Rick Ross- Port of Miami 2 Review

When Rick Ross shot the cannon in a deceleration of war to 50 Cent. Everybody thought this would mark the end of Rick Ross’s career as we know it. 50 Cent was in savage bully mode, Rick Ross already had a proven suspect background and wasn’t the best “battle rapper”. So people thought that this was gonna be easy work for 50 Cent and Ross’s career would be erased.

But Ross played the game smart. His back was clearly against the wall with his credibility in question and rap biggest bully on his neck. He figured the best way to defeat 50 and change the perception of how the public saw him was to continue to release great music and the results were Deeper than Rap, God Forgives I Dont, Teflon Don, The Rozzay mixtape and Black Market.

But despite the career ressurection and now being reconized as one of the biggest hit makers in hip hop, Ross also encountered alot of personal issues that could have ended his career and even his life. From a driveby shooting that almost took his life, Kidnapping charges in 2015 to suffering a life threatening seizure in 2018. Ross’s career has been a roller coaster.

But today he’s healthier, his pen is sharp as ever and he put together the sequel to his debut album Port of Miami with Port of Miami 2. The question is can the album live up to the hype of the first one? What direction is Ross gonna take? Well he put all the hitmakers in place for this movie and the album is basically a celebration of Ross’s success.

The album did stir some controversy with MayBach Music Vl which featured a verse from Pusha T going at Drake. The verse ended up being removed allegedly due to complaints from Lil Wayne because he was also featured on this track as well.

What makes Rick Ross’s music so enjoyable is that he knows how to balance creating straight up “bangers” and smooth sailing laid back cinematic tunes. Are the tales over exaggerated? Possibly. But when you listen to songs such as Summer Reign, Big Tyme, Bogus Claims and Rich Niggah Lifestyle which features the late Nipsey Hussle breaking down the game about staying true and despising snitches(Like Tekashi 69)

But its when Ross sheds more of his personal life and less off his persona is where you really get to see the true artist in him come out. The Song I Still pray featuring LFN Lucci has Ross reflecting on that period where he was knocking on deaths door when he suffered that seizure in 2018. The melodic hook provided by Ball Geezy gives the track that extra soulful vibe to it.

Port of Miami 2 doesn’t really revisit the harsh realities of cooking crack, shootouts on the top of rooftops and being on the block, But more so Ross on a different mindset of evolving from that stage of his life until now. You get to hear more so about his personal intake on politics(Vegas Residency) and my personal favorite Fascinated.

Between a nice line up, production ranging from club banger to “Cigar smoke” to grown man style music. Rick Ross has mastered many styles throughout his career and regardless of how you feel about his background, He’s found his nieche and became a force to be wreckened with within the game.

Vic Rating: 9.0 outta 10