Rick Ross, also known as William Leonard Roberts II, is an American record executive and rapper. He is one of the wealthiest and most popular rappers in the world.
Rick Ross is also the CEO and the founder of Maybach Music Group. Many years ago, Ross was only a correctional officer in Florida. Today, he’s now one of the big names in the hip-hop industry.
While he’s a controversial figure, Ross is a man whose name is held in high esteem in the industry.
Aside from his solo career, Ross was also a lead member of Triple C, a hip-hop group in 2005. Other members of the group include Torch and Gunplay.
In 2009, Ross founded the Maybach Music Group record label. The label then released his studio albums, including Rather You Than Me, Black Market, Hood Billionaire, Mastermind, I Don’t, God Forgives, Teflon Don, and Deeper Than Rap.
Ross released his 10th album in August 2019 called Port of Miami 2. This album peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 charts.
Maybach Music Group record label also started the careers of a lot of artists. This includes French Montana, Wale, Meek Mill, and more.
MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC in the Game in early 2012.
Rick Ross Personal Life
William Leonard Roberts, commonly known as Rick Ross, was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. However, he grew up in Carol City, Florida.
After Ross graduated from Miami Carol City Senior High School, he went to Albany State University. This is also known as the historically black college. He was on a football scholarship.
In 1995, Ross worked as a correctional officer for 18 months. He resigned in June 1997.
Ross is also a Christian. According to an interview, he does not question God no matter what he goes through at any point in his life. He also said that he prays each time he goes on stage to perform.
On October 14, 2011, Ross suffered two seizures on the same day. The first seizure happened in the morning. The second one happened early in the evening.
After the first seizure, Ross was found unconscious and someone had to perform CPR. After the second seizure, Ross was admitted to a hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was assessed.
According to the doctors, Ross was healthy. They believe that his seizures happened due to a lack of sleep in the previous week.
After several months, Ross noted the seizure incident in the remix of “Ima Boss”, a song by Meek Mill.
While celebrating his 37th birthday on January 27, 2013, Ross and his girlfriend were the targets of a drive-by shooting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Fortunately, neither Ross nor his partner was hit. However, they ended up crashing their vehicle into an apartment while trying to escape the drive-by shooting.
Ross was hospitalized on March 2, 2018, after being found unresponsive in his home in Miami, Florida from a potential heart attack.
He was on life support during that time. Luckily, he recovered and was released from the hospital after several days.
Ross has 4 kids. They are Billion Leonard Roberts, Berkeley Hermes Roberts, William Roberts III, and Toie Roberts. In 2015, he was engaged briefly to Lira Mercer.
Rick Ross Career
For 18 months, Ross worked as a correctional officer. After his resignation in June 1997, Ross made his debut under the pseudonym Teflon Da Don.
In the mid-2000s, he changed his name to Rick Ross. According to him, his new name was inspired by “Freeway” Rick Ross, a former drug kingpin.
In 2006, Ross released his debut single called “Hustlin”. This single became the subject of a bidding war. He got offers from Irv Gotti’s Murder Inc. and Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment.
However, Ross ended up signing a deal with Def Jam Records, a music label of Jay-Z. The deal also was a multimillion-dollar deal.
Ross released his debut album later that year called “Port of Miami”. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. In 2008, he then released his next album called “Trilla”. This album also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Rick Ross Total Net Worth
As of today, Rick Ross has an estimated net worth of around $45 million. In 2017, he was one of the top highest-paid hip-hop artists. He was top 19 during that time with earnings amounting to $11.9 million.
A lot of people believe that Rick Ross has earned his net worth via illegal activities. However, Rick Ross’ fortune has all been a reflection of hard work in his career.
Rick Ross Legal Problems
Ross has been arrested a couple of times due to drugs and guns. He also faced a lot of lawsuits from different individuals in the music industry.
Ross was arrested in January 2008 on marijuana and gun charges.
DJ Vlad, a YouTube entertainer, filed a lawsuit against Ross in August 2008 for battery and assault. According to Vlad, Ross arranged an ambush on him at the Ozone Awards in 2008.
“Freeway” Ricky Ross also sued Ross in June 2010 for using his name. He filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in a California federal court.
However, the court ruled in favor of Rick Ross on December 30, 2013. This enabled him to keep the name based on a 1st amendment ruling.
In January 2009, Ross began a dispute with rapper 50 Cent. According to Ross, 50 Cent looked at him the wrong way during the 2008 BET Hip-Hop Awards. According to 50 Cent, he didn’t remember seeing Ross in the awards.
Later in 2009, “Mafia Music” by Ross was leaked online. The lines in the song included a couple of lyrics that appeared to diss 50 Cent.
After several days, 50 Cent released a song called “Officer Ricky” in response to Ross’s diss track.
Conclusion
Rick Ross is one of the best rappers today. While he has his shortcomings and faced a lot of legal issues, he is still known as a great hip-hop legend.