Avid, and even average music fans continue to miss the bigger than life persona, Biggie Smalls. Biggie, Rick Ross and Puff Daddy make the scene and bring stages to life. But in this case, we may be setting the stage for another tragic death and musical mayhem with all of the glitz and glam of another hip-hop mogul using a rapper to revive his image. That nostalgia may be lost in the sauce of the Miami Heat, though.
The question that arises is; does Biggie Small have to be brought back from the dead for a Rick Ross and Puff Daddy union? Essentially, what does it take to make a star rise and who’s star is it anyway? Is Puff Daddy that shining star?
Hell no, not if you look at his last movie.
Puffy’s presence and his involvement didn’t translate into box-office sales or critical acclaim on any level. The real question here is; is star island resident Puff Daddy and Rick Ross the partnership that people want to see?
Obviously the aspirations of an unenlightened hip-hop wanna-be is to emulate someone who hasn’t his millions educating his less fortunate fans and nudging them toward college. But instead we are led to believe the hype that a Rick Ross Puff Daddy connection and Miami Heat collaboration is some type of winning combination. Is Rick Ross ready and willing to risk his life let alone his career to be Diddy’s next Biggie?
Rick Ross is an accomplished rapper in his own right, and Puff Daddy is a musical maestro who recognizes that talent and the possibilities. But Biggie Smalls’ untimely demise should send up a red flag. Too many young brothers hail Biggie as a great success, but remember he was a two-album hit. Like the Michael Jackson phenomenon, who will be larger-than-life in death.
So Rick Ross has achieved success, and Puff Daddy is without a doubt one of the biggest music sensations of the ’90s, but of the last decade not so much. He is a reinvented hype master who has been able to parlay his Sean John clothing line and television ventures — which are more a result of MTV execs need for a black face than talent — into a hugely lucrative enterprise.
But the fact remains that Puff Daddy’s musical ability is questionable and from the looks of things it may be retirement time based on his own record sales of over the past years.
Puff Daddy is an executive producer, and the Rick Ross Biggie Small similarities are not lost on him. But for those who appreciate Rick Ross, and have seen the Puff Daddy rising star scenario before, we don’t want to see the tragedy repeated.
Puff Daddy looks the part and he should, he’s got enough money, but musically he’s no L.A. Reid. Kanye West is currently the king of producers, and will.i.am is the most successful producer around right now, and there are a litany of other hot young producers churning out the hits.
Is Puff Daddy an image maker? That he is. But Rick ross already has an image and hitching his to Puff daddy’s may tarnish it. –phil me
