Deeper Than Rap

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

Deeper Than Rap
Studio album by Rick Ross
Released	April 21, 2009
Recorded	2008–09
Genre	Hip hop
Length	57:57
Label	MMG Slip-n-Slide Def Jam
Producer	Rick Ross (exec.) Shakir Stewart (exec.) Ted "Touche" Lucas (exec.) Khaled Khaled (co-exec.) 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]

It 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; alongside the promotional single "Mafia Music".

Deeper Than Rap received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 158,000 copies its first week in the United States. As of August 2010, the album has sold 439,000 copies in the United States.

Background

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 a fellow 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 a 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

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	73/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Entertainment Weekly	B[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

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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Mafia Music"	William Roberts II Johnny Mollings Leigh Elliott Lenny Mollings Maurice Carpenter	The Inkredibles	4:16
2.	"Maybach Music 2" (featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne and T-Pain)	Roberts II Dwayne Carter, Jr. Erik Ortiz Faheem Najm Kanye West Kevin Crowe Dexter Wansel	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League	4:59
3.	"Magnificent" (featuring John Legend)	Robert II Angela Bofill Ortiz John Stephens Crowe Jeffrey Cohen Michael Walden	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League	4:17
4.	"Yacht Club" (featuring Magazeen)	Robert II Ortiz Crowe Johnny Pate	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League	5:14
5.	"Usual Suspects" (featuring Nas)	Robert II J. Mollings Kevin Cossom Elliott L. Mollings Carpenter Nasir Jones	The Inkredibles	5:14
6.	"All I Really Want" (featuring The-Dream)	Robert II Christopher "Tricky" Stewart Terius Nash	Stewart	4:16
7.	"Rich Off Cocaine" (featuring Avery Storm)	Robert II Ortiz Crowe Ralph DiStasio Willie Hutch	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League	4:25
8.	"Lay Back" (featuring Robin Thicke)	Robert II Andre Davidson Andrew Harr Jermaine Jackson Karlyn Ramsey Cossom Shawn Davidson	The Runners The Monarch (add.) Cossom (co.)	4:02
9.	"Murda Mami" (featuring Foxy Brown)	Robert II Derrick Baker Inga Marchand	Bigg D	3:34
10.	"Gunplay" (featuring Gunplay)	Robert II J. Mollings Elliott L. Mollings Carpenter Richard Morales	The Inkredibles	3:34
11.	"Bossy Lady" (featuring Ne-Yo)	Robert II Harr Jackson Shaffer Smith	The Runners	3:53
12.	"Face" (featuring Trina)	Robert II Christopher Gholson	Drumma Boy	3:14
13.	"Valley of Death"	Robert II Aldrin Davis Kevin "Khao" Cates Latonya Givens Marcus Coleman Barry White	DJ Toomp Khao	3:54
14.	"In Cold Blood"	Robert II Harr Jackson	The Runners	3:05

iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Cigar Music" (featuring Masspike Miles)	Robert II Roosevelt Harrell III Frederick Jones Danny Leake Richard Evans Morris Jenkins	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

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 "Tone Trezure" 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

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2009) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 23 US Billboard 200[28] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[29] 3 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[30] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position US Billboard 200[31] 80 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[32] 14 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[33] 5

See also

• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2009

References

1. "®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. 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. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
4. Reid, Shaheem (March 18, 2009). "Rick Ross Album Preview: Deeper Than Rap Is 'The Best Music Of My Career'". MTV News. Viacom. 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. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
6. Reid, Shaheem (March 4, 2009). "Rick Ross Announces Mini-Tour, Deeper Than Rap Details". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
7. Reid, Shaheem (April 7, 2009). "Rick Ross Is 'Competing For The Throne' With Deeper Than Rap". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
8. Reid, Shaheem (February 23, 2009). "Rick Ross Vows To Outsell 50 Cent: Mixtape Monday". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
9. "50 Cent Says Rick Ross Is 'Gusto From CB4', Laughs Off Ross' Sales Predictions". Baller Status. March 3, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
10. "Reviews for Deeper Than Rap by Rick Ross". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
11. Jeffries, David. "Deeper Than Rap - Rick Ross". AllMusic. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
12. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (April 15, 2009). "Deeper Than Rap". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
13. Weiss, Jeff (April 24, 2009). "Rick Ross - 'Deeper Than Rap' (Island Def Jam)". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
14. Caramanica, Jon (April 22, 2009). "Beyond Authenticity: A Rapper Restages". The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. 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. Levin, Adam M. (April 21, 2009). "Feature for April 21, 2009 - Rick Ross' "Deeper Than Rap"". RapReviews. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
17. 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. McBee, William (April 22, 2009). "Rick Ross: Deeper Than Rap". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
19. Jones, Steve (April 21, 2009). "Listen Up: Pet Shop Boys' 'Yes' affirms their greatness". USA Today. Gannett Company. 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 April 19, 2011.
22. Caufield, Keith (May 6, 2009). "Bob Dylan Bows Atop Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 19, 2011.
23. Caufield, Keith (May 13, 2009). "Chrisette Michele Scores First No. 1 On Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 19, 2011.
24. Caufield, Keith (May 20, 2009). "Green Day Takes Top Spot On Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 19, 2011.
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. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
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. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
32. "2009 Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
33. "2009 Year-End Charts: Rap Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Deeper Than Rap at Discogs