RICK
ROSS
William
Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), better known by his stage name Rick
Ross, is an American rapper and entrepreneur.
In 2009,
Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his
studio albums Deeper Than Rap (2009), Teflon Don (2010), God Forgives, I Don't
(2012), Mastermind, Hood Billionaire (2014) and Black Market (2015). Ross was
also the first artist signed to Diddy's management company Ciroc Entertainment.
In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC in the Game
William
Leonard Roberts II was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and raised in Carol
City, Florida. After graduating from Miami Carol City Senior High School, he
attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football
scholarship. Roberts worked as a correctional officer for 18 months from
December 1995, until his resignation in June 1997.
In his early
years at Suave House Records, Roberts initially made his debut under the
pseudonym Teflon Da Don. He made his recording debut on the song "Ain't
Shhh to Discuss" on Erick Sermon's lone album for DreamWorks, Def Squad
Presents Erick Onasis. In the mid-2000s, he changed his name to Rick Ross. He
derived his stage name from the former drug kingpin "Freeway" Rick
Ross, to whom he has no connection.
After being
signed to Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG, he
eventually signed a deal with Slip-n-Slide Records, which has been under the
Def Jam label since 2006. While signed to Slip-n-Slide, Roberts toured with
fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-n-Slide
albums
His debut
album Port of Miami was released in August 2006 and debuted at the top spot on
the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart, with sales at 187,000 units during the
first week. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine predicted that it would
be "the summer's biggest rap record". The second single was
"Push It", which samples "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)",
the theme song from the gangster film Scarface. The music video for "Push
It" was modeled after the film. During that time, Ross made guest
performances on two singles from DJ Khaled's debut Listennn... the Album:
"Born-N-Raised" and "Holla at Me". Port of Miami received
Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America on
November 8, 2006.
In March
2008, his second album Trilla was released and, as its predecessor Port of
Miami had, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200. Its lead single
"Speedin'" featuring R. Kelly peaked at number 21 on the U.S.
Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles; the next one, "The Boss"
featuring T-Pain peaked at number 17 on the Hot 100. The third single
"Here I Am" featured Nelly and Avery Storm. MTV News ranked Ross on
the fourth spot in its 2008 "Hottest MCs in the Game" list among ten
rappers. The fourth single "This Is The Life" featured Trey Songz and
was released in July.
Rick Ross is
a Christian, and in an interview with Corey "Coco Brother" Condrey on
Lift Every Voice, he indicated that "I had told myself at one point no
matter what I go through, I never question God."In addition, Ross
indicated that he prays every time he goes on stage to perform
In July
2008, The Smoking Gun produced details linking Ross' social security number to
an 18-month stint as a correctional officer at the South Florida Reception
Center, along with a photograph first publicized by Media Take Out purporting
to be Ross in his correctional officer uniform. Ross initially denied that the
photograph was of him, but after overwhelming evidence of his past came into
the public's eye, Ross later admitted that he did work as a correctional
officer in Florida during the early 1990s. In a 2008 interview with
AllHipHop.com, "Freeway" Ricky Ross claimed offense that Roberts used
his name and identity when he learned that The Smoking Gun posted documents
revealing Roberts' previous employment as a Florida correctional officer.
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