William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper and record executive. 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 augment 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.—ultimately signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Jay-Z on Def Jam Recordings. In August of that year, Rick Ross released his debut studio album, Port of Miami, which debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart, likewise with his second and third studio albums, Trilla (2008) and Deeper Than Rap (2009). His fourth album, Teflon Don (2010) contained the hit single "Aston Martin Music" (featuring Drake and Chrisette Michele), which became certified 3× platinum by the RIAA.
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 2009, and would go on to sign artists including Meek Mill, Wale, French Montana, and Omarion, among others. Maybach Music Group would also enter a joint-venture deal with Def Jam and later Epic Records to release his subsequent studio albums: God Forgives, I Don't (2012), Mastermind and Hood Billionaire (2014), Black Market (2015), Rather You Than Me (2017), Port of Miami 2 (2019), and Richer Than I Ever Been in December 2021. Ross has been nominated for nine total Grammy Awards, and has been named "Man of the Year" for two consecutive years by hip hop magazine The Source in 2010 and 2011, and "Hottest MC in the Game" by MTV in 2012.
Early life
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.
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.