Released just as summer 2012 became official,
Maybach Music Group Presents Self Made, Vol. 2: The Untouchable Empire finds
Rick Ross and his crew doing it big with a mixtape worth of thuggy club music, but there are some solid anchors here that go way deeper than expected. First and best of the deep bits is the
Wale,
Ross, and
Nas team-up "This Thing of Ours," a slower creeper from
Don Cannon that bleeps along with economical production, all as the three Dons solemnly reflect on their wins and losses. New Maybach signee
Omarion joins
Wale for the prime break-up and quick rebound cut "M.I.A.," which is built a slippery, stark, and challenging Tone the Beat Bully production that rewards with each return visit. When it comes to gutter music,
Gunplay's "Black and Black" with
Ace Hood and
Bun B is as loud, raucous, and reckless as mad gangsters require. That's three unexpected triumphs with
Ross as executive producer, and when it comes to his usual Rozay-big, crowd-pleasing club track, there's plenty, including the wonderfully ridiculous, eight-minute opener "Power Circle," which comes with both "The square root of kilo is me" and "If
Michael Jackson came alive right now, he'd ask you to smoke for him. So in his honor…. (sound of a joint being lit)". Political correctness aside, brute humor from
Ross ("My bank account is Jewish") is in abundance, and with Maybach folks like
Stalley (check his "Fluorescent Ink" for some organic and jazzy uplift) and
Meek Mill (an asset on the hook-filled "Black Magic") mixing with
Wiz Khalifa,
T.I.,
T-Pain, and other established names,
Self Made 2 is an interesting mix of in-house and all-star, and another reason to take
Ross the ring-leader seriously. ~ David Jeffries