**The Official Rick Ross Appreciation Thread PART 2: "God Forgives, I Don’t" THE ALBUM**

[cparkfresh]

So since nobody answered my question before....how much does Ross sale this week?
My guess is 175K

I say 125K

 

[be easy]

I was going to pick this up, but with all these bad reviews I think I'll save my money for AC this week

 

[deuce king]

So since nobody answered my question before....how much does Ross sale this week?
My guess is 175K

275K.................Easily.

I was going to pick this up, but with all these bad reviews I think I'll save my money for AC this week

Wise decision champ. Save your money for something more important.

 

[yungmatt]

Dude said "vested in his artistry"...............LOL. Bless your heart.

 

[dipsetgeneral]

275K.................Easily.

Agreed. Ross is as hot as he's ever been right now. #NoFrank.

 

[putting in work]

So since nobody answered my question before....how much does Ross sale this week?
My guess is 175K

275K.................Easily.

I was going to pick this up, but with all these bad reviews I think I'll save my money for AC this week

Wise decision champ. Save your money for something more important.

I don't know if you're being sarcastic because I know you despise this dude Ross, but that's a really high number for this day and age in music business.

That number I believe is higher than what Drake did first week and he's arguably the biggest star in Rap next to Wayne and Kanye... not sure on Drake's first week numbers so don't hold me to that.

If he does over 200K I'll be surprised... hell I was surprised when NaS did over 70K first week.

We'll see though how it goes.

 

[trynafeelmink]

I'm not MAD at the guy...I just really don't think he knows what hes talking about.

Dude gave Nas a 4. Out of 10.

Dude even said Andre 3000's verse was wack...That just completely threw everything else off from that point on. 

Thats just ridiculous honestly. I honestly have to wonder what it is that he actually wants. 


You get mad and say artists don't evolve, then when they do, you say that they're out of their element. 

Fantano's argument near the end focused on the fact that Ross' background takes away from the music itself. Thats the sort of criticism i'd expect from someone with a grudge, not someone trying to appreciate music in and of itself.

I just don't think his criticisms are good. Thats it. If he wants to be in the reviewing business, his opinion doesn't mean it just goes uncriticized itself. 

This dude is nothing more than a nerd with a popular blog. He gave Off future a 6+, but WTT, Life is good, GFID are all wack rightttttttttttttttttttt

 

[trynafeelmink]

As far as authenticity goes how many dudes in rap really speak the life they live. NWA started gangsta rap and they are all imposters. Ross is a pretty good rapper, he's not great, not a legend knor will he be one, but to say he doesnt have talent is ridiculous.

There are plenty of other rappers who yall rave about who have 0 talent, dont live the life they rap about, but because they make such a distinct brand of trash music ya'll call them creative

 

[Jordan8]

IDJ is guaranteeing him 100K

So plus the 50 - 75K he legit sales

He'll move just under 200K

 

[trynafeelmink]

Yea it seems like a rap industry mandate to have this guy seem as big as possible. Elliot Wilson has been dickriding this project for months. Dj Clue changed his avi to GFID, random artist promoting the album on social media....... Checks were given

 

[deuce king]

Agreed. Ross is as hot as he's ever been right now. #NoFrank.

No doubt champ. I'm sure your going to do your very best to make sure Ross gets to that number and even higher. Good to see someone else who is "vested in his artistry". I expect to see threads from 2009 and beyond resurrected regarding Rick Ross to the very front of the first page of the Music Forum courtesty of you. I know your going to do your part.

That number I believe is higher than what Drake did first week and he's arguably the biggest star in Rap next to Wayne and Kanye... not sure on Drake's first week numbers so don't hold me to that.

We're talking about Rick Ross here champ. This is a guy who is "the hottest rapper in the game right now", a man that has "the internet streets on lock like none other", a rapper who's "era is right now", and a rapper that has fans coast to coast "vested in his artistry". With that being said I think I and others are respectfully underestimating what Ross's first weeks sales will be. If this were a game of spades, it's safe to say that all of us are under-bidding. I'm going to have to up the ante and say I can see Rick Ross doing 400K first week.............."We not pushing nothing back"

 

[Maximus Meridius]

This dude DipsetGereral fell for the trap.




Ashamed

 

[truthgetsbusy]

Yea it seems like a rap industry mandate to have this guy seem as big as possible. Elliot Wilson has been dickriding this project for months. Dj Clue changed his avi to GFID, random artist promoting the album on social media....... Checks were given

yeah I def peeped that. Got major artist tweeting "its finally here" like its The Dark Knight Rises or something lol I don't blame Ross tho.

 

[send one]

NWA started gangsta rap and they are all imposters.

Popularized and started are not the same.

Dre and Cube imposters? Possibly.

Ren and Eazy? Try again.

 

[belly26]

i got mm4, 16, and ashamed on repeat

 

[b smooth 202]

Yea it seems like a rap industry mandate to have this guy seem as big as possible. Elliot Wilson has been dickriding this project for months. Dj Clue changed his avi to GFID, random artist promoting the album on social media....... Checks were given

I like RR but its weird to see for sure...I guess thats just how the industry works...

