Rick Ross' Trilla Review

Rick Ross is the self-proclaimed Big Boss (how does Bruce Springsteen feel about this?). After his powerful debut album, Port of Miami, he's chosen to recoup his energy and create a sophomore album featuring A-class rappers and expensive studio beats. The result is a solid, entertaining album that does not quite reach the realm of genius.

The singles you may have heard off the album are "Speedin'" and "The Boss. "Speedin'" easily ranks among the best songs on the album and features an artist Ross greatly admires, R. Kelly. Ross' low voice coasts into R. Kelly's higher pitched refrain. The beats smoothly follow this path, occasionally dropping out to emphasize the vocals in a manner that evokes a car changing gears. This is Ross at his best: relaxed and high-powered. However, his other single, "The Boss," does not stack up. The word boss is repeated excessively as though demanding acknowledgment. The beats and vocals are disjointed and lack creativity. Ross seems overly determined to demonstrate to us that Ross rhymes with boss.

Probably the most pleasant surprise of the album is the high quality of the featured artists. They often go beyond merely a cameo appearance and sometimes even seem to carry the tracks. Maybach Music and Luxury tax stand out as the best collaborations on the record. Maybach Music invokes a drifting lounge background sound coupled with lyrics that reflect on a supercharged lifestyle. Jay-Z adds a more long-term credibility to the song by offering, "Realist shit I ever wrote, chillin' in my Maybach / 8-track episodes, been doing this since way back!" Luxury Tax offers a nostalgic look at the origins of a baller lifestyle. Lil Wayne gives a personal touch to the track, claiming "They said I couldn't play football, I was too small / They said I couldn't play basketball, I wasn't tall / They said I couldn't play baseball at all / And now every day of my life, I ball." The beats swell and chill as Young Jeezy and Trick Daddy also break up the track with their unique flows.

Despite its strengths, Trilla is held back from greatness by a few significant flaws. The biggest problem is that Ross seems unwilling to venture into fresh territory; he deals with over-worked rap themes and doesn't offer a vivid original story. Some of the tracks', "I'm Only Human" and "We Shinin'" for example, don't seem to congeal right and end up colliding with themselves. Others offer lyrics that seem to question our intelligence, "Money Make Me Come" in particular. Trilla is probably a safe impulse buy for huge Ross fans. For everyone else, check it out first.