Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper and record executive.[1] An influential figure in modern hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "booming" vocal performance, "larger than life" persona, and vivid lyrical imagery. His lyrics form the hardships of street life and black market economic activity into a rags to riches narrative, often describing affluence, wealth, and luxury.[2]
For other uses, see Rick Ross (disambiguation).
Rick Ross
- Rozay
- The Boss
- Renzel
- Teflon Da Don
- Rapper
- songwriter
- record executive
2000–present
5
Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'" in March 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war—receiving offers from Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc.—and ultimately signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Jay-Z on Def Jam Recordings.[3][4] In August of that year, his debut studio album, Port of Miami (2006) peaked atop the Billboard 200 chart upon release,[5][6] along with his second and third studio albums, Trilla (2008) and Deeper Than Rap (2009). His fourth album, Teflon Don (2010) spawned the single "Aston Martin Music" (featuring Drake and Chrisette Michele)—which received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)—while his fifth and sixth albums, God Forgives, I Don't (2012) and Mastermind (2014) peaked the Billboard 200 twice more.[7]
Outside of his solo career, Ross was a lead member of the hip hop group Triple C's, alongside fellow Florida rappers Gunplay and Torch in 2005. Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group (MMG) in 2008, through which he has signed artists including Meek Mill, Wale, French Montana, and Omarion, among others. MMG entered a joint venture with Def Jam and later Epic Records to release his subsequent studio albums: Hood Billionaire (2014), Black Market (2015), Rather You Than Me (2017), Port of Miami 2 (2019), and Richer Than I Ever Been (2021). After which, it entered a joint venture with gamma. to release his collaborative album, Too Good to Be True (2023) with Meek Mill. Ross is the recipient of nine Grammy Award nominations, and has been named "Man of the Year" by hip hop magazine The Source in 2010 and 2011, as well as "Hottest MC in the Game" by MTV in the latter year.[8]
Early life
William Leonard Roberts II was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi,[9][10] and raised in Carol City, Florida.[11] After graduating from Miami Carol City Senior High School, he attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship.[12] Roberts worked as a correctional officer for 18 months from December 1995, until his resignation in June 1997.[13]
Career
Career beginnings
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.[14] 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.[15]
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.[11]
Personal life
Family
Ross has five children: Toie Roberts, born March 2002. William Roberts III, born September 2005. Berkeley Hermès Roberts, born September 2017, Billion Leonard Roberts, born November 2018 and Bliss Roberts, born August 2020.[60][61]
Ross was briefly engaged to Lira "Galore" Mercer in 2015.[62]
Health
On October 14, 2011, Ross suffered two seizures in the same day, once in the morning and again in the early evening. Following the morning seizure, he was unconscious and CPR was performed.[63] After suffering the second seizure, Ross was admitted to a hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, where doctors ran a battery of tests. They declared him healthy. Ross attributes the episodes to a lack of sleep in the previous week.[64] Ross later noted the incident in the remix of Meek Mill's song "Ima Boss", with the line "Had a couple seizures, call it minor setbacks / Everybody praying for me, I respect that / Woke up in the hospital, where my checks at? / Then I put 8 chains where my neck's at".[65]
On March 2, 2018, Ross was hospitalized after being found unresponsive in his Miami, Florida, home from a possible heart attack.[66] Ross was on life support.[67] He was released from the hospital a few days later.[68]
Religion
Rick Ross is a Christian,[69] 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."[70] In addition, Ross indicated that he prays every time he goes on stage to perform.[71]
Correctional officer photos
In July 2008, The Smoking Gun produced details linking Ross's 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.[13] Ross initially denied that the photograph was of him,[72] 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 for 18 months between 1995 and 1997.[73] In a 2008 interview with AllHipHop.com,[74] "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.[75]
Drive-by shooting
On January 27, 2013, while celebrating his 37th birthday, Ross and his girlfriend were the targets of a drive-by shooting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Neither Ross nor his girlfriend were hurt, but they ended up crashing their car into an apartment in an attempt to escape the shooting.[76]
Business ventures
As of 2017, Ross owned several different Wingstop restaurant locations.[77][78] Wingstop is a fast-food chain specializing in chicken wings.[79] When Don Lemon was fired from CNN in April 2023, Ross offered him a job, saying, "For some reason, I believe you know what you doing with the lemon pepper wings. So man, just send over your résumé."[80]
