By Rahman Dukes
After almost a year of addressing and dodging his old job as a prison guard, Rick Ross' Deeper Than Rap album finally hit shelves today. Lawsuits, controversies and a heated rap battle with knockout king 50 Cent filled Ross' plate, but in the end, the MC packaged it all nicely into his best work to date.
The hip-hop community was looking for 50's next chess move against Ross, which Fif threatened to deliver on Ross' album-release day, but the blow never came. The Bawse seemed totally removed from the beef and focused on his big day, which included an in-store signing at a local chain store in North Miami called BrandsMart. Many supporters came out to show Ricky love, copping his new CD and meeting him in person.
As I sat back and watched Ross signing copies of the album for fans, flanked by pal DJ Khaled and his Carol City Cartel clique, I couldn't help but wonder if I were watching the making of the next rap superstar. Only time will tell. For the duration of his battle with Fif, real heads knew the victor would be based on two things: good music and record sales. Ross gets a point for the endless hits he's been putting out these past months, but the real deciding factor will come next Wednesday, when SoundScan releases the numbers.
I'm putting my money on another #1 debut.