Rick Ross

Rick Ross — born William Leonard Roberts II on January 28, 1976 — moves through hip-hop as a stately, booming presence. An American rapper and music executive, he is known for his vivid lyrical imagery and an unapologetic rags-to-riches narrative, which anchors much of his catalog. Even before the March 2006 release of “Hustlin’,” Ross was the center of a label bidding war; he ultimately took a multimillion-dollar deal under Jay-Z at Def Jam Recordings. His debut, Port of Miami (2006), landed at number one on the Billboard 200, a peak he repeated with Trilla (2008) and Deeper Than Rap (2009), before Teflon Don (2010) elevated his reach through the triple-platinum single “Aston Martin Music,” featuring Drake and Chrisette Michele.

Beyond solo work, Ross fronted the group Triple C’s with Gunplay and Torch in 2005, then founded Maybach Music Group in 2008, signing artists including Meek Mill, Wale, French Montana, and Omarion. Under MMG, through joint ventures with Def Jam, Epic, and later Gamma, he sustained long-running chart relevance from God Forgives, I Don’t (2012) and Mastermind (2014) through Port of Miami 2 (2019) and the collaborative Too Good to Be True (2023) with Meek Mill. The run has earned nine Grammy Award nominations, and The Source named Ross “Man of the Year” in both 2010 and 2011; MTV also crowned him “Hottest MC in the Game” for 2011.