Courtesy of VIBE.com

Vibe Magazine chopped it up with the hit makers behind Rick Ross’ latest album Deeper Than Rap

J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Lays Down the Law for Rick Ross

by Brad Wete

How the production team pushed Deeper Than Rap even further
Rick Ross lives! Striking news considering the Bawse’s career should be firmly planted six feet under South Beach sands. First came accusations that he was a former correctional officer, which were subsequently confirmed. Then, he brought in 2009 by entering in a rap battle with hip hop’s most notorious popularity killer, 50 Cent. And yet Rick Ross still stands.

So how did “Officer Ricky” beat the heat? See Exhibit A: Ross’ new album, Deeper Than Rap (Maybach Music Group/Poe Boy/Def Jam), which dropped this week and is easily the best rap offering of the young year. On his third full length offering, Ross not only displays incredible lyrical growth, he also continues to showcase a strong ear for strong, lush beats. The four he picked from J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League—“Maybach Music 2,” “Magnificent,” “Yacht Club,” and “Rich Off Cocaine”—in particular stand out. On Tuesday, VIBE caught up with the Tampa-based production trio—collectively, Rook, Kenny and Colione, who’ve made their name lacing Ross, Mary J. Blige, Young Jeezy, and others with big beats—to find out more about the hits they whipped up for the Bawse.

VIBE: When did you all first meet Rick Ross?

Colione: Our relationship with Ross began about two years ago. He came to our house in Tallahassee, Florida. He was working on his second album Trilla—I guess he was doing a show in Tallahassee—[and] he came by the crib and he wanted some beats from us. I guess he heard some of our music from when we worked with Jeezy. He came by the crib and he picked out a couple of tracks. That’s when we came up with the first “Maybach Music.” He heard the actual track at the crib and he had a whole idea in his head like, “Yo, I’m going to name this ‘Maybach Music’ and I’m going get Jay-Z on this. This going to be big!” So after that, you know, we just been working with him and supplying him some beats and he’s really been studying music and his lyrics are getting better. His whole aura, I mean, he’s going to be like unstoppable.

How much work went into making such a heavily orchestrated track as “Maybach Music 2”?

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Colione: It was done right after Trilla. We had the track done right after Trilla. How old is that track, Rook?

Rook: It’s already a year old to us. Ross told us the idea, who was going to be on it and what not. So we catered each verse to whoever was going to be on it. If you notice on “Maybach Music 2,” each verse is not the same. There are instruments—live saxophones, live horns, strings on there, you know what I’m saying? We actually have live violins and all that in it.

Kenny: I remember at the time when Graduation was out with Kanye West, there was a lot of synthesizer action going on that album. So we really tried to keep the vibe of our record that we were doing but still incorporate a lot of the synth and retro sounding type stuff in Kanye’s verse. Also with Ross’ verse, you know Ross, his album was pretty dark the way it was coming together. We added the dark, gloomy strings on top of it. And actually, what Ross told us was that Jay-Z was going to be on the third verse and not Lil Wayne, and it worked out perfectly because Wayne just so happens to rap on some victorious, triumphant-type stuff. You’ll notice a lot more horns and strings and it really breaks down into totally something different on the third verse.

Which “Maybach Music” is your favorite?

Colione: Well actually, I wanna start working on “Maybach Music 3.” This is going to be the biggest track ever. Everybody loves “Maybach Music,” and “Maybach Music 2.” We’re just going to have to kill it on “Maybach Music 3.”

We’re looking for that track in like 2010?

Colione: In about a year. [laughs] Or next week.

Was it a given, once you guys did part one, that your team was going to complete a series?

Rook: Well, I mean I don’t know who else could do it. There are plenty of talented producers out there, but I think the “Maybach” series is our baby.

What inspired the music for “Magnificent”?

Colione: We actually went to the theaters and saw the Notorious. When we got home, we were inspired to work with B.I.G. So we started making tracks for him and “Magnificent” was one of the beats that came out. We were like, “Yo, if Biggie was alive today what would he rap to?” We were actually doing it for ourselves. Actually, our management sent that to Ross.

“Rich Off Cocaine” is a quiet favorite for many because of its classic feel. How did you put that one together?

Rook: Ross came up with the idea for that one. We had that track for a little while. He just fell in love with that track. It has a classic J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League sound—the live instruments, the C-notes, and the hard-ass drums. Avery Storm wrote that hook and did the vocal arrangements for all that. He’s pretty dope and I thought he brought a great vibe to the record. The hook is supposed to come after the drums, but he slid it [in] differently. He did it in a way where the drums come out and that’s the pre-hook and how Avery starts singing on it, it just makes it real big with the drums, even without the drums.

How did you guys hook up “Yacht Club,” which has a reggae feel?

Kenny: We did it early 2008. I don’t know if you notice, but in a lot of his interviews Ross uses the word “movie” to describe how big the production or sound is, so we were kind of going for that sound. I mean we put the track together, chopped up the sample, we added, you know, live piano, live bass on there. We had a horn section play sax on the hook. We had trumpets on the hook, just try to give it a real live feel even though the sample is big already, but just to give it that extra umph. We didn’t know that he’d gotten the Magazeen on the hook until we got to his house and he played us the joint. We loved it.

Rook: It has a Blaxploitation kind a feel, but then it also has an island feel because of Magazeen.

What impact has Ross had on your careers?

Corlione: I really think that the style of music we’re giving Ross is our sound. People are really starting to dig our sound now.

Check out the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League’s Deeper Than Rap cuts.