Rick Ross broke down the exact moment his feud with Drake shifted from collaboration to confrontation during his appearance on Joe and Jada Unfiltered.
The Bawse explained that the Toronto rapper made the first move by mentioning his name in a diss context.
The Maybach Music boss didn’t hesitate to respond, staying true to his nature as a competitor who thrives on lyrical combat.
“Rozay was mentioned. I was mentioned. Homie mentioned Ricky Rozay, and Rozay do what he do best. I go bad. I’ve been doing that a long time. I’ve always enjoyed giving a n#### a spanking if you don’t understand what’s happening. It ain’t that. Rozay was mentioned,” he explained to Fat Joe and Jadakiss.
The tension between these two titans didn’t emerge overnight. Ross reflected on the golden era when they were genuinely connected through DJ Khaled, who served as the bridge between Miami’s Cash Money movement and Drake’s rising star power.
“At that time Cash Money was in Miami. It was it was a positive thing we had going and Khaled was the glue. At that time when I was doing records like ‘Aston Martin Music,’ that was Ross saying, ‘Yo, Chrisette Michelle going to do this half of the hook and I’mma get, you know, at that time I got John Legend, the biggest R&B artist in the game at that time on speed dial. You understand? Yo, I’mma put John Legend on this one, too.’ That’s Khaled in the background. ‘Yo. It’s a little dude. His name is Drake. Let him do it.’ We do it. And it was just a genuine vibe,” Ross recounted, painting a picture of two artists at the height of their creative partnership.
Their collaborative legacy runs deep. Beyond “Aston Martin Music,” they crafted hits including “Stay Schemin’,” “Money in the Grave,” and “Lemon Pepper Freestyle.”
These weren’t just features; they were moments when two distinct styles merged into something undeniable.
But everything shifted when the 2024 Kendrick Lamar versus Drake war erupted, and Ross made his allegiance clear by siding with Kendrick.
When Drake dropped “Push Ups” in April 2024, he took direct shots at Rick Ross.
Ross responded swiftly with “Champagne Moments,” a track where he accused Drake of relying on ghostwriters and even alleged cosmetic procedures.
The diss was personal, calculated, and unapologetic.
During his Verzuz battle with French Montana, Ross notably skipped over Drake’s verses on “Aston Martin Music,” a symbolic move that spoke volumes about where their relationship stood.
Rick Ross also publicly criticized the entire “Iceman” project, calling it “horrendous” and claiming he’d wasted an hour listening to it.
Drake’s recent album “Iceman” continued the assault.
On the track “Make Them Pay,” he rapped, “Dog, I was aiding Ross with streams before Adin Ross had ever streamed,” a line that seemed designed to undermine Ross’s credibility and suggest he’d been carried by Drake’s influence.
Critics have been questioning whether Ross was using the Drake beef as a promotional tool for his upcoming album “Set In Stone,” scheduled for June 12 release.
When asked about the current state of affairs according to Page Six, Ross downplayed the tension by saying “It’s nothing,” but then immediately contradicted himself by confirming that diss tracks would definitely appear on “Set In Stone.”
“It’s always diss tracks. You know Rozay. That competitive spirit, to me, is what made Hip Hop what it was,” he told the outlet, making clear that the beef serves a larger purpose in his artistic vision.
The competitive fire that once fueled their collaborations has now become the fuel for their conflict, and Ross seems determined to settle scores on his own terms when his album drops next month.