Rick Ross Feat. Dr. Dre and Jay-Z – 3 Kings
Larger than life rapper Rick Ross has teamed up with the monoliths of Dr Dre and Jay-Z for his latest single, ‘Three Kings’ from current album (the delightfully titled God Forgives, I Don’t), a club banger that’s been just about everywhere. The track is a celebration of the achievements of the rappers, who spit about their life high points and the legacies of their success, illustrated by a black-and-white video that was produced by Dre Films.
As for what these contributions are, you can probably guess. Dr Dre talks about his musical empire, his long history in the game, and gives a nice product placement nod to his range of headphones (telling listeners to listen to the song through those buds. He is definitely pimping that, yo!). His part of the video is focused on the man riding in bouncing cars, picking up awards, hanging out with the Snoop and getting jiggy with some seriously hot honeys.
As for Ross, it’s the usual got-out-of-the-ghetto, living-the-high-life rhymes you’d expect (considering the 300 pound rapper hasn’t actually been in the game as long as his compadres). His part of the video includes shots of the Rodney King riots and some footage of the Obama family onstage to highlight the lyrics about dreams coming true. (Aw).
Jay-Z pulls things together by touching on his own achievements – selling a ton of records, make a ton of money, being around just about forever and doing things his way – all the way. There’s also an enormous nod to the importance of his family life, as he’s seen chilling with wife Beyonce.
Ross has been in the news recently in a court battle over the use of his name, when a judge ruled that Freeway Ricky Ross must pay rap star Rick Ross’s attorney fees and court costs, after losing a round in a battle for the rights to his own name and image. Judge Rita Miller ruled that Freeway Ricky Ross needs to cough up $500,000 in fees and court costs on behalf of Rick Ross, born William Leonard Roberts II. But it’s not all good news – Rick Ross himself has to pay over $800,000 in lawyers fees and court costs related to the case “It aint over and it aint never gonna be over until things get straight,” Freeway Ricky Ross promised AllHipHop.com. “I aint gonna stop, I am going to keep going until I get my name back and whatever else I got coming.”
But for the meantime, back to ’3 Kings’. The overall verdict? The track is big, it’s bad, and it’s bang up in your face.
