might me one of the stupidest beefs I've ever seen. Either get this shit settled, for have them fight at halftime of an NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen Matchup. But anyways, this was a decent enough way to start the show.
3. Drug Dealers Dream
The fact that we've yet to see a feature is somewhat surprising, and I usually encourage back-to-back solo efforts, but I'm already tired of hearing solely Rick Ross on the microphone. I'm pretty sure he just restated the same message he sent in the last song, but here, he's rhyming over a much heavier instrumental provided by J. Manifest. The thing that caught me most about this shit was that weird ass little story he told about Skyping his imprisoned friend and counting money, which apparently gets his buddy hyped. I mean if he really wanted to visit him, I don't see why he couldn't have just stopped by on his lunch break. (I know, I know, I'm taking these cop jokes too far, but I couldn't pass that one up) Just like "Rich Is Gangsta", this was alright, but I'm waiting for that other shit.
4. Shots Fired
Is it just me, or is it kind of funny listening to this lady scream in terror? Just me? Well I guess I'm a terrible person.
5. Nobody (Feat. French Montana & Diddy)
Wow, that's an intimidating guest list for someone trying to give Rick Ross a chance. Thankfully, the guests aren't given a chance to ruin anything. I can't remember Puffy doing anything except giving a little monologue at the beginning and French Montana actually delivers a surprisingly strong hook. Since everyone knows Ricky isn't going to impress in the lyrics department, he seems to be heavily relying on the nineties nostalgia that could possibly bring in new listeners. On "Nobody", he remakes Biggie's unsettling final track, "You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)." Here's, he's given a chance to break character and address his near death experience, but he decides against it, instead opting to mimic the same Biggie flow that he's never been able to pull off. Weak.
6. The Devil Is A Lie (Feat. Jay Z)
Excuse my lack of a better analysis, but this shit was just all kinds of fire. And I say that knowing that Rick's verses are well below par, which speaks volumes about the rest of the song. Major Seven and K.E. on the Track's instrumental is the largest and most epic sounding beat thus far, which is an advantage for our host, as he typically sounds better over grander instrumentation. But the real winner here is obviously Jay Z, who spits a better verse than anything on Magna Carta...Holy Grail. You know Ross was a little pissed after hearing this, though. There's no way he was expecting Hov to sound this damn good, and as a result, Ricky looks completely amateur. This shit was nice, though.
7. Mafia Music III (Feat. Sizzla & Movado)
Because things worked out so goddamn well on the first two, Richard brings back the "Mafia Music" series to mixed results. For the good, Bink!'s instrumental is pretty damn good and surprisingly catchy for its serious tone. Even better, Ross actually sounds alright on here. He's far from great, but he at least sounds like someone working on their sixth professional recording. For the bad, the two guests are fucking horrible. I know what they were going for, but God damn they just sound good, and as a result, they ruin what was a once promising song. Good fucking job guys.
8. War Ready (Feat. Jeezy)
Although he would never admit it, Ross' entire rapping style has been a career long homage to Jeezy. Add the fact that they've had a pretty intense beef over the past couple years and you've got one of the most high profile collaborations of the year. So does it live up to the hype? No. For starts, Mike Will Made It's beat sounds so out of place that its down right comical. Ross will never be able to do this kind of trap and this should be good enough evidence. Next, Ross honestly hasn't been awful on this album, but his flow on here sounds like complete dog shit. Also, the hook might be the worst thing I've heard in all my time writing on music. And last but not least, Jeezy blows Ross right out of the motherfucking water. I swear I haven't heard him rap like this since his first album and his feature might have been even better than Jay's. So in closure, big win for Jeezy, kinda big loss for everyone else.
9. What A Shame (Feat. French Montana)
Officer Ricky pulls the same little trick he did on "Nobody." In an attempt to, I guess, appeal to an older fanbase, he references both Wu-Tang Clan's "Shame On A Nigga" and Camp Lo's "Luchini (AKA This Is It)", but brings little to the table other than French Montana's stupid "Hanh" ad-lib. I think the most interesting part of this entire album has been how French Montana hasn't ruined everything he's touched. Granted he offers almost nothing positive either, but there's no way you can blame him for a lack of quality. Rick sounds alright on here, but I literally just looked at the title and can't remember a word he said. What does that tell you?
10. Supreme
You know, aside from "The Devil Is A Die" and "Mafia Music III", I'm failing to hear these allegedly awesome beats that Rick Ross is supposed to be so good at selecting for himself. Obviously, the man had some nice instrumentals on Telfon Don, but nothing on here resembles something a "Mastermind" would be rhyming over. I really didn't care for this one. Not because its terrible, but because Mastermind dropped this Tuesday and I feel like I've heard this same song over a hundred times throughout the mans career. Never a good thing. Maybe it sounds alright by itself, but in the context of this album, its pretty damn useless.