 

[cashbanks]

dude said all of NWA where imposters Eazy was about that business in those streets

and Dre and Cube openly admit they werent gangsters

and NWA's music wasn't just gangster rap it was about growing up in california dealing with police brutality, racism etc. they spoke on REAL LIFE situations

 

[cj863]

I'm going to have to up the ante and say I can see Rick Ross doing 400K first week.............."We not pushing nothing back"

Deuce I seriously hope you aren't serious. 400K really? Roazy will end up in the 150-200k range. I don't ever see him doing 400k+ first week, he just doesn't have the fan base that will go and buy his product in droves.

 

[mel610]

Ross never does big numbers... Just think he had a huge single with BMF on Teflon Don and only did 175k. This time around he doesn't have that big single. I see him doing between 150-200 max.

 

[jr paperstacks]

Drake did 600 something his first week, for whoever mentioned that.

 

[sonunox34]

Who cares about how much he sells? I've never understood this.

Because Carter IV sold, does that make the album or Wayne good?

 

[Peep Game]

^Of course not, it's Wayne

 

[memphisboi55]

dude said all of NWA where imposters Eazy was about that business in those streets
and Dre and Cube openly admit they werent gangsters
and NWA's music wasn't just gangster rap it was about growing up in california dealing with police brutality, racism etc. they spoke on REAL LIFE situations

 

[Peep Game]

Here's a more balanced/less hater sounding review:

Rick Ross :: God Forgives, I Don't
Maybach Music/Def Jam
Author: Steve 'Flash' Juon


There's always been this attempt to divide "the real" from "the mainstream." What those two things are is a nebulous concept which invariably is in the eye of the beholder, which is why where possible I attempt to reject those paradigms. I've always believed that once you create something you intend to distribution to the masses, publishing it is in itself a definition. Put more plainly, the only difference between Aceyalone and Rick Ross is the number of units sold. The only "underground" artist in the modern era is one who records only for his/her own edification and never shares it with anyone. If you put it on YouTube or Bandcamp, you're not underground any more. You might be "independent," but you've been seen. Some rappers actually refuse to see "the light," literally beleving their music will be tainted by more people hearing it. Make art for yourself then. The only chance of being pure is to never publish it or sell it at all.

Some heads enjoy being elite. They enjoy thinking they know something other people don't. They enjoy looking down their noses at what's "popular" and holding up their favorite rap artists as being more refined and pure than what's on your playlist. To a certain segment of the audience, it is beneath their dignity to listen to Rick Ross, Drake, Lil Wayne or Jay-Z solely and only based on the fact they are mainstream. You don't have to go to many rap concerts to see this in practice - a Brother Ali fan who snubs Busta Rhymes - and you if you have the temerity to like both. Rap criticism has helped create this atmosphere though because from websites to blogs to magazines we hold up X over Y and say "This is what you should be buying." And while there's value in praising what's good and dismissing what's not, ultimately those judgments should be only a guideline and not a roadmap to your personal taste. I for one am not the biggest believer in what Gucci Mane does, but don't hold it against you as a reader if you like him and GZA at the same time. I embrace the contradiction.

Rick Ross is for me proof that I can't ever look down my nose at what any other critic or fan likes. I've heard it, seen it, and read it over and over again. "Rick Ross is a studio gangster. Rick Ross is a creation of the music industry. Rick Ross is a phony. Rick Ross has terrible rhymes and no flow. Rick Ross is a delusional fat bastard who believes his own hype." No matter how many times it's explained to me that Ross is a bad rapper, I still enjoy his music. At least some part of that criticism is earned and deserved, given he's probably the only gangster in rap history who also worked as a C.O. keeping other gangsters beind bars. Once again though the difference between "real" and "fake" is nebulous in music in general, and the industry which often takes the blame for it certainly doesn't force rappers to create the images they portray. Rappers who cultivate an image whether it's an intellectual, a hippie, a drug dealer, a comedian, or any combination of those traits plus others not mentioned do so either because it reflects their own life or because it's a role they feel comfortable portraying to achieve success. If Ross' image is fake, it's one that I've noted time and again he's comfortable with playing, and it's a role he dives into with as much gusto as the plates of food in front of him.

