In recent years Ross survived a grisly drive-by shooting and multiple life-threatening seizures. Witnessing the loss of life has been a constant for Ross since his childhood. Not since the late Tupac Shakur has an artist been quite so cognizant of, nor vocal about, his own mortality, and for good reason. With eighty-seven singles under his belt, Rick Ross moves through the music business with the urgency of being on borrowed time. It leaves a roadmap for others behind him to follow – from no way out to a yellow brick road of possibilities.Įven Ross’ palatial Georgia residence can be dubbed rap’s incarnation of The White House, with A-listers paying homage to the famous property (once owned by Evander Holyfield) on occasion. The way Rick Ross explains it to me, the flash and cash his lifestyle portrays goes deeper than flagrant materialism. He came on the scene as hip hop left its golden era behind in favor of corporate commercialism, and then helped to usher in a rap renaissance of which he has become one of the genre’s most powerful voices.

Where many others in the Carol City district of Miami where Ross grew up saw few options, Ross saw the opportunity to translate his experiences into music. He’s proud to remind people that he created a palatial oasis out of the urban desert that was his early life. Rick Ross’ fans are believers in his use of language, and his unabashed celebration of riches.

He is an alchemist aware of his power to transmute base metals to gold. Though Ross doesn’t speak like a scholar, his wisdom permeates our conversation. Ross, born William Leonard Roberts II, rose to prominence in 2006 with his breakout single, Hustlin’, a word that defines his character and approach towards life. One conversation with rapper Rick Ross will have you questioning the definitions of success, wealth and opportunity how to identify opportunity, how to achieve success, and how to maintain it while keeping your soul and bodily faculties intact.

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