Rick Ross is the Barry Bonds of rap. No matter how good his work is, there will always be an asterisk next to his name. They both have proven time and time again that they have the technique, vision and focus to be great in their fields (pun intended) but they’ve both been exposed for lies. Now are they the only ones to have ever lied to get ahead? No. Did they even NEED the lie? NO. But can we forget? Never.
Rick Ross has consistently improved as an MC but his greatest skill is his ability to make everything he does sound luxurious. For real, I pressed play while I was in an Uber pool and felt like I was in an Uber Black XL. Everything just looks like Money when you listening to Ross. This album got me feeling so cocky I had to do Yoga and look at ex girlfriends’ engagement photos to bring my body and spirit back down to Earth.
This album is well made and thought went every song, but unfortunately Ross got this habit of making his albums 4 songs too long. So that initial buzz of affluence always wears off and you’re just left with the realization that you, personally, are not rich. In fact, you are, personally, broke as Fuck. Now this might be my personal bias because I started listening to this album when my direct deposit hit and finished it while I started paying my bills on the train but my point stands: it’s too long.
Rick Ross albums are supposed to sound like a dream, a fantasy. The longer they are the more you realize that his life is fabricated. It sounds like he’s living vicariously through his own raps. Like he’s rapping about a lifestyle that EXCITES him instead of the one he actually lives. This is bothersome because by this point in the “Boss” persona’s career, he should be making his money legit and getting further away from the game. It’s fun for a bit but after a while I don’t want to hear Ghost raps, I wanna hear James St. Patrick raps.
Real talk, I’d love to hear Rozay rap about his time as a Correctional Officer. I know we laughed at him for it but still could you imagine how gritty a C.O.s bars would be? Watching people getting stabbed, throwing people into solitary confinement , and listening to niggas pretend the sexual relationship they have with another man isn’t actual love. Right now he’s doing too much to maintain realness in a fictional character. This is part of the reason Ross with Hair just looks weird, it’s out of character for Rick Ross but not for William Leonard Roberts the 2nd, he wanted a change. I just wish that he realized on POM2 that vulnerability would help truly reach the next level as it has on earlier albums.
Overall Port of Miami 2 is a solid Rick Ross album. It’s not bad, it’s not INCREDIBLE, it just exists. If you gotta pop champagne you’ll enjoy this album as background music. Beyond that, it’s nothing too incredible. I give “Port of Miami 2” 7 Cartier Frames Out Of 10.