Instead of attempting to recapture the spirit of his number one, platinum-certified 2006 debut,
Rick Ross
is very much in 2019 on its inevitable sequel, his tenth album. Frequent serious references to mortality make
Port of Miami 2
his heaviest recording. On three separate tracks, he envisions his grave, lets his woman know that she can choose his casket -- as if it's a relationship goal -- and flashes back to when he was on life support, deducing that he was dealt cold retribution for his recklessness. In the third one, he even gets existential: "You could have the biggest clique, but you gon' die a loner." The plentiful terse and gruff rhymes exuding opulence -- a few of which are put forth with tiresome, less than standard verve -- consequently seem less like proclamations of invincibility than incitements to seize the day. Links to
Port of Miami
and the city itself aren't common -- a missed opportunity.
Ross
name-checks with reverence some of the high-profile drug-trade figures who have inspired him. Fellow Carol City native
Denzel Curry
, who was 11 when
went nationwide, supplies a racing verse. The returning
contributors are limited to the likes of
Jeezy
,
Lil Wayne
, and producer
DJ Toomp
; key Miamians
Cool & Dre
and
DJ Khaled
, for instance, don't return. Above all, there are strong and poignant connections to the debut on the cover and in the grooves with tributes to
Black Bo
' late, longtime manager. The MC compared the release of this LP to the pushing of a reset button, but this -- the point where he has most potently mixed the fantastical and the autobiographical -- seems like the wrong time to do it. Besides, he can still swank and illustrate a scene with the best of them, whether over a thunderous
Just Blaze
beat or swirling soul-funk cooked up by
Jake One
, or while sharing a moment of glory with the departed
Nipsey Hussle
. ~ Andy Kellman