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Deeper Than Rap

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Deeper Than Rap
Studio album by
Rick Ross
ReleasedApril 21, 2009
Recorded2008–2009
GenreHip hop
Length57:57
Label
Producer
Rick Ross chronology
Trilla
(2008) 		Deeper Than Rap
(2009) 		Teflon Don
(2010)
Singles from Deeper Than Rap
  1. "Mafia Music"
    Released: January 24, 2009
  2. "Magnificent"
    Released: February 24, 2009
  3. "All I Really Want"
    Released: May 5, 2009
  4. "Maybach Music 2[1]"
    Released: May 19, 2009[1]

Deeper Than Rap is the third album by American rapper Rick Ross. It was released on April 21, 2009, by Maybach Music Group, Slip-n-Slide Records and Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2008 to 2009, with additional production handled by the Inkredibles, the Runners, DJ Toomp and Drumma Boy. Guests on the album include Nas, Avery Storm, Foxy Brown and Ne-Yo, among others. During the album's development, some controversy arose over the release of photos, showing Ross working as a correctional officer during his ongoing feud with rapper 50 Cent.

The album was supported by three singles: "Magnificent" featuring John Legend, "Maybach Music 2" featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne and T-Pain, and "All I Really Want" featuring the-Dream. A promotional single, "Mafia Music", was released.

Deeper Than Rap received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200.

Background

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In May 2008, Rick Ross announced his plans to begin recording his third album, titled Deeper Than Rap.[2] In addition to this album, Ross also has been working through his several mixtapes, freestyle tracks, and his upcoming collaboration with rapper Birdman, titled The H.[3] In July 2008, during the album's development, the controversy arose over some photographs leaked of Ross (real name William Roberts), which was taken during his career as a correctional officer.[4]

Ross released the street track, titled "Kiss My Pinky Ring Curly", which was intended to attack towards fellow rapper 50 Cent. Ross then mentioned a possible release date of March 24, 2009.[5] In March 2009, the album release date was delayed to April 21, before Ross told MTV News about a possible charity concert for the underprivileged neighborhoods of New York City.[6]

The listening party for this album was held at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in New York City on March 17.[4] Prior to the release day, Ross had asserted in interviews with MTV that this album would be his best during his career.[4][7] Rick Ross claims that if Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) by 50 Cent has sold 10 million copies, then his next record (Deeper Than Rap) would sell 12 million.[8][9] However, this did not materialize. According to Ross, a feud with 50 Cent started, after he released the track "Mafia Music", which was released online. The album presented personal information about 50 Cent's relationship with the mother of his child.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Entertainment WeeklyB[12]
Los Angeles Times[13]
The New York Times(favorable)[14]
NOW[15]
RapReviews(8.5/10)[16]
Rolling Stone[17]
Slant Magazine[18]
USA Today[19]
Vibe(favorable)[20]

Upon its release, Deeper Than Rap received generally positive reviews from most music critics.[10] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[10] AllMusic's David Jeffries commended Ross for his "ability to steamroll over all of his shortcomings," calling it "the superstar, gangster weekend album done right."[11] Adam M. Levin of RapReviews described the album as "essentially a gangster movie on wax, and Ross is excellent in his role as the boss at the top of the heap with nothing to lose but his cool."[16] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times gave Deeper Than Rap a favorable review and perceived it as an improvement over Ross's previous work.[14] On its production and musical style, Caramanica wrote "this album is lush, erotic, entitled, a stunning leisure-class document of easy wealth and carefree sex. It’s a throwback to a time of sonic and attitudinal ambition in hip-hop — the Bad Boy era of the mid- to late ’90s, with its warm soul samples connoting the new hip-hop luxury comes to mind. Few rap albums have sounded this assured, this sumptuous, in years".[14]

Wilson McBee of Slant Magazine gave credit to Ross for showing more lyrical depth in his lyrics but found the R&B midpoint in the album to lead Ross "closer to being Flo Rida's fat uncle than Jay-Z's second in command." He concluded that, "Phony or not, Ross has planted himself near the center of hip-hop's orbit, and Deeper proves that it's going to take more than YouTube beefs and blogger scandal-mongering to move him out of the way."[18] Steve Jones of USA Today felt that even with the beats, imposing charisma and huge guest list, Ross didn't deviate far enough from the typical rap themes he told before in previous efforts, saying that "His tales of gangster riches are colorful, but you wish Ross would find something deeper to talk about."[19] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone felt that Ross' formula of shiny beats that supply tracks telling rap lifestyle stories was tiring, saying that "over the length of a full album it all feels a bit too familiar."[17]

