Rick Ross and the Maybach Music Group came back on Self Made Vol 2 with a vengeance.
“If Michael Jackson came alive right now, he’d ask you to smoke one for him..” –Rick Ross (Self Made Vol. 2)
MMG has kept our attention since Rick Ross handpicked some of the toughest emerging rappers in the game. The Self Made Vol 2 album is a collection of the hottest new rappers out. Rick Ross recruited strong players that stand out in the oversaturated hip-hop environment, and together they are reflective of Rick Ross’ home team, the Miami Heat.
Self Made Vol 2 is a great collection of hard rhymes over smooth beats with bass meant to make your Maybach shake.
Starting off strong with “Power Circle”, Kendrick Lamar brings his “black hippy,” and incredibly intelligent flow to a round table of men who are mostly known for their hard street stories. Though the majority of rappers tread on the same struggle concepts, rappers like Meek Mill and Wale on the “Power Circle” have very distinctive flows.
Producer Beat Billionare brings heat on “Bag of Money,” “Black Magic,” and “Black on Black” with the help of tough-spitting rappers Meek Mill, T.I., Ace Hood, Gunplay and Bun B. We’d love to hear Waka Flocka, Meek Mill and Lil Wayne remix “Black on Black.”
Wale and Omarion, also known as Maybach O (please hold your laughter), slow things down for the ladies on “This Thing of Ours” and “M.I.A.” We’re glad to see Omarion with a team that can appreciate his R&B style.
Omarion is a hard-core R&B singer. We’ll see how that works out. “Let’s Talk” gets mixed reviews from us. It’s not original. The best parts of the song are from old-school songs (including B.I.G.’s hook). How can you judge a song that is a new-age cover of a few of your favorite old-school songs? Just like Omarion says “you can say i’m hatin’ if you want to.”
French Montana’s appearances added nothing to the effort, and with the exception of the few names mentioned, Maybach Music Group could have handled this project by themselves.
Needless to say, if your verse didn’t make the Self Made Vol 2 album, do better.
Songs on repeat: “Black Magic” (Meek Mill, Rick Ross); “Black on Black” (Gunplay, Ace Hood, Bun B.); “Bury Me A G” (Rick Ross, T.I.)
Let us know what you think! Take a listen to the full stream below
