Deeper Than Rap

Deeper Than Rap
Studio album by Rick Ross
Released	April 21, 2009
Recorded	2008–2009
Genre	Hip hop
Length	57:57
Label	Maybach, Slip-n-Slide, Def Jam
Producer	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, The Inkredibles, The Runners, Tricky Stewart, Bigg D, DJ Toomp, Drumma Boy, Bink
Rick Ross chronology
Trilla (2008) Deeper Than Rap (2009) Teflon Don (2010)
Singles from Deeper Than Rap
"Mafia Music" Released: January 24, 2009 "Magnificent" Released: February 24, 2009 "All I Really Want" Released: May 5, 2009 "Maybach Music 2[1]" Released: May 19, 2009[1]

Deeper Than Rap is the third studio album by American rapper Rick Ross, released April 21, 2009 on his label Maybach Music Group and Slip-n-Slide Records, with distribution from Def Jam Recordings. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 158,000 copies its first week. Upon its release, Deeper Than Rap received generally positive reviews from most music critics.

Background

Ross first announced plans to create Deeper Than Rap in May 2008.^[2] In addition to this album, Ross had been working on several mixtapes, freestyle tracks, and a collaboration with rapper Birdman titled The H.^[3] Controversy arose over photographs leaked in July 2008 of Ross (real name William Roberts) taken during his career as a corrections officer.^[4] Toward the end of a street track "Kiss My Pinky Ring Curly" that intended to attack rapper 50 Cent, Ross mentioned a possible release date of March 24, 2009.^[5] In early March 2009, the album release date was delayed to April 21, and Ross told MTV News about a possible charity concert for underprivileged neighborhoods of New York City.^[6] A 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 claimed that if "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" by '50 Cent sold 10 million copies, then my next record ('Deeper than Rap') will sell 12 million,^[8][9]' however this did not materialize.

Reception

Commercial performance

Deeper Than Rap debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 158,000 copies its first week, making it Rick Ross's third number-one album.^[10] His previous album Trilla sold 198,000 copies in its first week of release. His debut album Port of Miami sold 187,000 copies in the first week. The album sold 51,125 copies in its second week, putting it at number four on the charts,^[11] 34,828 copies in its third week putting it at number eight on the charts,^[12] and 26,487 copies in its fourth week putting it at number nine, putting the four week total at 270,000 copies sold.^[13] After seven weeks the album had sold 315,385 copies.^[14] By August 2010, the album sold 439,000 copies to date in the U.S.^[15]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[16]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[17]
Los Angeles Times	[18]
The New York Times	(favorable)[19]
NOW	[20]
RapReviews	(8.5/10)[21]
Rolling Stone	[22]
Slant Magazine	[23]
USA Today	[24]
Vibe	(favorable)[25]

Upon its release, Deeper Than Rap received generally positive reviews from most music critics.^[26] 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".^[26] Allmusic's David Jeffries gave Deeper Than Rap 4 out of 5 stars and commended Ross for his "ability to steamroll over all of his shortcomings", calling it "the superstar, gangster weekend album done right".^[16] RapReviews writer Adam M. Levin gave the album a rating of 8.5/10 and described it 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".^[21] ARTISTdirect's Matthew Mundy gave it 4 out of 5 stars and viewed it as a progression for Ross, writing "Gone is the plodding, simplistic flow from before, replaced with a new, tighter one that showcases a newfound focus on internal rhyme schemes and polysyllables. The production is uniformly excellent, updating Miami's traditionally lush, synth-driven sound with horns and soul".^[27] 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.^[19] 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".^[19]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Mafia Music"	The Inkredibles	4:16
2.	"Maybach Music 2" (featuring Kanye West, T-Pain & Lil Wayne)	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League	4:59
3.	"Magnificent" (featuring John Legend)	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League	4:17
4.	"Yacht Club" (featuring Magazeen)	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League	5:14
5.	"Usual Suspects" (featuring Nas & Kevin Cossom)	The Inkredibles	5:14
6.	"All I Really Want" (featuring The-Dream)	Tricky Stewart	4:16
7.	"Rich off Cocaine" (featuring Avery Storm)	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League	4:25
8.	"Lay Back" (featuring Robin Thicke)	The Runners, The Monarch	4:02
9.	"Murda Mami" (featuring Foxy Brown & Magazeen)	Bigg D	3:34
10.	"Gunplay" (featuring Gunplay)	The Inkredibles	3:34
11.	"Bossy Lady" (featuring Ne-Yo)	The Runners	3:53
12.	"Face" (featuring Trina)	Drumma Boy	3:14
13.	"Valley of Death"	DJ Toomp	3:54
14.	"In Cold Blood"	The Runners	3:05

iTunes bonus track
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Cigar Music" (featuring Masspike Miles)	Bink!	4:05

Sample credits

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

Personnel

Rick Ross – vocals Musa "Milk" Adeoye – A&R David L. Anderson II – keyboards J.D. Anderson – drums Chris Athens – mastering Alexander Bethune – A&R Adam Beyrer – engineer Leslie Brathwaite – mixing Robin Thicke – vocals Foxy Brown – vocals Josh "Redd" Burke – A&R Kevin Cates – producer Marcus Coleman – programming Kevin Cossom – vocals (background), producer Ben Diehl – engineer Anthony Gallo – engineer Tom Gardner – assistant engineer Latonya Givens – writer, singer Javon Greene – A&R Jay Jones – bass Terese Joseph – A&R Justice League – producer

