Tattooed with pictures of AK-47s, Miami's six-foot, 300-pound
rap figure known as
Rick Ross embraced his city's reputation for drug trafficking on his debut single, "Hustlin'," in 2006. While Atlanta and Houston artists were establishing their cities as Southern strongholds,
Ross aimed at putting Miami back in
rap's national spotlight.
Ross, real name William Roberts, grew up in Carol City, FL, an impoverished northern suburb of Miami.
Influenced by artists like Luther Campbell and
the Notorious B.I.G., Roberts formed local
rap group the Carol City Cartel and began rapping in the mid-'90s. (He took his
rap name from Los Angeles drug kingpin "Freeway" Rick Ross, who ran one of the largest crack-cocaine distribution networks in the country during the '80s and early '90s.)
Ross had a brief stint on Suave House Records, former label of Eightball & MJG, before he ended up on Miami-based Slip-N-Side Records, the label home of
Trick Daddy and
Trina. During the early to mid-2000s, he became popular and well known locally through touring with
Trick Daddy and guest-appearing on a few Slip-N-Slide releases, but didn't release any solo material until 2006. Once "Hustlin'" caught the ear of a few executives within the national industry, a bidding war ensued that included offers from Bad Boy CEO Sean "Diddy" Combs and The Inc. (formerly Murder Inc.) president
Irv Gotti. Nonetheless, Def Jam president and veteran rapper
Jay-Z signed
Ross to a multi-million-dollar deal. The Miami anthem "Hustlin'" went on to receive gold status from RIAA in May 2006 and sold over a million ringtone units before the physical release of his debut album,
Port of Miami. Released in August 2006,
Ross' debut was Slip-N-Side's first project under the Def Jam partnership, and it went to number one on the Billboard album chart. His follow-up,
Trilla, was released the following year, prefaced with the Cool & Dre-produced title track. ~ Cyril Cordor, All Music Guide
