Becoming the Bawse: Eight-Part History of Rick Ross, From Street Rapper to Maybach Mogul

Via facebook.com/RickRoss

Over the last decade, Rick Ross has become the Bawse, collaborating with everyone from Trick Daddy to Diddy, Drake, and beyond.

His label, Maybach Music Group, is home to some of the biggest names in contemporary rap music. The MMG fam includes Meek Mill, Wale, and French Montana, just to name a few.

But Rozay's success didn't just happen. Big homie had to pay his dues as an up-and-coming MC throughout the 2000s, earning respect and defending his street cred.

This is the evolution of Rick Ross.

See also:
-Rick Ross Smokes His Weight in Jamaican Weed: An Extremely Detailed Breakdown
-Rick Ross Made It Rain Money (Literally) at His New Year's Eve Party on South Beach
-Rick Ross, Big-Booty Strippers, and 3,000 Ballers at King of Diamonds in Miami (NSFW)
-Rick Ross on Maybach Music Group: "We the Miami Heat of Hip-Hop"


(Foot)Ball So Hard
Rozay's a thick dude. Tipping the scale at over 300 pounds, he's the type of strong fat that rules the offensive line, not the flabby fat often found at water parks. And before the rap game drafted Ross to be its 300-plus-pound prince, football seemed like a viable, paper-chasing profession.

"When I started playing football in little league, all the small dudes could play, but I was too heavy," Ross said in a 2009 interview with Rap Up Magazine. "I was so focused that by the time I got to the eleventh grade, I was a blue-chip All-American [at Carol City Senior High]. Over two years, I went from being nobody to being considered one of the top three linemen in Florida."

Albany State University took notice and offered Ross a scholarship. However, the would-be rapper only stayed a year, trading in two college semesters for a life of crime.