Bawse Moves: How Rick Ross Shifted Focus In 2015

Rick Ross' 2014 was dominated by two huge albums, with March's Mastermind arriving after months of promo, and November's no-less-gargantuan Hood Billionaire coming as more of a surprise. When asked why he chose to become the first major-label rap artist to release two studio albums in one year since 2010, the typically braggadocios Rozay responded: "That’s how bosses do it, ya heard me? That cake so stacked up we ain’t even gotta do that. Then if we text Def Jam you know they’ll bring that bag." In retrospect, it was good that the MMG bawse realized that his career wasn't riding on the success of the latter album, because it failed to reach 50% of its predecessor's first week sales numbers. Along with that, neither album garnered much critical praise, with both appearing on the bottom of our recent ranking of Ross' seven albums. 

This year, Ross has been much less in-your-face, not unveiling any ambitious promotional campaigns or huge singles, but rather hovering under the radar or behind the scenes, two pretty unlikely locales for his larger-than-life presence. After slowly rebuilding hype around recent mixtape Black Dollar and an ensuing string of loosies, the marketing wiz has wisely realized that the time is ripe for another album, and thusly announced a December release for Black Market today. 

After a 2014 that felt a little excessive and self-centered (though still produced some bangers), Rozay has effectively restructured not only his career, but also his label. Here are three ways he's been operating differently in 2015. 

Other than Rick Ross' two albums, Maybach Music Group only released two others in 2014. Stalley's Ohio and Omarion's Sex Playlist both satisfied fanbases that had waited patiently for new projects, but neither cracked the top 30 on the Hot 200. In the first seven months of 2015 alone, Rozay saw to it that three of MMG's powerhouse artists-- Wale, Meek Mill and Gunplay-- got long-awaited albums on the shelves, even if it meant putting his solo career on hold for the first half of the year. With the exception of the somewhat disappointing Living Legend, the others both went number one.

There's still plenty of work to do, with Omarion and French Montana both with albums in the works (hopefully with 2015 release dates), and the ever-impressive Rockie Fresh still albumless. But whereas it used to seem like Ross only focused on his signees when it was convenient for him to do so, now it's clear that he recognizes the strength of his talented cohorts and places value in their solo projects. If Black Market also goes number one, is there any other rap label that can boast three number one albums in 2015? 

With some noteworthy exceptions (Project Pat's on-the-nose cameo in "Elvis Presley Blvd," Kanye & Big Sean's star turns on "Sanctified"), the collabs on Mastermind and Hood Billionaire felt a little forced at times. Rozay has now ascended to a place in the rap game that allows him to call upon anyone for a guest verse, but just because he can doesn't necessarily mean he should. In particular, features from Jay Z on both albums felt more like a status symbol than any sort of artistic choice (especially after we heard how amazing Tink sounded on the original cut of "Movin Bass"), and lukewarm Lil Wayne, Diddy and Weeknd performances failed to connect as well as they should have. 

Recently, though, Ross has been clicking with his collaborators. Black Dollar was lighter on the features than other recent Rozay projects, and on it, big names (Future, Meek, The-Dream) appeared next to guys like Anthony Hamilton and Whole Slab who we hadn't heard from in years. Especially on the tracks with Dream, Future and August Alsina, Ross seemed a little more on the same page with his guests, and even more so on his new track with Chris Brown, "Sorry."

Of course, a Breezy feature is a huge get, but "Sorry" feels like so much more than a popularity grab. Both guys have been embattled with legal issues and controversies their entire careers, and so this apologetic anthem sits squarely in each man's wheelhouse. Even though we only have a radio rip for the time being, it sounds like one of the best Rozay songs of the last five years, which is saying a lot. 

Many of peak-era Rick Ross' best songs bowled you over with their bombast-- think "Hustlin'," "B.M.F.," "MC Hammer"-- but that approach wore thin for him on last year's releases. Tracks like "War Ready" and the "Burn" that had Rozay bellowing atop trap beats were overshadowed by the more laid-back, luxurious cuts (the ones brilliantly deemed "high thread-count music" by Tom Breihan), and the decidedly low-key Black Dollar is evidence that Ross himself realized this. In an era when so many 35+ year old rappers are struggling to age gracefully, Ross has discovered a fountain of youth that comes in the form of saxophone licks, twinkling piano keys and Stevie Wonder synths. 

Even the trappier numbers on the tape, like "Turn Ya Back" and "Knights Of The Templar," are stately and elegant in their modernity, and never have Rozay straining his vocals or making outlandish threats (the colorful boasts that we've always loved are thankfully still there, such as the latter track's "Started break dancing, now we black moguls/No behind the music, saving it for Oprah"). He may still have one or two guttural hooks left in him at this point, but the more relaxed side of his career's coin seems to be working out much better for him at this point.