''Ashes to Ashes'' is the first
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
by American rapper
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper.
Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...
, it was released on December 24, 2010.
The mixtape features
guest appearances from
Drake,
T.I.,
Ludacris,
Wiz Khalifa,
Wale
Wale or WALE may refer to:
Places
*Wale, Devon, a hamlet in England
*Wale, Tomaszów Mazowiecki County, a village in Poland
People
*Wale (surname)
*Wale (rapper), stage name of American rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin
Radio and television ...
,
Meek Mill,
Chester French
Chester French was an American indie pop band consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter David-Andrew 'D.A.' Wallach and multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Maxwell Drummey. They met as college students at Harvard University, naming their band ...
,
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...
,
Ne-Yo and
Birdman.
Critical response
''Ashes to Ashes'' was met with generally favorable reviews from
music
critics. Jonah Weiner of ''
Rolling Stone'' gave the mixtape three out of five stars, saying "On this mixtape — too uneven to match the gruff grandeur of 2010's Teflon Don, but featuring some thunderous production by Lex Luger and Boi-1da — Ross brags with such actorly gusto you don't really notice (or care) how little sense he makes: "I'm smokin' dope! I'm on my cellphone!" he roars on "
9 Piece
"9 Piece" is a song by American rapper Rick Ross. There are two versions, one featuring T.I. and the other – Lil Wayne. The song was originally placed on Ross' mixtape '' Ashes to Ashes'' and later released as a single from his fifth studio alb ...
". That shouldn't sound impressive, but with Ross pitching it, it does."
Tom Breihan of
Pitchfork Media gave the mixtape a 7.1 out of ten, saying "The tape moves from bangers to slick, more meditative tracks before returning to bangers, and it might work better if it were all bangers, all the time. Ross knows he's onto something with "B.M.F.", and he sounds more urgent and alive over churning minor-key trunk-slams than over just about everything else. But other than one godawful chorus from the Chester French chump, the whole thing comes off slick and professional—more than enough to tide the world over in the brief period between Ross albums."
David Amidon of
PopMatters gave the mixtape a five out of ten, saying "Obviously, it’s a bit silly to complain about free music, and while Ross feels like a bit player in his own game once again, it mostly works to this tape’s advantage because of his weaknesses on the mic. So ''Ashes to Ashes'' succeeds in its main goals of keeping Ross in the public eye and verifying his ear for production. But it’s not going to win any new fans the way ''Albert Anastasia'' or ''Teflon Don'' did, and unless the production is way your thing, it’s going to be hard to find reasons to come back for multiple spins of the longplay."
Track listing
References
{{Rick Ross
2010 mixtape albums
Albums produced by Lex Luger
Albums produced by Aone Beats
Albums produced by Boi-1da
Rick Ross albums