Rick Ross (Manitoba Politician)

William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. 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.

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. In August of that year, his debut studio album, ''Port of Miami'' (2006) peaked atop the ''Billboard'' 200 chart upon release, 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.

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 in the latter year.

Early life

William Leonard Roberts II was born on January 28, 1976, in Clarksdale, Mississippi,Birth certificate
of William Roberts (Rick Ross) as scanned by ''The Smoking Gun'' 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.

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''. 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.

2006–2008: ''Port of Miami'' and ''Trilla''

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.

2009: ''Deeper Than Rap''

I look at the game and the business and all different aspects, it's a lot of great lyricists on the corner that will never properly understand the business and know how to market themselves and get in a position where they can gain capital. I look at all the strategies people use and what made them successful. What made Birdman just as relevant today after selling 50 million records? That intrigues me. To see the class of Jay-Z, his accomplishments and see how he sits backs and accurately makes his moves.

A track from the album called "Valley of Death" was what stood out to MTV reporters. In the song, Ross speaks briefly on his controversial stint as a prison guard. "Keep it trilla, nigga, never had a gun and badge," which he stresses, leaving the word that he was indeed an officer of the law. "Kept a nice watch, smoking on a hundred sack/ Back in the day I sold crack for some nice kicks/ Skippin' school, I saw my friend stabbed with an ice pick/ Can't criticize niggas trying to get jobs/ Better get smart, young brother, live yours." Later, he implies that while he was working as a corrections officer, he was on the streets. "Only lived once and I got two kids/ And for me to feed them, I'll get two gigs," he raps. "I'll shovel shit, I'll C.O./ So we can bow our heads and pray over the meatloaf." He still provided no explanation for lying about being a C.O. to begin with, nor did he explain why he failed to pay child support for his children.

The cover of the May 2009 issue of ''XXL'' magazine, titled "Rick Ross Up in Smoke", featured Ross wearing a pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses. After publication, a spokesperson for the luxury-goods maker contacted ''XXL'' to inform them that Ross was sporting fake sunglasses in the cover image. It was later revealed that the rapper was wearing authentic Louis Vuitton sunglasses which were altered by Jacob Bernstein, known as "The Sunglass Pimp". Bernstein defended his customizations despite Louis Vuitton's insistence that such modification and resale of trademarked property is not legal.

2010–2013: Prime Rick Ross

Ross had a number of accomplishments in 2010. In May, he released the critically acclaimed ''Albert Anastasia EP''. In addition to that, he released his fourth studio album entitled ''Teflon Don'', on July 20, 2010. The lead single was " Super High" featuring Ne-Yo. Actress Stacey Dash made an appearance in the music video. A second official single was released titled "Live Fast, Die Young" which features and is produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 selling 176,000 copies in its first week.

In November 2010, rapper and frequent collaborator, Diddy, who in 2009 signed Ross to a management deal with his Ciroc Entertainment, announced from his YouTube account, that he and Ross are working on an EP together. A single was released for the project, called "Another One". Ross ended 2010 by releasing another mixtape, ''Ashes To Ashes'' on Christmas Eve 2010.

In early 2011, Rick Ross signed Wale and Meek Mill to his Maybach Music Group imprint. The group released their debut compilation album, ''Self Made Vol. 1'' in May. Rick Ross performed at BET Awards 2011, which aired on June 26, 2011. He also received a nomination for Best Male Hip Hop Artist. In early 2012, Ross was named the Hottest MC in the Game

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