Earlier this year, Jay Z recruited Rick Ross for the Magna Carta Holy Grail track “”Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit”. Now, he returns the favor with an appearance on “The Devil is a Lie”, the second single off Ross’ forthcoming LP, Mastermind.
It is perhaps as close to a performance piece as these two mainstream juggernauts will get. Where Ross’ three-minute verse is littered with his usual fare of swaggering braggadocio and references to Maybachs, his occasionally manic inflection portrays a slightly more disturbed MC, a quality enhanced by the slow, sauntering mix of horns and drum machines. Meanwhile, Jay Z sounds just as frenzied, dropping his intricate wordplay with a brooding intensity. It all feels very surreal and throws things off enough to be wildly memorable.
Listen below.
For more from Mastermind, check out the lead single “No Games” featuring Future.