Commercial performance

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In the United States, Deeper Than Rap debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 158,000 copies during its first week, becoming Ross's third album to debut at number one.[21] In its second week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, selling 51,125 copies.[22] In its third week, the album dropped to number eight on the chart, selling 34,828 copies that week.[23] In its fourth week, the album moved down to number nine on the chart, selling 26,487 copies, bring its four-week total to 270,000 copies.[24] After seven weeks, the album had sold 315,385 copies in the US.[25] As of August 2010, the album sold 439,000 copies in the United States.[26]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Mafia Music"
The Inkredibles4:16
2."Maybach Music 2" (featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne and T-Pain)
J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League4:59
3."Magnificent" (featuring John Legend)
  • Robert II
  • Angela Bofill
  • Ortiz
  • John Stephens
  • Crowe
  • Jeffrey Cohen
  • Michael Walden
J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League4:17
4."Yacht Club" (featuring Magazeen)
J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League5:14
5."Usual Suspects" (featuring Nas and Kevin Cossom)
The Inkredibles5:14
6."All I Really Want" (featuring the-Dream)
Stewart4:16
7."Rich Off Cocaine" (featuring Avery Storm)
J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League4:25
8."Lay Back" (featuring Robin Thicke)
4:02
9."Murda Mami" (featuring Foxy Brown)
Bigg D3:34
10."Gunplay" (featuring Gunplay)
The Inkredibles3:34
11."Bossy Lady" (featuring Ne-Yo)
The Runners3:53
12."Face" (featuring Trina)
Drumma Boy3:14
13."Valley of Death"
3:54
14."In Cold Blood"
  • Robert II
  • Harr
  • Jackson
The Runners3:05
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Cigar Music" (featuring Masspike Miles)
Bink!4:00

Sample credits

  • "Maybach Music 2" contains a sample of "Time Is the Teacher" performed by Dexter Wansel.
  • "Magnificent" contains a sample of "Gotta Make It Up to You" performed by Angela Bofill.
  • "Yacht Club" contains a sample of "El Jardia" performed by Johnny Pate.
  • "Usual Suspects" contains a sample of "Garden of Peace" performed by Lonnie Liston Smith and "Dead Presidents II" performed by Jay-Z.
  • "Rich Off Cocaine" contains a sample of "Color Her Sunshine" performed by Willie Hutch.
  • "Valley of Death" contains a sample of "I'm So Blue and You Are Too" performed by Barry White.
  • "Cigar Music" contains a sample of "Don't Ask My Neighbor" performed by Ahmad Jamal, written by Frederick Jones, Danny Leake, Richard Evans and Morris Jenkins,.

Personnel

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Charts

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "®R&R :: Going For Adds™ :: Urban". Gfa.radioandrecords.com. May 19, 2009. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  2. ^ Reid, Shaheem (May 20, 2008). "Rick Ross Talks About Tiger Attack -- Seriously! -- On The Set Of His 'Here I Am' Video". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  3. ^ Reid, Shaheem (September 19, 2008). "Plies Readies His Second LP Of 2008; Rick Ross Works On Mixtape, Two New Albums". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on September 23, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c Reid, Shaheem (March 18, 2009). "Rick Ross Album Preview: Deeper Than Rap Is 'The Best Music Of My Career'". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  5. ^ Reid, Shaheem (February 6, 2009). "Rick Ross Responds To 50 Cent's Taunts With 'Kiss My Pinky Ring'". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  6. ^ Reid, Shaheem (March 4, 2009). "Rick Ross Announces Mini-Tour, Deeper Than Rap Details". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  7. ^ Reid, Shaheem (April 7, 2009). "Rick Ross Is 'Competing For The Throne' With Deeper Than Rap". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  8. ^ Reid, Shaheem (February 23, 2009). "Rick Ross Vows To Outsell 50 Cent: Mixtape Monday". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  9. ^ "50 Cent Says Rick Ross Is 'Gusto From CB4', Laughs Off Ross' Sales Predictions". Baller Status. March 3, 2009. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c "Reviews for Deeper Than Rap by Rick Ross". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  11. ^ a b Jeffries, David. "Deeper Than Rap - Rick Ross". AllMusic. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  12. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (April 15, 2009). "Deeper Than Rap". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 22, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  13. ^ Weiss, Jeff (April 24, 2009). "Rick Ross - 'Deeper Than Rap' (Island Def Jam)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  14. ^ a b c Caramanica, Jon (April 22, 2009). "Beyond Authenticity: A Rapper Restages". The New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  15. ^ Errett, Joshua (April 28, 2009). "Rick Ross - Deeper Than Rap (Universal/Def Jam)". NOW. Now Communications. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  16. ^ a b Levin, Adam M. (April 21, 2009). "Feature for April 21, 2009 - Rick Ross' "Deeper Than Rap"". RapReviews. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  17. ^ a b Hoard, Christian (April 27, 2009). "Rick Ross: Deeper Than Rap". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  18. ^ a b McBee, William (April 22, 2009). "Rick Ross: Deeper Than Rap". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  19. ^ a b Jones, Steve (April 21, 2009). "Listen Up: Pet Shop Boys' 'Yes' affirms their greatness". USA Today. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  20. ^ Fennessey, Sean (April 21, 2009). "Rick Ross: "Deeper Than Rap"". Vibe. Vibe Media. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  21. ^ Caulfield, Keith (April 29, 2009). "Rick Ross Debuts At No. 1 On Billboard 200 For Third Time". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012.
  22. ^ Caufield, Keith (May 6, 2009). "Bob Dylan Bows Atop Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012.
  23. ^ Caufield, Keith (May 13, 2009). "Chrisette Michele Scores First No. 1 On Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012.
  24. ^ Caufield, Keith (May 20, 2009). "Green Day Takes Top Spot On Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012.
  25. ^ Paine, Jake (June 10, 2009). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/7/2009". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on December 11, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  26. ^ "TrendSettin.com". TrendSettin.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  27. ^ "Rick Ross Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  28. ^ "Rick Ross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  29. ^ "Rick Ross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  30. ^ "Rick Ross Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  31. ^ "2009 Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  32. ^ "2009 Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  33. ^ "2009 Year-End Charts: Rap Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
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