MUSIC REVIEW: FLORIDA- R.O.O.T.S

PERSONALLY, I’M A FAN OF FLO-RIDA. I DIG HIS FLOW, & HIS SWAG ON WAX. HE KNOWS HE ISN’T SUPER LYRICAL, NOR DOES HE ATTEMPT TO BE. BUT HE DOES HAVE A GREAT BLEND OF COMMERCIAL & SUBSTANTIVE MUSIC ON HIS ALBUM, MUCH LIKE HE DID ON HIS FRESHMAN ALBUM, MAIL ON SUNDAY. SO CHECK IT THIS OTHER REVIEW, & THEN CHECK OUT HIS ALBUM. IT WON’T DISAPPOINT.

Flo Rida's 'R.O.O.T.S.'

From LL Cool J to Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, hip-hop always has prized larger-than-life icons whose alchemy of skills, style and swagger enabled them to scale the Billboard charts. But with rap finally submerged in the waters of the mainstream, it's only inevitable that it would emulate the superstar-as- cipher model pioneered by its pop kin.

"Right Round," Flo Rida's record-shattering, double-platinum first single from "R.O.O.T.S.," boasts production credits from Dr. Luke, the mastermind behind such smashes as Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl." Interpolating Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)," the song recasts rap as Hot Topic teen pop. It's a smart move. Gone are the illusions of hip-hop credibility that dogged "Mail on Sunday." In its stead, Flo Rida's Atlantic patrons have supplied him with billion-dollar beats, gluttonous hooks and a blinding chrome tint.

With an almost eerie facelessness, the Miami rapper inhabits the songs like Armani suits bought off the rack. He's enlisting a who's who of contemporary hit makers: will.i.am. and Akon ("Available,") Timbaland ("Touch Me,") Wyclef Jean ("Rewind,") Ne-Yo ("Be on You,") and Nelly Furtado ("Jump"). Flo Rida boasts an adroit double-timed flow, but his greatest achievement is his understanding of how to stay in the background, never overwhelming the electro-laced tracks.

Even the title song, a narrative of Flo Rida's gritty rise, is swathed in mammoth R&B hooks, baying ad-libs, dollar-sign synthesizers. There's an almost geometric symmetry to "R.O.O.T.S.' " pop precision, one that lends it a ruthless efficacy and anoints Flo Rida the first anonymous rap superstar.

-- Jeff Weiss

MUSIC NEWS: RICK ROSS SITS ATOP THE CHARTS

I TRIED TO TELL YALL, BUT I GUESS I LET THE NUMBERS TALK FOR ME. LOL. MY HOME SKILLET, YEAH I BROUGHT THAT TERM BACK, & NO JACKIN ALLOWED, UNLESS PROPER CREDIT IS ATTRIBUTED TO YOURS TRULY, RICK RIZZLE IS SITTING PRETTY, HIGH THAT IS, IN FACT ON TOP OF THE BILLBOARD CHARTS. DON’T BELIEVE ME, CHECK OUT THE POST.

Rick Ross hits No. 1 with 'Deeper Than Rap'

By Erik Pedersen

Rick Ross is batting 1.000.

The Miami rapper makes it three-for-three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, including two in 13 months, as "Deeper Than Rap" moved 150,000 units during its first week. That's 40,000 fewer than "Trilla" sold during its freshman week in March 2008 but easily enough to push the soundtrack to "Hannah Montana: The Movie" from the summit.

Depeche Mode scores its sixth top 10 album and best debut since 1993 with "Sounds of the Universe." But the 80,000-unit tally marks the English electronic band's smallest debut sales week for a studio set since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. The group's previous four studio offerings -- dating to its lone No. 1, 1993's "Songs of Faith and Devotion" -- had opening weeks north of 92,000.

Pennsylvania rapper Asher Roth -- whose paean to partying, "I Love College," flirted with the pop top 10 last month -- arrives at No. 5 with his debut disc, "Asleep in the Bread Aisle."

Elsewhere, the double-platinum soundtrack to "Twilight" remains for a sixth consecutive week in the top 10, where it has resided since the film's DVD release.

Billboard analyst Keith Caulfield contributed to this report.

Find this article at:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i6ebcff5b127efb6f92155a6f1f84f07a

MUSIC REVIEW: RICK ROSS- DEEPER THAN RAP

check OUT THIS ARTICLE ON MY SHO NUFF ACE, RICK RIZZLE, THE RICH NIZZLE. HE’S WITHOUT A DOUBT EN FUEGO RIGHT NOW, SO TAKE HEED & ACT LIKE YOU ALREADY KNOW. I’LL PROFILE HIM LATER. CHECK OUT THE ARTICLE & GIVE ME YOUR FEEDBACK

magnificent music video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPSRqb0p2nk

Album Review: Rick Ross-Deeper Than Rap

After months of numerous album push-backs, Rick Ross' Deeper Than Rap finally saw the light of day. It's been no secret; Rick has been getting a lot of bad promotion with the on-going 50 Cent beef and personal attacks from the rapper, yet through it all, Rick remained confident about the success that he believed the album would see.

Turns out, Rick was confident for a reason. Deeper Than Rap will shock a few people who are expecting redundant material from the Miami native who is known to babble on tracks about his supposed criminal history; in fact, the album is full of songs that may just go on to be hits.

Rick on this album, goes ahead and let's his hair down starting with the very first track which is "Mafia Music"; the song that started it all. Flaunting his gangster rhetoric line by line all the while calling out mysterious individuals (with the exception of 50 Cent which he makes vocal), he goes into details about those who have double crossed him in the past. He takes a more mellow route when it comes to the songs "Magnificent", "All I Really Want" and "Lay Back"; enlisting the help of R&B crooners John Legend, The Dream, and Robin Thicke respectively.

He even takes a trip down memory lane with ex-girlfriend (or supposed ex-fiance) Foxy Brown with "Murda Mami"; a lot of her fans will get a taste of what the Fox is planning on bringing when she drops her comeback album. Prepare to cringe when the "Boss" goes into detail about his "pushing" with the song "Rich Off Cocaine", (the title basically speaks for itself) where the rapper breaks down how he developed his very own form of "business"; as if most of us have been living under a rock to know the simple truth.

And right when listeners think that the song "Valley Of Death" is just another diss track aimed at arch Hip Hop enemy 50 Cent, Rick takes the liberty of finally admitting to his past employment and even breaks down just why he decided to seek employment as a C.O. (and then some). He raps,

I'm bigger than a title, bigger than a name/ You can label me the biggest label in the game. Put food on the table, fed the whole city...Call your boy a C.O./But if I really was, wouldn't all these n*****s undercover be f*****g n*****s up/Keep it trilla, n***a never had a gun and badge/Kept a nice watch, smokin' on a hundred sack...And I got two kids, and for me to feed 'em I did two gigs/I shoveled s**t/I C.O.'ed, so we could bow our head and pray over the meatloaf/I'm lookin' at the big picture/Keep a b***h with cha/Tryin' to get a bit richer.

Deeper Than Rap gives Rick's old and new fans a glimpse into his world and the versatility he has as a rapper. Though his lyrical oration could have been improved on a bit more, Rick shows that he has potential to stomp with the best if he continues to remain strapped with confidence and just a bit of honesty.