Shout-outs to God, prayer and heaven crop up throughout. The artist plans for his daughter’s college needs and regrets how some choices have upset his mother on “Billionaire.”
Awash with n-words, obscenities, anatomical slang and misuses of God’s name, this vile project also features graphic sexual content (erections, oral sex, lesbianism, prostitution, strip clubs, pimping and a ménage à trois). Women are called b–ches and hos. On “We Shinin'” Ross wants to record video of a female pleasuring him so that he can post it on YouTube. That track and at least nine others glamorize drugs or alcohol, from Cristal and marijuana to meth and cocaine. Ross brags about peddling coke on “Luxury Tax,” “Trilla Intro,” “The Boss” and “Billionaire”—no shock since Rick Ross is a stage name paying homage to infamous L.A. cocaine dealer “Freeway” Rick Ross. That illegal trade is a violent one. So are songs about it. Thuggish threats include, “It’s music to my ears every time I fill a clip/… Murder is not a problem” (“Billionaire”). He talks of putting hits on people (“We Shinin'”) and killing a rival’s dog (“All I Have in This World”). The automatic weapon of choice is an AK-47.
Born William Roberts, this Miami native treads tired gangsta turf. Lewd sex. F-words. Gunplay. “Rick Ross is like the poor people president/He represents the struggle,” raps peer DJ Khaled. No, he exploits the struggle and its immoral excesses while giving God lip service.
After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.
