Rick Ross Trilla Album Zip
Christel Malden
Trilla is the second studio album by American rapper Rick Ross. It was released on March 11, 2008, by Poe Boy Entertainment, Slip-n-Slide Records and Def Jam Recordings. Production was handled by The Runners, J. R. Rotem, Drumma Boy, DJ Toomp, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, DJ Nasty & LVM, Blac Elvis, J Rock, Mannie Fresh, Los Vegaz and Bink!. It features guest appearances from R. Kelly, T-Pain, Trey Songz, Young Jeezy, Trick Daddy, Nelly, Brisco, Triple C's, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Avery Storm. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 198,000 copies in the first week.[1] The album was a certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). To date, the album has sold over 700,000 copies in the United States.
In March 2008, in an interview with AllHipHop, he spoke about where the album title came from, saying: "Trill is a term we been using down south. I'm sure you heard Bun B use it. Pimp C been saying that since forever. You know in the Texas/Florida panhandle, that's what we say. And I just put my twist and my spin on it. I kind of took a little from Michael Jackson's Thriller album and put that on mines and that's how we came up with Trilla. Shout out to Bun B. That's my uncle in the game."[5]
On October 16, 2007, the album's lead single, "Speedin'" featuring R. Kelly, was released.[6] On December 14, 2007, the music video was released for "Speedin'" featuring R. Kelly.[7] On February 14, 2008, the album's second single, "The Boss" featuring T-Pain, was released.[8] On February 21, 2008, the music video was released for "The Boss" featuring T-Pain.[9] On March 25, 2008, the album's third single, "Here I Am" featuring Nelly and Avery Storm, was released.[10] On May 23, 2008, the music video was released for "Here I Am" featuring Nelly and Avery Storm.[11]
Trilla was met with generally mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 60, which indicates "mixed or average reviews ", based on 12 reviews.[12] David Jeffries of AllMusic said, "The huge guest list is also a plus since Ross would have a hard time carrying this album on his own, but when surrounded by talent he pushes a little harder and comes up with a handful of rhymes that aren't tired or clichd."[13] Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly stated, "Miami's Rick Ross generally gets by on his blustery baritone rather than on lyrical wizardry. Nothing wrong with that: As his second full-length reminds us, his imposing voice sounds pretty good over big-budget synths and even better over buttery soul strings and horns."[14] Alexander J. Azizi of HipHopDX said, "Blending a somewhat diverse mix of hot producers who are all at the top of their game, and well chosen quality guest appearances is evidently a mold of success for The Boss. Top that off with a flow that seems to improve continuously and you've got Trilla. Although the album has its downsides with some unremarkable songs, the quality of the album musically and lyrically definitely makes up for it. If you dug Port Of Miami you will for sure be pleased with this album and the progress that Rick Ross has made."[15]
Todd Gilchrist of IGN stated, "Overall, Trilla is not an album destined for longevity or critical acclaim, but there's no doubt that at least a few hits will be mined from its tracks, and Ross' star will continue to rise among the ranks of radio-ready gangsta rappers."[16] Jordan Sargent of PopMatters said, "It's all very calculated, and some would say empty, but albums that are good because the rappers do just enough not to ruin a great collection of beats and guests verses is not a foreign concept to us. Why Trilla especially is catching so much shit for it, I'm not sure. I mean, we all heard American Gangster, right?"[18] Wilson McBee of Slant Magazine stated, "If Ross spouts myriad clunkers, his cadence is at least smooth and his voice cushiony, and so if it's possible to ignore the rapper and focus on the production, Trilla becomes an enjoyable listen."[21] Evan McGarvey of Pitchfork said, "Trilla, Rick Ross's inexplicable second album, is every bit a fatty contemporary American disaster."[17] Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews stated, "I suspect as Ross continues to evolve as a lyricist there will be even more of a message in his music, but in the meantime the production and guest stars on Trilla make for an effective album that shows Ross has yet to tap into his full potential."[19]
Trilla debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 198,000 copies.[23] In its second week, the album dropped to number three on the chart, selling 90,000 copies.[24] In its third week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, selling 51,000 copies that week.[25] On May 8, 2008, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.[26]
I wish this could be just a series of jokes. I wish I'd never heard Comin' Out Hard or Ridin' Dirty or even www.thug.com. I wish we could all just be droll about Rick Ross' need for a bra, his insistence on rhyming the same word with the same word multiple times a verse, and his little waddle in the opening 45 seconds of the "Speedin'" video. But here it comes, marching into the commercial American sunlight. The second album from the Miami rapper whose sole strength as an MC is that he may or may not have touched a kilo of soft a few times in his life. Trilla, Rick Ross's inexplicable second album, is every bit a fatty contemporary American disaster.
Synthesizers fill every space where things like human voices or silences might go. Ross struggles with negotiating the most basic couplets. He doesn't so much articulate words and phrases as simply drop his jaw and eject whatever. The only moderate successes are songs ("Luxury Tax") where Ross lets MCs like Trick Daddy and Lil Wayne focus on things like diction and syntax. "Speedin'", the sole arena of fun on Trilla, at least has Ross trying to squeeze out some item-based personality: "Caesar's salad/ Caesar's palace/ You not a boss little nigga 'cause your cheese is average!" Of course, that fun is all part of an unconscious self-parody-- DJ Khaled and Diddy and Fat Joe and the Runners (whose presence on a CD is becoming reason enough to shred it) each helming their own speedboat, the horsemen of a delusional costume party.
Hip-hop fans invested in history and emotion are bound to recoil at song titles like "DJ Khaled Interlude" and shake their heads at Ross' eleventh-hour attempts at humanizing himself (they're on album-concluding "I'm Only Human" and involve chocolate milk-related flatulence). Ross's attempts at self-definition-- "This Me", "Here I Am", "The Boss"-- are as calculated and chilly as his odes to consumption are revealingly spirited ("Maybach Music", "Billionaire", "Luxury Tax"-- in that sequence, no less). Repetition is one thing, but having America's favorite ASIMO, T-Pain, squawking "Boss! Boss! Boss!" is something else entirely.
Maybe it's a question of geography. A friend from Florida explained to me last week why non-Floridians could never "get" Miami rap. He illustrated it as a matter of utility: New Yorkers listen to rap composed in and designed for suffocating, intimate, cell-like rooms. California rap is for slow cruising, oven-baked afternoons, and suburbs that can turn deadly on you, literally, around the corner. Miami? Peacock posing on South Beach, tops down, windows down, and vacuum synthesizers spilling into the atmosphere like digital locust hordes. In that case, consider Trilla, in all its deaf, shrieking power, a sound that sadly symbolizes the blissful complacency of now.
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