Released: 2024
“Champagne Moments” by Rick Ross is a Diss Track predominantly towards Drake, with the hardest hitting lines surrounding plastic surgery, all whilst painting a vivid narrative of the hustle, luxury, and occasional ruthlessness inherent in the hip-hop industry. The song lays bare the authenticity of Ross’s journey in the game, contrasting it with the pretensions and inefficiencies of others. It’s a piece celebrating Ross’s self-made success while exhibiting a critical outlook on false players in the scene.
In the opening verse, Ross drops bars about his luxurious lifestyle – note the ‘fish tanks and marble floors’. He often flaunts his wealth as testament to his success in the game. But it’s not all champagne and caviar – the cutthroat, competitive nature of the industry is laid bare with lines like ‘Crack smoke is the exhaust from my pen and pad’ implying that his hustle and grind is as addictive and intoxicating as a drug. The jab at ghostwriters throws shade at those who don’t write their own lyrics, suggesting a lack of authenticity in their work.
Ross isn’t afraid to challenge pretenders either. In ‘You a worker wantin’ to chart, don’t make me laugh’, he mocks artists who are merely following orders, lacking the innovation and swag to make it to the top. The use of ‘worker’ is derogatory here, suggesting these artists are nothing more than industry puppets. Ross also discredits artists who exaggerate their exploits – the ‘keys in his Louis Vs’, is a reference to selling drugs, using high-end Louis Vuitton bags as a symbol of their supposed wealth and success.
In the chorus, ‘Pop a Perc’ for the field, go and count me a mill’, Ross establishes his bravado and fearlessness. Percocet, a powerful prescription painkiller, is often invoked as a symbol of hardcore partying and unapologetic indulgence. Going ‘count me a mill’ simply means counting a million dollars, another symbol of his financial success.
Verse 2 slices through the hip-hop industry’s pretense and valorizes Ross’s authenticity. He calls out those who take credit for others’ work as ‘copy-and-paste’ artists, insinuating that some are riding on the coattails of more successful artists like Lil Wayne. The line ‘another white boy at the park wanna hang with the crew’, is Ross pushing back against cultural appropriation within hip-hop.
Finally, the outro is a raw, disdainful attack directed at Drake, suggesting a deeply personal beef. Ross goes on to accuse Drake of using plastic surgery to deny their heritage, hiding behind cease-and-desist orders, and failing to show respect where it’s due.
Overall, “Champagne Moments” is a braggadocious testament to Ross’s success in the hip-hop game, while also serving as a biting critique of those who Ross feels are not being authentic or true to their roots in the industry.
