| Rick Ross Biography |
|
|
|
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976[citation needed]), better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. His stage name is derived from the name of drug trafficker Freeway Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection. Ross is signed with Slip-N-Slide Records, which as of 2008 is distributed under Def Jam Recordings.
Early lifeRoberts was born in Coahoma County, Mississippi[1] and raised in Carol City, Florida, a lower-class neighborhood of Miami.[2] After graduating from Carol City Senior High School, he later attended the historically black Albany State University in Albany, Georgia on a football scholarship.[3] Hoard, Christian (2006-06-01). "A Primer on Rick Ross, Miami's Latest Hip-Hop Phenom". Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-07-07.</ref> Life and musicRick Ross joined Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG. He eventually signed a joint, multi-million-dollar deal with Slip-N-Slide Records, which has been under the Def Jam umbrella since 2006. While signed to Slip-N-Slide, Ross toured with fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-N-Slide rap albums.[2] Port of Miami (2006)His debut album Port of Miami, was released in August 2006 and debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart with sales at 187,000 units its first week out. [4] Its lead single "Hustlin'" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in May 2006, and nearly a million ringtones of the song were sold prior to the album release. The song also peaked at the seventh spot on the Billboard magazine Hot Rap Tracks chart and #54 on the Hot 100. A remix of the single featuring Jay-Z and Young Jeezy also achieved some popularity in digital downloads. [5] The second single was "Push It", which samples "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)", the theme song off the gangster film Scarface.[6] The music video for "Push It" was also modeled after the film.[7] Trilla (2008)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.[8] Its lead single "Speedin'" featuring R. Kelly peaked at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100; the next one, "The Boss" featuring T-Pain peaked at #17 on the Hot 100. The third single "Here I Am" featured Nelly and Avery Storm.[9] MTV News ranked Ross on the fourth spot in its 2008 "Hottest MCs In The Game" List among ten rappers.[10] His next album is to be titled Deeper Than Rap.[9] Rumor controversiesIn late June 2008, rumors that Ross was engaged with rapper Foxy Brown began to circulate; a photo of Brown and Ross together was on the cover of a June 2008 issue of Hip Hop Weekly magazine. Ross responded that he was currently not engaged with any woman.[11] The Smoking Gun, in July 2008, produced details linking Ross' social security number to a two-year stint as a correctional officer in a Florida prison facility, along with a photograph purporting to be Ross in his correctional officer uniform. [12] Ross denied that the photograph was of him.[13] Discography
Filmography
Awards
References
External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
