Mastermind
by Rick Ross
  • Record Label: Def Jam
  • Release Date: Mar 4, 2014
User Score
6.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 75 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 75
  3. Negative: 12 out of 75
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  1. Spangle
    Mar 5, 2014
    6
    Honestly, the biggest surprise of the year thus far. Definitely my favorite Rick Ross album up to this point, next probably being Teflon Don. The guest features are solid throughout, aside from Meek Mill and French Montana’s second feature. But, most importantly, Rick Ross continuously killed it. He had a few weak tracks and those are what dragged this album down, but he also had someHonestly, the biggest surprise of the year thus far. Definitely my favorite Rick Ross album up to this point, next probably being Teflon Don. The guest features are solid throughout, aside from Meek Mill and French Montana’s second feature. But, most importantly, Rick Ross continuously killed it. He had a few weak tracks and those are what dragged this album down, but he also had some verses where he killed it, on tracks such as “Drug Dealers Dream”, “Nobody”, and “Sanctified”. Add in the clear standout track “In Vein” and the solid closing track “Thug Cry” and you have a pretty damn good effort from Ricky Ross. While he feels more lyrical than usual here, he does not fully abandon the hype trap tracks and actually turns in solid songs on those with both “The Devil Is A Lie” and “War Ready” serving as shining examples of Ross' flexibility. Now, not everything was great here and the filler from 9-11 and the useless skit “Dope **** serve as true negatives, but the good definitely outweigh the bad here. Mastermind proves that Ross can rap to any doubters, now let us see if he can continue this.… Expand
  2. oldcamprules
    Mar 5, 2014
    6
    I must confess that i'm not really a fan of Rick Ross because most of his songs have weak lyrics which make to puke , but this, i think it's the greatest album/mixtape from him that i ever heard.It's that Rick Ross that I've been waiting for since the devil in a new dress from Kanye's album.Finally i hear some decent lyrics from him and he has some consistency on this mixtape.My favoriteI must confess that i'm not really a fan of Rick Ross because most of his songs have weak lyrics which make to puke , but this, i think it's the greatest album/mixtape from him that i ever heard.It's that Rick Ross that I've been waiting for since the devil in a new dress from Kanye's album.Finally i hear some decent lyrics from him and he has some consistency on this mixtape.My favorite songs are:Sanctified and Blessing in disguise(because i like scarface)… Expand

Awards & Rankings

81
#81 Most Discussed Album of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 23
  3. Negative: 1 out of 23
  1. The Wire
    Jul 17, 2014
    70
    It's only unfortunate that such a master of making Rick Ross albums must live in a world where there are already five other Rick Ross albums. [May 2014, p.74]
  2. Q Magazine
    Apr 23, 2014
    60
    For a man who continues to spell his surname with two dollar signs, his act is lacking in real drama. [May 2014, p.121]
  3. PopMatters
    Apr 8, 2014
    70
    The pieces tie together, and at the end of the day, there’s no denying that Mastermind is a fun album.
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