David Karmiol – guitar, talk box K.C. – vocals Kali Khaled – executive producer, A&R Giancarlo Lino – mixing assistant Ted Lucas – executive producer Magazeen – vocals Jonathan Mannion – photography Deborah Mannis-Gardner – sample clearance The Monarch – producer Dave Pensado – mixing Lasim Richards – trombone Rashawn Ross – trumpet Rick Ross – executive producer The Runners – producer TaVon Sampson – art direction, design Ray Seay – mixing Derrick Selby – engineer Chris "Tricky" Stewart – producer Shakir Stewart – executive producer Jeff "Supa Jeff" Villanueva – engineer, digital editing Kris Yiengst – art coordinator, photo coordination

Chart history

Chart positions

Album Chart (2009) Peak position[28][29] U.S. Billboard 200 1 U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1 U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums 1 Top Canadian Albums 23

Singles Year Song Peak positions[30][30] US US R&B US Rap 2009 "Magnificent" 62 7 5 2009 "Maybach Music 2" 92 56 —

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by Hannah Montana: The Movie (soundtrack) by Various artists

Billboard 200 number-one album May 9, 2009

Succeeded by Together Through Life by Bob Dylan

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "®R&R :: Going For Adds™ :: Urban". Gfa.radioandrecords.com. 2009-05-19. http://gfa.radioandrecords.com/publishGFA/GFANextPage.asp?sDate=05/19/2009&Format=5. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
2. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2008-05-20). "Rick Ross Talks About Tiger Attack -- Seriously! -- On The Set Of His 'Here I Am' Video". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1587800/20080520/ross__rick__rap_.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 
3. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2008-09-19). "Plies Readies His Second LP Of 2008; Rick Ross Works On Mixtape, Two New Albums". Mixtape Monday (MTV News). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1595253/20080919/plies.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Reid, Shaheem (2009-03-18). "Rick Ross Album Preview: Deeper Than Rap Is 'The Best Music Of My Career'". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1607209/20090318/ross__rick__rap_.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 
5. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-02-06). "Rick Ross Responds To 50 Cent's Taunts With 'Kiss My Pinky Ring'". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1604523/20090206/ross__rick__rap_.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 
6. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-03-04). "Rick Ross Announces Mini-Tour, Deeper Than Rap Details". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1606325/20090304/ross__rick__rap_.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 
7. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-04-07). "Rick Ross Is 'Competing For The Throne' With Deeper Than Rap". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1608776/20090407/ross__rick__rap_.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 
8. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-02-23). "Rick Ross Vows To Outsell 50 Cent: Mixtape Monday - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1605493/20090220/50_cent.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
9. ^ "50 Cent Says Rick Ross Is 'Gusto From CB4', Laughs Off Ross' Sales Predictions". Ballerstatus. http://www.ballerstatus.com/2009/03/03/50-cent-says-rick-ross-is-gusto-from-cb4-laughs-off-ross-sales-predictions/. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
10. ^ Caulfield, Keith (April 29, 2009). "Rick Ross Debuts At No. 1 On Billboard 200 For Third Time". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 18, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5y38QzHvF. 
11. ^ Caufield, Keith (May 6, 2009). "Bob Dylan Bows Atop Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 18, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5y38aQk8D. 
12. ^ Caufield, Keith (May 13, 2009). "Chrisette Michele Scores First No. 1 On Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 18, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5y38AG2MB. 
13. ^ Caufield, Keith (May 20, 2009). "Green Day Takes Top Spot On Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 18, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5y38F3KSh. 
14. ^ Paine, Jake (2009-06-10). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/7/2009 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHopDX. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.9280/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-6-7-2009. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
15. ^ "TrendSettin.com". TrendSettin.com. http://www.trendsettin.com/?p=2762#more-2762. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
16. ^ ^{a b} Jeffries, David. Review: Deeper Than Rap. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
17. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon. Review: Deeper Than Rap. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
18. ^ Weiss, Jeff. Review: Deeper Than Rap. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
19. ^ ^{a b c} Caramanica, Jon. Review: Deeper Than Rap. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
20. ^ Errett, Joshua. Review: Deeper Than Rap. NOW. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
21. ^ ^{a b} Levin, Adam M. Review: Deeper Than Rap. RapReviews. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
22. ^ Hoard, Christian. Review: Deeper Than Rap. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
23. ^ McBee, William. Review: Deeper Than Rap. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
24. ^ Jones, Steve. Review: Deeper Than Rap. USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
25. ^ Fennessey, Sean. Review: Deeper Than Rap. Vibe. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
26. ^ ^{a b} Deeper Than Rap (2009): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
27. ^ Mundy, Matthew. Review: Deeper Than Rap. ARTISTdirect. Retrieved on 2009-12-04.
28. ^ "Artist Chart History - Rick Ross - Albums". Billboard. 2009. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=690440&model.vnuAlbumId=1223096. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
29. ^ "Deeper Than Rap > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1508810. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
30. ^ ^{a b} http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=690440&model.vnuAlbumId=1117688

External links

• Official website
• Deeper Than Rap at Discogs
• Deeper Than Rap at Metacritic