Rick Ross

Rick Ross is back with his third studio album, and second in just over a year, and what a year it has been for the self-proclaimed boss. Deeper than Rap was promised by Ross to be his best work to date, and was released on the heels of a whirlwind 12 months in which Ross both courted and battled controversy: a dust up with DJ Vlad, feuding with 50 and even rumours of a falling out with old friend Trick Daddy. The album starts off far stronger than it finishes, similar to Ross's previous album, Trilla. The first track, "Mafia Music," is an excellent example of Ross's two biggest strengths: his flow and incorporation of slang. However, Deeper than Rap has its faults, which have carried over from his previous work. Ross often rhymes the same word twice and his choruses have a tendency to suck. Still, during a tumultuous time, Ross managed to stay focused enough to come through on exactly what he said he would, giving us an album that is by no means a masterpiece but is still better than anything he's done to date. Ross was able to do this by channelling his often self-created struggles into something that knocks on the door of being something more than mainstream.