Freaking brilliant comparison. The Rick Ross strategy of simply lying to make yourself into a celebrity laid out next to the Mitt Romney campaign who, with the advent of VP candidate Paul Ryan, have take lying to a whole ‘nother level.
“Post-realness” indeed.
As someone who has read about the stories Gary Webb reported about the CIA selling cocaine to California gangs, the origin of the “Freeway” Rick Ross name, I’ve felt kind of icky about the linguistic hijack Rick Ross presents. Sort of like someone taking a mass murderers name (Jim Jones?) and re-branding it for sale to teenage pop fans, the choice to appropriate this particular criminal for a nom-de-tough-guy has never sat well with me.
When the real drug-dealer Freeway Rick Ross sued the rapper Rick Ross and lost, I was astounded. I remember ranting at that time that the rapper was impervious to reality.
Jay Smooth suggests the entire republican campaign is generating an inviting and fictional narrative. And like Rick Ross, one that will be resistant to suggestions that it isn’t factually correct. Some communications corrode against other communications.
In this sense, Rick Ross might be the best comparison to the Mitt Romney campaign. “Post-realness” means just making it up and then calling anyone who disagrees with you a bad name.
Since the G.O.P. is having a tough time finding any musician who will allow them to use any of their music, perhaps they should ask Rick Ross if they can use 911? I think it is as strong an ideological fit as Ted Nugent’s “Cat scratch fever.”
1. Explicit biblical reference to open the conversation? Check
2. Focus on wealthy people with explicit disregard for the poor? Check
3. Retaliatory ethics with encouragement of NRA gun violence? Check
4. Consumer identity presented as patriotism? Check
5. Pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps bullshit? Check
6. Women included via objectification? Check
You may know that Rick Ross’s new protege Gunplay (the other guy in the video) has a swastika tattooed on the back of his neck. If Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group did become more explicitly aligned with the Republican party, the value of Gunplay on the roster would obviously go way up. Not only is his name an NRA wet-dream, but the swastika tattoo would probably help get the votes of those die hard right-wingers who didn’t feel that the GOP showed enough visible Nazi tattoos.
Life of refinement 