New Ways Of Winning

Rick Ross featuring Andre 3000 “Sixteen”

Rick Ross and Andre 3000 spend much of the first third of “Sixteen” lamenting the limitations of a 16-bar verse; kvetching that the format can’t possibly express the full scope of their consciousness. When Ross drops the idea, he just does a pretty standard Rick Ross verse – heavy on fantasy, but with a touch of pathos. It’s good stuff, but nothing that would make you go “Oh, this guy needs to just keep going and going!” Andre 3000, on the other hand, does just that. Over the course of a few minutes, he lays out a marathon rap that starts off with a loose conversational rhythm but gradually builds in both its rhetoric and emotion. 3000 is always excellent with wordplay but his work here is especially impressive in how his intricate structure progresses over a relatively long stretch. This is from Ross’ album, but he’s the one who seems like a guest here – he’s on just a sliver of the overall track, framing 3000’s performance like he’s the host for the evening.

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