| Rich Forever | ||||
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| Mixtape by | ||||
| Released | January 6, 2012 (2012-01-06) | |||
| Recorded | 2011 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 79:00 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Rick Ross chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rich Forever | ||||
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Rich Forever is the secondmixtape by AmericanrapperRick Ross. It was released on January 6, 2012. It became one of the most downloaded hip hop mixtapes of all time. The mixtape spawned one commercial single, "Stay Schemin'" and features guest appearances fromDiddy,2 Chainz,Wale,John Legend,Nas,Kelly Rowland,Styles P,Birdman,Meek Mill,French Montana,Pharrell,Future,Stalley andDrake.[1][2]
On January 6, 2012, the music video forStay Schemin' featuringDrake, andFrench Montana was released.[3] On February 8, 2012, the music video was released for "Yella Diamonds".[4] On February 14, 2012, the music video was released for "MMG Untouchable".[5] On February 21, 2012, the music video was released for "High Definition".[6] On March 20, 2012, the music video was released for "I Swear To God".[7] On March 30, 2012, the music video was released for "Party Heart" featuring2 Chainz andStalley.[8] On April 15, 2012, the music video was released for "Ring Ring" featuringFuture.[9]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllHipHop | 8/10[11] |
| The A.V. Club | B+[12] |
| Consequence of Sound |   [13] |
| Fact | 3.5/5[14] |
| Pitchfork | 8.2/10[15] |
| PopMatters | 5/10[16] |
| RapReviews | 5/10[17] |
| Rolling Stone |  [18] |
| Spin | 7/10[19] |
| XXL | 4/5[20] |
Rich Forever was met with generally favorable reviews frommusic critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns aweighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the mixtape received anaverage score of 70, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[10] Jody Rosen ofRolling Stone gave the mixtape three and a half stars out of five, saying "Rich Forever is a mixtape that plays like an album, with blaring, heraldic production by the likes of Boi-1da and up-and-comer Beat Billionaire, plus guest appearances by Drake, Nas and Diddy."[18] Evan Rytlewski ofThe A.V. Club gave the mixtape a B+, saying "Rich Forever meets a standard of quality control that’s rare for albums, let alone mixtapes: 18 new songs, all of them good, many of them exhilarating—chief among them the exultant “Keys To The Crib,” and “Triple Beam Dreams,” a courtroom drama featuring an elaborate Nas verse that's downrightIllmatic-worthy. It's a big project, but it never drags, overreaches, or stumbles; Ross rhymes throughout with so much power and economy that it just keeps barreling forward. If he can sustain this remarkable stride, Ross could probably pull off a double album if he wanted to."[12]
Mike Madden ofConsequence of Sound gave the mixtape three out of five stars, saying "Rich Forever doesn't boast any potential mega-hits. But that's actually a good reason to give this a spin; the songs here are strong without shooting for the stars, hopefully because Ross is saving that kind of stuff for God Forgives. Consider this a rousing sneak-peek to what could be rap's biggest event-album of 2012."[13] Jordan Sargent ofPitchfork gave the mixtape an 8.2 out of 10, saying "Rich Forever adds vindictive muscle to a motto that at one point might have come off as a hollow attempt at branding. It's a record that uses nastiness to cement the character "Rick Ross" as three-dimensional, and uses a barrage of bangers to cement the rapperRick Ross as an undeniable force."[15] David Amidon ofPopMatters gave the mixtape a five out of ten, saying "Rich Forever is Ross at his most emotionally basic, and therefore, anyone choosing to take its journey should be willing to admit it's mainly for the aesthetic quality of his bearded husk grunting over some of the crispiest production you're likely to hear in 2012, even if the sum of those parts is somewhat unremarkable most of the time."[16]
Carl Chery ofXXL gave the mixtape an XL, saying "WithRich Forever, Ross continues to cement his position as one of hip-hop’s best artists. The tape surely sets the table for God Forgives, I Don’t to be the career-album rap fans and critics are expecting from Rozay. And if Ross is simply giving away music of this caliber, Lord knows he’ll be taking it up a few notches with his next commercial release."[20] Jonathan Witz ofAllHipHop gave the mixtape an eight out of ten, saying "Overall, Rich Forever is good enough to be an album, which ends up raising the bar as well as fan expectations for Ross’s delayed and much-anticipated upcoming LP. The entire process of releasing the Rich Forever tape generated a huge amount of buzz for the album as Ross had likely planned. Now, all he has to do is fulfill even higher expectations on God Forgives, I Don’t and continue to lead the way for his Maybach Music Group in 2012."[11] Pedro Hernandez of RapReviews gave the mixtape a five out of ten, saying "Though I doubt these songs will have much in the form of lasting impact on anyone, for a weekend of partying or long car drive to work there certainly is enough to warrant a download. According to my own metrics, I see myself holding on to a good 8-9 tracks off of this for those moments I want to detach from reality in every way and pretend to be the lead in Scarface."[17]
The mixtape was named the third best album of 2012 byComplex,[21] the 45th best byRolling Stone[22] and 47th best byStereogum.[23] In October 2013,Complex named it the seventh best hip hop album of the last five years.[24]
| No. | Title | Producer(s)[25] | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Holy Ghost" (featuringDiddy) | Lil' Lody | 3:26 |
| 2. | "High Definition" | Saint Denson | 3:56 |
| 3. | "MMG Untouchable" | Arthur McArthur,Boi-1da | 2:36 |
| 4. | "Yella Diamonds" (additional vocals byBirdman) | Beat Billionaire | 4:25 |
| 5. | "Fuck Em" (featuring2 Chainz &Wale) | Academy Productionz | 4:30 |
| 6. | "London" (skit) | 0:52 | |
| 7. | "Rich Forever" (featuringJohn Legend) | DVLP, Filthy | 5:05 |
| 8. | "Triple Beam Dreams" (featuringNas) | J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League | 4:22 |
| 9. | "Mine Games" (featuringKelly Rowland) | Arthur McArthur | 3:37 |
| 10. | "New Bugatti" (featuring Diddy) | D. Rich | 3:02 |
| 11. | "Keys to the Crib" (featuringStyles P) | Lee Major | 4:36 |
| 12. | "Last Breath" (featuring Birdman &Meek Mill) | D. Rich | 5:24 |
| 13. | "I Swear to God" | Beat Billionaire | 4:00 |
| 14. | "Off the Boat" (featuringFrench Montana) | Lex Luger | 3:26 |
| 15. | "King of Diamonds" | Mike WiLL Made It | 3:58 |
| 16. | "Ring Ring" (featuringFuture) | Cubic Z, DJ Spinz | 3:07 |
| 17. | "MMG the World is Ours" (featuringPharrell, Meek Mill &Stalley) | Boi-1da, Vinylz | 6:08 |
| 18. | "Party Heart" (featuring Stalley & 2 Chainz) | Chuck Inglish | 4:27 |
| 19. | "Stay Schemin'" (featuringDrake & French Montana) | The Beat Bully | 4:28 |
| 20. | "Shaheem Reid Speaks" | 3:41 |