11. BLK & WHT
Well if I've done my math correctly, this is exactly the third time Rick Ross has made a joke about the George Zimmerman trial ("Trayvon Martin, I'm never missing my target"), and he's caught some serious heat over this one. Personally, I'm not offended or anything, but the mans explanation is just too ridiculous for words. You seriously have to see it to understand what I'm talking about. As for the song itself, I could have literally copied and pasted the last paragraph and it would have been accurate. On the hook he drably quips, "a nigga black, but he selling white", which had been done to the point of exhaustion twenty five years ago. The only other thing I got from this is that it sounds like his Port Of Miami days. Today, that's neither a good or bad thing, just a thing that happens.
12. Dope Bitch (Skit)
Jesus Christ, Rick, this skit was annoying after the first thirty seconds, but I about threw my IPod after I saw that I still had two and a half minutes left. Way too long to ever be considered tolerable.
13. In Vein (Feat. The Weeknd)
As far as I'm concerned, there is never a case where The Weeknd should be featured on a hip hop song. That's not a shot at him, not even close, he's extremely talented and makes some pretty damn good music. The thing is, every time he's featured, it always feels like its a Weeknd song featuring the main artist. This is no exception. The Weeknd produced the song too, which seems to be the reason he sounds so at home here. Anyways, Rick Ross accordingly cedes the reins to our guest's somber singing, showing face more than halfway in and skating after a quick verse like a guest on his own record. I can't say this is a bad record, but it really sounds out of place on Mastermind and should have been left on the cutting board.
14. Sanctified (Feat. Big Sean & Kanye West)
Mastermind may be in the middle of a rough patch, but "Sanctified" is the gem of the album so fair. It has the exact same problem as the last song, but this track is so good that its hard to really care. Instead of The Weeknd, this is a full on Kanye West track. Ye follows the laid out pattern, out rhyming Ross by a damn mile and gives me hope that he might actually be rapping well on his next album. I will say this, though, Kanye: No one is asking for another fucking Yeezus. His beat sounds like it could right out of the Late Registration era, and oddly enough, it was co-produced by the lord of the ratchets, DJ Mustard. For the others, Rick said something about a grilled cheese, and Big Sean thankfully wasn't around long enough to cause too much harm, although I almost cut the shit off after his "God." This is actually an outstanding entree to the careers of both Rick Ross and Kanye West.
15. Walkin' On Air (Feat. Meek Mill)
I'm biased against Meek Mill because everything he does is flaming hot garbage, which translates to this track being one of the most useless and forgettable things I've heard in quite some time. I don't have too much to say about it, but if I ever return to Mastermind, this one will be getting a skip every single time.
16. Thug Cry (Feat. Lil Wayne)
In a move that's actually incredible, Mastermind's closer is able to capture everything notable about the album into one compact song. I've mentioned several times Ross' attempts to tap into nineties nostalgia and on "Thug Cry", J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League samples one of the ninetiesest songs in nineties history: "93 Til' Infinity", the Souls of Mischief masterpiece that still ranks among the greatest songs ever recorded. It sounds great on here, but that's not all. After an entire album of Rick Ross getting out performed by nearly every guest, it only makes sense that Wayne basically spits one of his best verses since Tha Carter III. I'm not even joking when I say that I'm genuinely happy that Wayne sounds sober here. If he's somehow able to resurrect his career, it'd be one of the most remarkable comebacks in music history. The mellow dramatic hook drowns out the other performers, but on a song called "Thug Cry" staring Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, this is just about as good as its going to get.
Sorry guys, no in depth breakdown of the bonus tracks, although Scarface sounds fucking awesome.
Rating: 2.5/5
Mastermind is not the album that's going to save the careers of Rick Ross and the formerly untouchable Maybach Music Empire. The album certainly has its moments and its very accessible, but it has ultimately put Ross in the same predicament as 50 Cent in 2009 when they had their beef. He's deeply in need of a career reinvention after running out of ideas over two years ago. Nothing Ross has ever rapped will be considered groundbreaking, but at the peak of his career, he was at least using his vivid imagination while telling you how much money he has. In 2014, his word choice has has become increasingly boring, as he leans on recycling the same phrases throughout the album. (He mentions his Wing Stop wrapper like eight fucking times) He's already six albums in and it doesn't look like he's going to stop anytime soon, which is a real shame. The few moments where we see a view of William Roberts the person are the most gripping on the albums entire run time. He's given multiple opportunities to open up, but almost every time he plays it safe and goes back to his gangster movie character persona. Right now, his current shtick has become old to even to most hardcore Ross apologize and going forward he has two options: actually learn to rap better or stick to the same formula and watch his career fade into obscurity.