[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] 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.

[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).

[8] William Leonard Roberts II was born on January 28, 1976, 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.

[13] In his early years at Suave House Records, Roberts initially made his debut under the pseudonym Teflon Da Don.

[18] 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".

[19] MTV News ranked Ross on the fourth spot in its 2008 "Hottest MCs in the Game" list among ten rappers.

After publication, a spokesperson for the luxury-goods maker contacted XXL to inform them that Ross was sporting fake sunglasses in the cover image.

To celebrate his accomplishment and promote his upcoming MMG Tour, Ross released a mixtape, The Black Bar Mitzvah in October.

[46] Rick Ross revealed cover art for Hood Billionaire in October 2014 and announced the release date to be set for November 24, 2014.

Ross joined the Snapchat platform and began referring to himself as "Renzel", a play on the name of famous actor Denzel Washington.

[58] On September 7, 2021, Ross' book The Perfect Day to Boss Up debuted at number 5 on The New York Times' weekly bestsellers list.

[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?

[68] 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.

The officer stated that it was because Ross claimed affiliation with Triple C's (aka Carol City Cartel), and other known gang members.

Vlad claimed Ross organized an ambush on him at the 2008 Ozone Awards in Houston, Texas for asking questions about his past as a correctional officer.

[citation needed] A week after the lawsuit was filed, Rick Ross responded to the charges: "It's like owning a restaurant, you're gonna have a few slip and falls.

[citation needed] Ross was sentenced as a first-time felony offender; and, upon payment of the fine, the conviction was erased from his record.

Ross pled no contest to 5 misdemeanors: assault, battery, two counts of pointing a pistol at someone, and possession of less than 1 oz of cannabis.

[97] In January 2009, Ross started a feud with rapper 50 Cent because he supposedly looked at him the wrong way at the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2008.

Days later, 50 Cent released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to Ross's disparaging remarks on his "Mafia Music" song.

[citation needed] Before going to Venezuela, 50 Cent uploaded a video entitled "Warning Shot", wherein he stated: "Rick Ross, I'mma fuck your life up for fun."

"[102] On January 30, 2013, 50 Cent claimed via Twitter that the drive-by shooting that Ross experienced on his birthday two days ago was "staged", reigniting the feud.

A petition containing 72,000 signatures was presented to Reebok, demanding they drop Ross as a spokesman for the lyrics which appeared to condone date rape.

[108] Reebok stated, "while we do not believe that Rick Ross condones sexual assault, we are very disappointed he has yet to display an understanding of the seriousness of this issue or an appropriate level of remorse."

"[111] A 2013 Ross concert organized by the student association of Carleton University was cancelled after protests that his lyrics promote rape culture.