Black Market (Rick Ross album)

Black Market is the eighth studio album by American rapper Rick Ross. The album was released on December 4, 2015, by Maybach Music Group and Def Jam Recordings.[1][2] The album features guest appearances from John Legend, CeeLo Green, Nas, DJ Premier, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, Future and The-Dream.

Black Market
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 4, 2015
Recorded2015
GenreHip hop
Length60:16
Label
Producer
Rick Ross chronology
Black Dollar
(2015)
Black Market
(2015)
Rather You Than Me
(2017)
Singles from Black Market
  1. "Foreclosures"
    Released: September 23, 2015
  2. "Sorry"
    Released: October 9, 2015

Background

edit

In November 2015, in an interview with Billboard, he spoke about the album, saying: "You know, this album is, I feel like, most definitely gonna be a Rozay on a higher, intellectual level, just discussing a different array of things. When you listen to records like "Foreclosure," that's like me sitting in a room by myself just rapping about things that's running across my mind and things that have been bothering me. And during my incarceration, that was the type of music I created. Just in that short moment of time, I really just sat there... I'm a muthafucka that flies six million miles a year and just to halt one day, out of the blue, for three weeks? It's just, "Woah." There's a lot of shit that I wrote and a lot of shit that I thought about. I came back out and scrapped a lot of music and I recorded some dope songs, but my first day home I recorded six records. So that's why I was able to put out the Black Dollar record and have been releasing a slew of freestyles, just feeding the fans and everybody that's been asking for that Rozay music."[3]

Singles

edit

The album's lead single, "Foreclosures" was released on September 23, 2015.[4] The album's second single, "Sorry" was released on October 9, 2015. The song features guest vocals from American recording artist Chris Brown and is produced by Scott Storch.[5] On November 12, 2015, the music video was released for "Sorry".[6]

Critical reception

edit
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic61/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [8]
HipHopDX     [9]
Pitchfork Media7.0/10[10]
PopMatters          [11]
Rolling Stone     [12]
Tiny Mix Tapes     [13]

Black Market received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on 9 reviews, which indicates "generally positive reviews".[7] David Jeffries of AllMusic said, "This Miami Don remains an unapologetic and indefensible brute -- and he says as much on this very LP -- but this rough, honest, and ambitious work is like his Raging Bull, taking the listener on a compelling, dirty journey that's also a connectable character study, and then letting some slick Chris Brown ("Sorry") and Future ("D.O.P.E") features play while the credits roll."[8] Scott Glaysher of HipHopDX said, "All in all, Black Market does its job. It doesn’t hit as hard as some previous albums, but it surely proves just how good Rick Ross can be as a songwriter and collaborator. It also proves how sharp he has become as a rapper. There may not be a thundering single that the album is built around, but, for the most part, Ross’s consistency fills that gap quite nicely."[9] Julian Kimble of Pitchfork Media stated, "The motivated, slightly weary Ross heard on Black Market—which has no MMG features—is a better fit for the moment than the bulletproof supervillain of old. Ross has proven his resilience in the past; maybe carefully controlled doses of reality are just what he needs to move forward."[10]

Commercial performance

edit

In the United States, the album debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200, with 65,000 album-equivalent units (54,000 copies of pure sales) in its first week.[14]

Track listing

edit
Black Market – Standard version
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Free Enterprise" (featuring John Legend)
4:19
2."Smile Mama, Smile" (featuring CeeLo Green)
Jake One4:01
3."One of Us" (featuring Nas)
Calvo da Gr83:13
4."Silk Road"4:21
5."Color Money"
  • Roberts II
  • Dwayne Richardson
D. Rich3:06
6."Dope Dick"Jake One4:44
7."Crocodile Python"
4:40
8."Ghostwriter"
  • Roberts II
  • Richardson
D. Rich4:27
9."Black Opium" (featuring DJ Premier)
Black Metaphor3:55
10."Can't Say No" (featuring Mariah Carey)J.R. Rotem3:30
11."Peace Sign"
4:50
12."Very Best" (featuring Mary J. Blige)
JP Did This 14:56
13."Sorry" (featuring Chris Brown)
5:30
14."D.O.P.E." (featuring Future)DP Beats4:44
Total length:60:16
Black Market – Deluxe version (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Foreclosures"4:14
16."Money Dance" (featuring The-Dream)
7:37
17."Carol City"
  • Roberts II
  • Shamann Cooke
  • Rodrickus Hill
  • Beat Billionaire
  • Dreek Beatz
4:13
Total length:76:20
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer
  • "Silk Road" features additional vocals from Teedra Moses.
  • "Peace Sign" features additional vocals from Red Café and Jeremih.
  • "Foreclosures" features additional vocals from Kenneth Bartolomei.

Charts

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Black Market (Deluxe) by Rick Ross on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2015-12-04. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  2. ^ Harling, Danielle (2015-10-29). "Rick Ross' "Black Market" To Possibly Be "The Pinnacle Album" Of His Career". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  3. ^ "Rick Ross Reveals 'Black Market' Album Art, Wants to Record With Adele: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  4. ^ "Foreclosures - Single by Rick Ross on iTunes". iTunes. 2015-09-23. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  5. ^ "Sorry (feat. Chris Brown) - Single by Rick Ross on iTunes". iTunes. 2015-10-09. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  6. ^ "Video: Rick Ross feat. Chris Brown – 'Sorry'". Rap-Up. 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  7. ^ a b "Reviews for Black Market by Rick Ross". Metacritic. 2015-12-04. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  8. ^ a b David Jeffries (2015-12-04). "Black Market - Rick Ross | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  9. ^ a b Glaysher, Scott (2015-12-05). "Rick Ross - Black Market". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  10. ^ a b "Rick Ross: Black Market". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  11. ^ "Rick Ross: Black Market". PopMatters. 2015-12-18. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  12. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (2016-01-15). "Rick Ross's New Album: Black Market". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  13. ^ "Rick Ross - Black Market". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  14. ^ Keith Caulfield. "200: Adele's '25' Rules for Third Week at No. 1, Coldplay Debuts at No. 2". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  15. ^ "Rick Ross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  16. ^ "Rick Ross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  17. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  18. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2020.