Rick Ross (born William Leonard Roberts II on January 28, 1976) is an American rapper, record executive, and former athlete.
Ross was the subject of a bidding war before the release of his debut song, “Hustlin’,” in 2006, garnering bids from Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment and Irv Gotti’s Murder Inc., eventually signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Jay-Z on Def Jam Recordings.
Later that year, Ross released his first album Port of Miami under the label, which debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 187,000 units in its first week. Ross’s second studio album, Trilla, was released in 2008 and debuted at the top of the Billboard 200.
