The life of a boss is defined by highs and lows. Five years ago, Rick Ross was voraciously bragging about blowing up like napalm and parking his Caddy in the living room on Ashes to Ashes, a free Christmas gift-slash-Teflon Don victory lap. But since reaching his pinnacle with 2012’s Rich Forever, oversaturation has exhausted much of what made him successful in previous years. It’s not that Ross’s output has been poor, but releasing Mastermind and Hood Billionaire in 2014 made both largely forgettable. Worse, the cracks in the seemingly untouchable Maybach Music Group’s beautiful granite finish have deepened.

If MMG is rap’s luxury car dealership, then Ross is its cigar-smoking general manager; Meek Mill and Wale his top salesmen. At this stage of his career, Ross should be sitting and tallying sales. But after Meek Mill fumbled a winning hand against Drake, Wale and Meek began squabbling, and Ross himself went to jail for assaulting his groundskeeper. Ross was forced to roll up his sleeves and right the course of his imprint. September’s Black Dollar was a step in the right direction, with a refocused Ross proving that he’s more interesting with his back against the wall than when he’s dropping hits like Steph Curry three-pointers. With Black Market, he continues this narrative.

"Bottom of the black market, time to rise again," he announces on the album’s opener, "Free Enterprise". As the first song written for the album (albeit, during Ross’s jail stint earlier this year), it’s a strong tone-setter. Aided once more by John Legend’s soaring vocals, Ross ponders future possibilities. Think of it as the next step after Black Dollar carryover "Foreclosures", where he waxes eloquent about how financial problems can still complicate the lifestyles of the rich and famous: "You reap what you sow, and they speakin’ repossessions/ To the culture itself, these are powerful lessons." Ross excels when given a focal point, and adversity (specifically, the fear of going back to rags from riches) gives him something to dig his teeth into.

Absent from Black Market is the boisterous production heard on previous Rick Ross projects. With the Lex Luger trademark heard on "B.M.F.", "MC Hammer", and "9 Piece" pirated into extinction over the years, Ross has wisely moved on. He's at his most effective when he dials back the Rick Ross character, so the album’s standouts feature him laying bawse insight over slow-burners. The radiance of Jake One’s production and CeeLo Green’s chorus add another layer of warmth to "Smile Mama, Smile", lifting it out of routine homage territory. "Crocodile Python" is as smooth as the title indicates, and "Silk Road" is beautifully minimal. On the latter, he explains that he fixates on ostentatious imagery to create something vivid for the less fortunate: "I entertain niggas under poverty lines/ So I paint these pretty pictures as part of my rhymes." "Black Opium" falls into the same neighborhood, adding scratches from DJ Premier for furnishing and decoration.

But amidst the good, errors loom. "Peace Sign" treads into lazy, "Diced Pineapples" territory. Meanwhile, "Can’t Say No" revives and refurbishes an old Mariah Carey gem. Carey sounds great, but the song’s inclusion is as unnecessary as the resurrection of its source material. It’s the inverse of what Carey previously did to Cam’ron’s "Oh Boy". "Dope Dick" features more stellar production from Jake One, but the laughable title and hook (has "dick" been uttered more over a five-minute period?) makes you wish Ross saved the beat and verses for something more serious.

"Success is a precious jewel," Ross warns on "Foreclosures". It should be cherished, because, like popularity, it can vanish at a moment’s notice. Rick Ross’ has waned in recent years, but the trials have added new shadings to his four-color persona. The motivated, slightly weary Ross heard on *Black Market—*which has no MMG features—is a better fit for the moment than the bulletproof supervillain of old. Ross has proven his resilience in the past; maybe carefully controlled doses of reality are just what he needs to move forward.