Rick Ross headlines his second New York show in 3 months, preps fans for 6th album, Mastermind
Last night, at The Beacon Theatre on the west side of Manhattan, Rick Ross, Def Jam’s classic 1970′s gangster and gentleman, took the stage donning a royal blue sport coat, complete with black lapel and no shirt underneath. He stared, at first blankly, then with earnest, at the three levels of clamoring fans and press personnel, some of whom had an opportunity to see Ross perform at September’s Self Made 3 show at Gramercy Theatre, but were awaiting to see what the Miami native would do as a headliner. In a year like 2013, its extremely easy to get lost in the shuffle, what with Kanye West, Jay Z, Drake and Eminem all releasing platinum albums, by the time the end of the year rolls around, people are more looking forward to end-of-year-lists, Grammy nominations and cranberry sauce rather than another exhausting album roll-out from another major label. That being said, attaching a December 17th release date to Rick Ross’ 6th studio album left the MMG CEO with no choice but to saddle up, and ride off into the winter.
It may be safe to say that Mastermind is no longer coming out on December 17th. While Rick Ross is probably one of the very few artists that could pull off a 4 week sprint to his release date, much like Kanye did with his Yeezus campaign in May/June, Yeezus is far from what Mastermind has been billed to be. Coming off of the biggest first-week sales of his career–God Forgives, I Don’t sold roughly 218,000 copies in its first 7 days on the shelves, his next best showing is his debut album, Port of Miami, which fell a couple thousand short of 200k–Ross not only has to capitalize, but he has to push through. He’s given MMG a serious face-lift, releasing multiple Rockie Fresh and Omarion projects in the past year, and recently adding D.C. representative Fat Trel to the roster, and MMG isn’t just that thing Rick Ross shouts at the end of every verse anymore. Its a force to be reckoned with, a legitimate label that has produced multiple chart-topping albums and a crew that can debut in the top 5 on the Billboard charts every time it decides to get together and put out a compilation LP. Still, in order to make MMG pop in the manner that it can, in the manner TDE’s popped over the past year, and in the manner that G.O.O.D. Music has experienced a resurgence in 2013, Rick Ross has to be the leader, and last night was an indication that he can be just that.
Opening the show with his trusted hype-man Young Slab by his side, the scintillating 1500 or Nothin’ band assisted DJ Sam Sneaker in letting “B.M.F.” nearly bring down the building on the opening song. The diverse New York crowd knew every word to every verse–some halfway expected to see Styles P waltz in from backstage–and Ross was showing signs of life. The fact that the tour is called The Mastermind Tour, yet Mastermind may not even be out this year, is awkward in a sense, but you couldn’t tell by watching Ross. He labored through parts of the performance–he’s not exactly supposed to be light on his feet–but it was a labor of love. Ross is still first and foremost a public speaker. He believes in every word, every ad-lib, every instrumental rings true through his heart as if it were the national anthem. He stared into every vicinity, every crevice of The Beacon Theatre, sometimes intimately at specific guests, willing them to come along with him for the ride that will be Mastermind, and Self Made 4, or Meek Mill‘s next album. As Meek Mill and French Montana came out to assist their beloved colleague, Ross at times disappeared into the curtains, as if it weren’t his show for specific intervals, which is when it became apparent: we didn’t come to see Rick Ross, Rick Ross came to see us. Rick Ross came to see if NYC was still where it was when he first dropped “Hustlin’”, and crushed the building. The crowd recited every word to French Montana’s “Pop That” and “Ain’t Worried About Nuthin’”, and Meek’s already legendary “Dreamchasers Intro” made the balcony shake as if it was a suspension bridge in a hurricane. “Tears Of Joy” made the venue feel smaller, as Rick Ross stared directly into the eyes of certain onlookers, almost making them feel uncomfortable, but through his shades you could see his eyes smiling, because at some point, when its all said and done, one thing will remain true. Its a common sentiment that if a knowledgeable journalist or personality can talk about the history of your field at any length, and not mention you, the “Hall of Fame” isn’t where you’ll end up. This goes for the major American sports, politics, and ultimately, Hip-Hop. William Roberts knows, that in 10 years, in 15 years, and even beyond that, when the think-piece writers and the journalists sit down and walk down memory lane, it’ll be impossible to not mention Rick Ross.
Words: Khari Nixon (@KingVanGogh)
Photos: Dylan X (@Dylanisfamous)
