Rick Ross’ last album Rather You Than Me was a stellar entry in the rapper’s catalog, thanks in large part to standout track “Idols Become Rivals.” The extensive Birdman diss finally got the visual treatment, which you can watch up top. The video is directed by Ryan Snyder, who previously helmed Ross, Young Thug, and Wale’s video for “Trap Trap Trap.”
Ross initially teased the video with a tweet hinting at the content of the song and the direction the video was going in. With Lil Wayne smiling in the background, Birdman’s image was altered with a censor-esque black bar:
https://twitter.com/RickRoss/status/874170505317806080
The time was not chosen accidentally—504 is New Orleans’ area code. Ross’ support of Lil Wayne has been a focal point in interviews in recent months, and Ross has repeatedly highlighted the confounding business situation surrounding Wayne’s music output.
“I think the culture has fucking accepted that Wayne would not put out another album,” Ross told Billboard back in March. “And that’s not the way the game [should be]. That’s not the way we designed this. That’s not the way this is supposed to be. When we come up from the mud together, it’s not supposed to be this way. Birdman is supposed to be in that fucking building making those fucking people give him money to take care of his man. They supposed to be in the fucking [building], flipping over desks in those fucking offices, fighting to get money. Not fucking suing each other, fighting lawsuits, and everybody starving.”
Right from the beginning, the video is not subtle about taking shots at its target. It opens with a preacher saying, “You’ve got to make up your mind if you’re going to trust in God, or you’re going to trust in cash money.” The word “Idols” in the song’s title is portrayed on screen in Birdman’s oft-shouted-out favorite color red. It also shows what appears to be a Cash Money contract burning in a fireplace.
And then, after a line about Birdman’s penchant for not paying producers, beatmaker Bangladesh, who produced “A Milli” for Lil Wayne (and subsequently sued for unpaid royalties), appears onscreen with the title “Unpaid producer, ‘A Milli’ Lil Wayne.” The video ends with a single dollar sign, mirroring both the Cash Money logo and the way Ross stylizes his own name (as “Rick Ro$$”) in the beginning of the clip.
Peep the visuals below
