Deeper than Rap RICK ROSS   Label: Maybach Music Group / Slip 'n' Slide / Def Jam Released: April 21, 2009 Reviewer: DJ Z Rating: 5.5 / 10 Rick 'The Boss' Ross sure does represent the state of hip hop in 2009. On the one hand he's seen as the epitome of a style-over-content major label rapper with limited verbal skills and even more limited subject matter, riding formulaic contemporary beats and relying on the usual guests (T-Pain and Lil' Wayne stand up) to give him his radio hits.  On the other, fans see him as a hardcore hustler on the grind, churning out modern-day anthems, stomping on anyone who gets in his way and fully representing his hometown, the MIA. Setting aside the well-documented correctional officer past or Curtis beef, what's interesting is that sometimes all this controversy and additional attention can actually bring out the best in an artist. We saw it happen with Jay and Nas at the turn of the century - and while Ross is not suddenly going to have Rakim re-thinking his multi-syllabic metaphoric wordplay, the Bawse actually kicks off this third set with some decent-enough rhymes. Cases in point; Magnificent, in which he opens his first verse like a sequel to Special Ed's long-forgotten '80s classic with the similar name, or some almost Eminem-style couplets in the second verse of the party joint Yacht Club. Yes, it's all about ballin' and hustlin' - but hey, what did we expect? And with self-explanatory track titles such as Rich Off Cocaine, Mafia Music and Gunplay (which, amusingly, is billed as "feat. Gunplay"), this album doesn't pretend to be anything but true to itself. The heater that set the project off with a bang was most definitely Maybach Music 2. In a sequel to the highly regarded Jigga duet from his previous album, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League produce a downtempo cinematic cut with fellow high-profile, chart-topping guests Weezy, T-Pain and Kanye West. It's okay, but perhaps because the autotune hook is sounding so tired nowadays, and the tempo of the beat almost drains the verses of their energy, it's unlikely we'll still be bumping this in a few years time. Unfortunately, much of the album has a radio-friendly gloss encasing Ross's gritty rhymes. After a decent start (Magnificent, Yacht Club and Maybach Music 2), the album begins to nosedive and Ross' rhymes get more simplistic as the backdrops he's given to work with become ever more bland and uninspiring. R&B hooks prop up numerous tracks, and the production really softens to accommodate them. With guests such as Ne-Yo on the shuffling pop-effort Bossy Lady (about HBIC - "head b***hes in charge"), The-Dream (on the execrable All I Really Want, which has the most inadvertently wrong title imaginable), and Robin Thicke (on the lacklustre Lay Back, which sounds like a drab version of Usher's Love In this Club) you immediately get the idea of the commercial compromises that have been made. Things pick up when the Inkredibles serve up a Dirty South gem in Usual Suspects with Nas, who shines bright with a typically tight verse - and while the appearance of Trina comes as no surprise (on the dated-sounding crunk moment Face), it's interesting to hear something new from troubled '90s vixen Foxy Brown, who turns up in Murder Mami on top boastful form. Other highlights include Valley of Death, which sees a thankful Ross laying his soul on the line and showing his appreciation for everything he has in life over a Barry White loop put together by Toomp (hence the T.I.-esque vibe).  Overall, this third release from the self-styled Boss of the South will please his existing fanbase and keep him in high rotation on the airwaves. It won't win him many new followers, but it'll keep those that are already supporting his cause on side. Onlookers watching the controversy turn into his third consecutive Billboard Number One will no doubt continue to scratch their heads in dismay or confusion: but baiting the media is clearly a big part of what makes for success in hip hop, 2009 style.