Rick Ross

William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper, entrepreneur and record executive. He was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and raised in Carol City, Florida. After graduating from Miami Carol City Senior High School, he attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship. Roberts worked as a correctional officer for 18 months from December 1995, until his resignation in June 1997. In his early years at Suave House Records, Roberts initially made his debut under the pseudonym Teflon Da Don. In the mid-2000s, he changed his name to Rick Ross. He derived his stage name from the former drug kingpin "Freeway" Rick Ross, to whom he has no connection.

After releasing his debut single, Hustlin' in 2006, Ross became the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc., before signing a multi million dollar deal with Jay Z's Def Jam Records.Ross released his debut album Port Of Miami through the label later that year, debuting at the top spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart, with sales of 187,000 units during the first week. Ross released his second studio album, Trilla in 2008, once again debuting atop the Billboard 200. In 2009, Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap (2009), Teflon Don (2010), God Forgives, I Don't (2012), Mastermind, Hood Billionaire (2014), Black Market (2015), and Rather You Than Me (2017). Ross was also the first artist signed to Diddy's management company Ciroc Entertainment.In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC in the Game.