I present some highlights and takeaways from a busy week in hip-hop that included a number of releases from big name artists. Without further ado:
Rick Ross's "Mastermind" is better than expected.
Enjoying a Rick Ross album is a little like watching "Scarface" (1983). Sure it's fictional, but you're still going to revel in the kingpin narrative. Imagining the dangerous and luxurious life of crime that Ross describes is his music's very appeal. The fact that he isn't the criminal he claims to be only makes it more accessible; he's imagining that lifestyle alongside us. Ross will never blow you away with his lyrics. There will be funny lines, offensive lines and lines that make no sense. There will be gluttony, excess and - of course - food.
But with Ross, it isn't about multisyllabic rhyme schemes and powerful meanings. Rather it's about the presentation. "Mastermind," the Maybach Music Group label founder's sixth studio album, is no exception. The beats are lushly layered, and the aura is grandiose. Production comes courtesy of Ross himself, Mike WiLL Made It, DJ Mustard and Scott Storch, among others. Guest spots include Kanye West, Jay-Z, The Weeknd, Jeezy and Scarface. At this point in his career, there are no surprises with Ross. His formula is tried and tested. But the execution is as sharp as ever on "Mastermind."
ScHoolboy Q doesn't give a damn what people think.
Months of hype and excitement - much like what surrounded the buildup to ScHoolboy Q's sophomore effort "Habits and Contradictions" (2012) - can create insurmountable stress and impossible expectations. The pressure to give the people what they want can even derail an artist. ScHoolboy Q, who for his part did nothing to offset the hype with his self-comparisons to Kendrick Lamar, clearly had no interest in sacrificing his vision for the expectations of others. His just-released album "Oxymoron," is not the party-anthem album that some may have hoped for. There are no songs that will top the Hot 100 and only a handful of lighthearted bangers. It's an album of gritty tracks, and ScHoolboy Q is at his best on the plethora of darker gangster cuts.
What makes ScHoolboy Q special is his ability to let his personality shine through on all of his music. Whether it's on the album's biggest radio grab "Collard Greens" or the darkest street narrative of "Hoover Street," the rapper never sacrifices himself. He presents himself exactly as he is - a complex individual, aware of his faults, with a gangster background, a love for marijuana and a genuine appreciation for his new lifestyle - and tells you to take it or leave it. That blunt honesty is exactly what drives "Oxymoron."
Kid Cudi who?
"Man on the Moon: The End of Day," Kid Cudi's acclaimed first album that spawned hit singles including "Day 'n' Night" and "Pursuit of Happiness," was released five years ago. But it may as well have been a lifetime ago for Cudi. From "Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager" (2010) to last year's "Indicud," his releases have gotten progressively less significant and his sales have more or less declined. With the surprise release of "Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon" this year, Cudi is less relevant than ever. The album received very mixed reviews and is projected to sell fewer than 100,000 first week units. I won't pretend that I've listened to "Satelite Flight," and really that's the point. He's simply not a prominent artist in hip-hop any longer. For a rapper who used to be a mainstream staple, Cudi has fallen to the fringes of a genre that seems to have advanced beyond his once progressive sound. My, how times change.
Ryan Buell is a sophomore who is majoring in psychology. He can be reached at Ryan.Buell@tufts.edu.
