Deeper Than Rap
Encyclopedia
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.
, Ross mentioned a possible release date of March 24, 2009. 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
. A listening party for this album was held at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in New York City
on March 17. Prior to the release day, Ross had asserted in interviews with MTV that this album would be his best during his career. 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,' however this did not materialize.
chart, selling 158,000 copies its first week, making it Rick Ross's third number-one album. 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, 34,828 copies in its third week putting it at number eight on the charts, and 26,487 copies in its fourth week putting it at number nine, putting the four week total at 270,000 copies sold. After seven weeks the album had sold 315,385 copies. By August 2010, the album sold 439,000 copies to date in the U.S.
, 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". 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". 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". 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". 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. 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".
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rapper Rick Ross
Rick Ross (rapper)
William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...
, released April 21, 2009 on his label Maybach Music Group
Maybach Music Group
Maybach Music Group is a record label founded by Rick Ross, currently distributed by Warner Bros. Records, which took over distribution following the expiration of a deal with Def Jam Recordings....
and Slip-n-Slide Records
Slip-n-Slide Records
-History:Ted Lucas founded the label in 1994. Slip-n-Slide signed local rapper Trick Daddy Dollars in its early years; he debuted in 1997 with the locally popular album Based on a True Story and broke into mainstream success the next year with www.thug.com having dropped "Dollars" from his stage name...
, with distribution from Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
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. In addition to this album, Ross had been working on several mixtapes, freestyle tracks, and a collaboration with rapper Birdman titled The H. Controversy arose over photographs leaked in July 2008 of Ross (real name William Roberts) taken during his career as a corrections officer. Toward the end of a street track "Kiss My Pinky Ring Curly" that intended to attack rapper 50 Cent50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
, Ross mentioned a possible release date of March 24, 2009. In early March 2009, the album release date was delayed to April 21, and Ross told MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
about a possible charity concert for underprivileged neighborhoods of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. A listening party for this album was held at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on March 17. Prior to the release day, Ross had asserted in interviews with MTV that this album would be his best during his career. 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,' however this did not materialize.
Commercial performance
Deeper Than Rap debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling 158,000 copies its first week, making it Rick Ross's third number-one album. His previous album Trilla
Trilla
Notes*"All I Have in this World" excepts from the film Scarface and contains a samples of "Scarface" by Geto Boys*"The Boss" contains a samples of "Broken Wings" by Mr...
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, 34,828 copies in its third week putting it at number eight on the charts, and 26,487 copies in its fourth week putting it at number nine, putting the four week total at 270,000 copies sold. After seven weeks the album had sold 315,385 copies. By August 2010, the album sold 439,000 copies to date in the U.S.
Critical response
Upon its release, Deeper Than Rap received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 73, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". 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". 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". ARTISTdirect
ARTISTdirect
Founded in 1994, Artistdirect, Inc. is an online digital media entertainment company. It owns several websites including Artistdirect.com, UBL.com and the Artistdirect Network...
'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". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave Deeper Than Rap a favorable review and perceived it as an improvement over Ross's previous work. 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
Bad Boy Records
Bad Boy Records is a record label founded in 1993 by producer/rapper/entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records.-Beginnings:...
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".
Track listing
Sample credits- "Maybach Music 2" contains a sample of "Time Is the Teacher" by Dexter WanselDexter WanselDexter Gilman Wansel is an American keyboardist, raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He contributed to the development of the Philly Sound and worked with producers Gamble and Huff at Philadelphia International Records. Wansel led the musical group, Yellow Sunshine...
- "Magnificent" contains a sample of "Gotta Make It Up to You" by Angela BofillAngela BofillAngela Bofill is an American R&B vocalist and songwriter.Bofill was born to a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother; one of the first Latina singers to find success in the R&B market.She performed with Ricardo Marrero & the Group and Dance Theater of Harlem chorus prior to her 1978 debut album,...
- "Yacht Club" contains a sample of "El Jardia" by Johnny PateJohnny PateJohnny Pate is a jazz bassist who late became a music arranger/producer, and a leading figure in Chicago soul as well as pop/R&B music....
- "Usual Suspects" contains a sample of "Garden of Peace" by Lonnie Liston SmithLonnie Liston SmithLonnie Liston Smith, Jr. is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with important free jazz artists such as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion / Quiet Storm /...
and "Dead Presidents II" by Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010... - "Rich Off Cocaine" contains a sample of "Color Her Sunshine" by Willie HutchWillie HutchWillie McKinley Hutchison, known professionally as Willie Hutch was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s....
- "Valley of Death" contains a sample of "I'm So Blue and You Are Too" by Barry WhiteBarry WhiteBarry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
- "Cigar Music" contains a sample of "Don't Ask My Neighbor" by Ahmad JamalAhmad JamalAhmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
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 MonarchThe Monarch (producer)The Monarch is a music production duo from Orlando, Florida, consisting of Andre "Dre" Davidson and Sean "Sean D" Davidson. They are best known for producing Cher Lloyd's debut single Swagger Jagger which debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart The Monarch has also produced several other songs...
– producer - Dave Pensado – mixing
- Lasim Richards – trombone
- Rashawn Ross – trumpet
- Rick RossRick Ross (rapper)William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...
– executive producer - The RunnersThe RunnersThe Runners is a hip hop production duo from Orlando, Florida, consisting of Andrew "Dru Brett" Harr and Jermaine "Mayne Zayne" Jackson. They came together to form the team in 2000, but they have known each other since they were in kindergarten. They are best known for producing the hit singles "Go...
– 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 positions
- Album
Chart (2009) Peak
positionU.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...1 U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop AlbumsTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...1 U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums Top Rap AlbumsTop Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004....1 Top Canadian Albums Canadian Albums ChartThe Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...23
- Singles
Year Song Peak positions US Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...US Rap 2009 "Magnificent Magnificent (Rick Ross song)"Magnificent" is the first official single off Rick Ross's third album Deeper Than Rap. It features John Legend and is produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League...
"62 7 5 2009 "Maybach Music 2 Maybach Music 2"Maybach Music 2" is a hip-hop song recorded by American rapper Rick Ross and released as the third single from his third studio album, Deeper Than Rap. The song features Kanye West, T-Pain, and Lil Wayne....
"92 56 —
External links
- Deeper Than Rap at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Deeper Than Rap at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...