Rick Ross

Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'" in March 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war—receiving offers from Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc.—and ultimately signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Jay-Z on Def Jam Recordings. His debut studio album, Port of Miami (2006), peaked atop the Billboard 200, along with his second and third albums, Trilla (2008) and Deeper Than Rap (2009). His fourth album, Teflon Don (2010) spawned the single "Aston Martin Music" (featuring Drake and Chrisette Michele)—which received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)—while his fifth and sixth albums, God Forgives, I Don't (2012) and Mastermind (2014), peaked the Billboard 200 twice more.

Outside of his solo career, Ross was a lead member of the hip hop group Triple C's, alongside fellow Florida rappers Gunplay and Torch in 2005. Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group (MMG) in 2008, through which he has signed artists including Meek Mill, Wale, French Montana, and Omarion, among others. MMG entered a joint venture with Def Jam and later Epic Records to release his subsequent albums: Hood Billionaire (2014), Black Market (2015), Rather You Than Me (2017), Port of Miami 2 (2019), and Richer Than I Ever Been (2021). After which, it entered a joint venture with Gamma to release his collaborative album, Too Good to Be True (2023) with Meek Mill. Ross is the recipient of nine Grammy Award nominations, and has been named "Man of the Year" by hip hop magazine The Source in 2010 and 2011, as well as "Hottest MC in the Game" by MTV in the latter year.

William Leonard Roberts II was born on January 28, 1976, 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.

After being signed to Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG, he eventually signed a deal with Slip-n-Slide Records, which has been under the Def Jam label since 2006. While signed to Slip-n-Slide, Roberts toured with fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-n-Slide albums.

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