Rick Ross ft. Jay Z “The Devil Is A Lie”

Rick Ross suplexed this track. “The devil is lie!” His intonation on the hook is cinematic and it’s hella catchy. Nice play on “lie” and “alive.” The former correctional officer turn poet turn gangsta rapper is nice, but sometimes his over indulgent price tag rhymes become less interesting when they become too vague or gimmicky. What keeps them fresh on this banger is their internal rhymes and word play. He goes from brand dropping to internal rhymes and double entendres. In the first verse, “switch the Benzo for the Enzo/back to the Benzo when the ends low/switch my old bitch for my new bitch/cause my new bitch something like a nympho/fuck the game raw when I came in it.”  Ross is 100. Jay Z murdered it though. He said, “coulda got black list for the crack shit/white Jesus in my crock pot/I mix the shit with some soda/now black Jesus turn water to wine/and all I had to do was turn the stove up/East Coast, winnin’ at life, nigga, cheat code/The hatin’ is flagrant, hit your free throws.” His pauses and inflections through out his verse are stupid.

“The Devil Is A Lie” was produced by Tampa, Florida beat maker K.E. On The Track. It’s impossible to avoid the Just Blaze comparison, but he laced it. Those triumphant horns are columns in a cathedral. The rolling high hats are almost synonymous with the vocals and both rappers weave in and out of them playfully. Peep the masterminds below.