"I'm so sophisticated
To get a verse from me, you gotta be initiated
To get a purse from me, she gotta be sophisticated
Purchase a whip from me and never miss a single payment
I'm from the city where the Muslims, even Christians hate it
Even the black folk hate to see another ***** made it
Tell all them ******* to chill, champagne refrigerated!
Just bought a chopper cause the last one, got it confiscated (whoo!)
Countin a hundred mill' so many times, I contemplate it
You wanna be the hottest but that **** get complicated
I pull your card, I know you're ***** by your conversation
Show you the safe you'll have to kill me for that combination (WHOO!)
Made another two milli just off the compilation (uh!)
I just hit a lick, I'm tellin you this **** amazing
Got a white *****, she ****** me just like she Jamaican (laaaawd!)
Sippin purple and that ************ concentrated
This for my ****** in them prisons, overpopulated"

The Beat Bully's production on this song is not among the album's best if you ask me, and I would even argue that Meek Mill's guest verse lowers the song's overall value, but the lyrics themselves illustrate why Rick Ross is so adept at what he does. There's no point portraying a role if you can't do so convincingly, and if that means he believes his own hype, then Ross undoubtedly thinks he's Tony Montana incarnate. Some critics felt Al Pacino's performance was over-the-top and cartoonish, but the audience ate it up, and he has since become a cultural anti-hero icon. For me William Leonard Roberts II fills that role - an exaggerated gangster who tells exaggerated tales of his prowess, wealth and drug kingpin deals. The deep voice gives his implausible scenarios an air of credibility, and the blunt no-nonsense delivery gives his words an impact many of the intellectual emcees can't achieve no matter how many big words they use. That's the pleasant irony of a song like "So Sophisticated" - it's so NOT sophisticated that it achieves a sophistication all its own. That allows Ross to be sneaky clever. He's so hated on for being a phony that he can actually slip things in that are personally true and weave them into his exaggerated persona, like a magician distracting you from his hands so that you don't see him hide a card up his sleeve.

"It's funny how things change, funny how time fly
More than my feet travel, the more that I feel fly
More that I make now, the more that the chicks smile
She called me a local #####, I opened a Swiss account
Eisenhower status, Etta James on the dash
Smooth as John Coltrane cruisin in the Cadillac
Uhh~! Seville - feel my life on the real
We the Last Poets so this is a world premiere
Rollin like Mick Jagger, the women just gettin badder
All I see is the money, +Cream+, Eric Clapton
And all I wanted was one, sixteen ain't enough
Talkin that fast money, fifteen every month
When your people labelled poor, that motivated me more
Everything I ever wore was once worn before
Roll with the punches now it's box office numbers
Dressed like Sammy Davis, steamin my marijuana
Double MG's, double M fees
We in every hood, ##### government cheese"

"Sixteen" is clearly not enough for Rick Ross or his special guest Andre 3000, who for me has been another of those artists that people either hold up as being "real" for his work with OutKast or lambast as "fake" for the success of songs like "Hey Ya." His epic collaboration with Ross on a beautifully symphonic J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League track suggests both artists reject those definitions and do things on their own terms, which is exactly why I find this album so enjoyable. If you want to be the rap snob who will only listen to things that less than a hundred people have heard, feel free to ignore the fact Jake One is producing "3 Kings" and Dr. Dre and Jay-Z are rapping on it. That's right, you can say Jake One is as underground as you want, but he's with Ross too. The collaborations on this album are beautiful. Cardiak's pianos for "Diced Pineapples" are lovely, and Drake and Wale provide the perfect counter notes. Whether it's Pharrell getting "Presidential" or Cool & Dre making you "Ashamed" to be a hater, there's over an hour of top notch Maybach Music on this new album.

At the end of the day some people are still going to hold onto their holier than thou status, because they'll say Rick Ross represents all that is wrong with hip-hop. He represents materialistic values, conspicuous consumption, glorifying criminal behavior, living beyond your means, and yet he's going to team with John Legend to be "Rich Forever" despite all that. If it bothers you that he teams with Usher for a pop single like "Touch'N You" then don't buy the album, turn off your radio, unplug your television and play your old school records on a hand cranked turntable with a giant megaphone sticking out of it.


As for me I'd rather be in bad taste and admit I enjoyed "God Forgives, I Don't" than try to hide the fact I find this album unabashedly fun and very easy to listen to. He's a storyteller with good beats, whether they are fact or fiction, and if you're entertained then you got your money's worth. If not you can buy plenty of free downloads with no J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League or Pharrell beats - there's no shortage of them to be had online. You get what you pay for, and with Ross you pay for a guy who may be all image, but it's pure escapist entertainment. All the intellectual snobbery about what's "real" and "fake" only leaves you lonely, surrounded by things nobody can relate to but you. Me - I'd rather have my yin and yand, my Acey AND my Ricky. Whether it's diet or music, it's all about healthy balance. I do wish Rick would get the former in control, but as for the latter, he's doing alright by me and the buyers of this CD.
Music Vibes: 8 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 8 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 8 of 10

Originally posted: July 31st, 2012

 

[Rootin4EverybodyBlack]

I don't know if you're being sarcastic because I know you despise this dude Ross, but that's a really high number for this day and age in music business.
That number I believe is higher than what Drake did first week and he's arguably the biggest star in Rap next to Wayne and Kanye... not sure on Drake's first week numbers so don't hold me to that.
If he does over 200K I'll be surprised... hell I was surprised when NaS did over 70K first week.
We'll see though how it goes.

So then my next question is...how will ppl seriously consider Ross "the hottest rapper in the game" if he barely outsells Wale?

I'm trying to understand the logic here