Rick Ross put Miami back in rap’s national spotlight with “Hustlin‘” (2006), the
platinum introduction to a uniquely larger-than-life character with gruffly
delivered tales about the spoils and pitfalls of drug trafficking. The rapper
became not only a hip-hop fixture but an unlikely pop star as well. Debut smash
Port of Miami, and all nine of Ross’ subsequent studio albums, including the
Grammy-nominated God Forgives, I Don’t (2012) and Port of Miami 2 (2019),
have entered the Top Ten of the Billboard 200, promoted with high-rolling,
RIAA-certified singles such as “The Boss” and “Aston Martin Music.” Through
his own label, Maybach Music –the name of which has been imprinted on
virtually every Ross recording since 2009 — Ross has boosted the careers of
fellow artists Gunplay, Wale, and Meek Mill. His multitude of guest verses have
likewise supported hits by the likes of DJ Khaled (beginning with “We Takin’
Over”), Kanye West (“Monster”), Maybach’s French Montana (“Pop That”), Ace
Hood (“Bugatti”), and Chris Brown (“New Flame”). Ross carried his success into
the next decade with 2021’s Richer Than I Ever Been. From 2015 through 2019,
Ross placed only one more headlining single in the R&B/hip-hop Top Ten, and it
was for Suicide Squad: The Album — “Purple Lamborghini,” a Skrillex
collaboration nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Song Written for
Visual Media. However, Ross continued to ride high with singles on which he
was featured — Khaled’s “Do You Mind” was the most successful of all — and
his LPs. After the number six hit Black Market closed out his Def Jam era in
2015, Ross signed with Epic, thereby reconnecting (albeit briefly) with former
Def Jam executive L.A. Reid.