I am going out on a thin limb and will explain to you all why Rick Ross won’t lose.
That’s right.
I can’t lie. I thought Rick Ross was finished when the Miami rapper was under siege by 50 Cent, the mastermind of destroying careers. Also, when he first came out, I wasn’t all that impressed with him as an artist. But, it would seem that, misfortune has made fate smile upon Rick. (For the record, Ross has proclaimed absolute victory. Click here to see the video of this declaration.)
50 Cent was lighting up Ross’ life that first week to two weeks of their beef. It was ugly and disrespectful. Sure, Ross started it wit a scant rap line. It was like a kid going up and hitting a beehive and that’s exactly how I looked at Ross when he mentioned 50’s baby’s mother in “Mafia Music.” Why would he do such a thing as incite the fury of 50 Cent?
The answer remains a mystery.
Oh, but this is for sure, Ross is in a prime position at this point in 2009.
Be clear, Ross isn’t any sort of loser. He experienced his breakout after signing with Def Jam. With Trilla (2008), he topped his first album, Port of Miami (2006)- in my opinion. Two gold-selling albums. Everything was cool, but suddenly thesmokinggun.com confirmed the rumors that Rick Ross had once served as a correctional officer in Miami.
Hip-Hop and the streets gasped collectively! How would he plow though the blasphemy and so-called shame of having such a past (a 9-5 for God’s sake!)? How else – thug his way though-as Jay-Z put it. An alleged beatdown of DJ Vlad produced a $4 million lawsuit against the rapper for asking about the occupation. That wasn’t a good idea on Ross’ crew’s part. He continued to tell lil’ lies or ignore the rumors. He was in a spider’s web, but refused to squirm.
And then there was 50 Cent, who just this year did everything but show Ross in a tutu Jay-Z style. For all intent and purposes, Rick Ross should have had one foot in the rap grave and the other on slippery ice.
Through it all, Ross is still here.
He’s here for the same reason Lil’ Wayne remains a staple in rap. Remember when those images of Lil Wayne and “daddy ” Baby popped up? The uproar! The furor! The name calling! The fans split like the Red Sea! They hated Wayne. They loved Wayne. They thought he was gay. They thought he was straight. Wayne forged ahead to defeat his circumstances in ways that really defies logic (based on the “rules” of Hip-Hop).
Ross’ dilemma is similar to Wayne’s, but why he won’t lose is slightly different.
Rick Ross isn’t likely to topple 50 Cent and he doesn’t have to collapse the G-Unit Dynasty. All Ross has done has showed some moxie and continuously produce quality music.
To keep it moving, he’s been staying on message by calling 50 Cent a “monkey” in a manner than is highly offensive to me. Of course, 50 Cent and G-Unit refer to themselves as gorillas so who am I to question the reduction of status? And Ross now does a lot of laughing and posturing though his own viral videos. As he’s withstood the torrential storm, he’s increased his aggressiveness. It reminds of how Muhammad Ali withstood George Foreman’s mighty body shots as he did the rope-a-dope.
50 And Ross have similarities.
In the not-too-distant past, 50 Cent was the underdog and he was regarded as some form of “snitch” for his penchant for writing rhymes with the names of street dudes in them. That’s what they said was considered dry snitching. I wasn’t even aware of this “dry snitching” until 50’s detractors came along. Still, 50 Cent won everybody over (the fans, the streets, corporate America) with his ability to create good, f**kin’ music. He’s a huge success by just about any standard. When the music is right, all the naysayers are forced to fall in line.
Here we are and Ross’ Deeper Than Rap is here. The fans were upset when Ross was not completely honest about his tenure as a C.O., but they really only cared hat he didn’t tell the truth. Fans of music typically willingly believe in the false image that most rappers portray. When they find the facts, they act oh-so-shocked and amazed that Rapper X didn’t kill 30 people, only did 3 months in jail and flipped burgers and Mickey D’s once or twice. All rappers are phoney to some extent as are most celebrities in general.
Whatever Ross did in his former life really doesn’t matter to me.
The music he has been pumping out is dope and his new album sound like his best work to date. There isn’t a more eloquent way to describe the music. It’s DOPE. Quality music is truly what the people want in 2009, especially at a time when the industry seems to be struggling to define itself.
So, there you have it, an editorial that could have easily been titled “Why Rick Ross Will Win.”
Epilogue: Right now, 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew continue to berate Rick Ross, but have been very quiet as of late. Rick Ross’ baby’s mother and 50 are supposed to drop a revelatory book about Ross. My insider intelligence also suggests that there are far more nefarious maneuvers being plotted, but that’s another rumor for another day.