When I think of
Rick Ross, today, all I can think about are pears.
RNS. It's not his extensive discography that expands over eight years or his love for reinvention and self-proclamation declaring himself a "King", "Hustler" and a "Don". Nope. It's just pears. And try as I might I can't shake the imagery. I did, however, close my eyes and listen to
"Mastermind" per the request of my many avid readers and I'm intrigued. It's definitely not your typical
Ross album. He's clearly taken that step towards
attempting to become a serious artist. You can see all of the "important album markers", from professional cover art by a famous artist to a remake of one of
Biggie's greats. He's on the road to shaking that
"Dirty South" Miami image...
Ross officially
wants to play with the big boys.
Quite frankly, I believe
Ross has what it takes to pull it off. He's grown into his artistry over the years. Expanded his horizons so to speak. He stopped doing stupid shit like rhyming "Atlantic" with "Atlantic". If ever there was a time to cross over into mainstream, the time is now. All he needs is a little balance and more tracks like
"Sanctified" blessed by the vocal styling of
Betty Wright and a feature from the legendary
Kanye West, who brings a sinful performance to the track. Not to mention he has THE
Shawn Carter on a track as well. I know I always talk down about features carrying an album but once you've paid your dues and you're attempting to cross over? You better reach out and touch a bitch that can help you! I'm just saying. But it's all about execution.
"Mastermind" has all of the components for being a game changing mainstream success but the puzzle pieces aren't exactly put together correctly. It's like
You
ALMOST had it,
Ross. Valiant effort.
Listen to the
"Mastermind" below:
Natasha Marie
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