RICK ROSS = Rap's Ted Debiase

One and the same?


For pretty much anyone that follows hip-hop and has an internet connection, it’s become apparent that Rick Ross is not who he claims to be. But did we really ever think he was an international drug dealer? And does the validity of his claim even matter?

Last week reports dropped that Ricky Ross was once a prison guard in Dade County, FLA. In a the smoking gun article it was reported that pay stubs of a Dade County corrections officer displayed the social security number that was akin to that of Ross. This is essentially irrefutable evidence that Rick Ross' past wasn't what he claimed it to be.

So now that Ross has been outed as former law enforcement, his credibility as international blow slanging kingpin is shot. He’s the Milli Vanilli of coke rap. The internet is blowing up with hilarious Photoshopped pictures of Ross, but my favorite is by a video that dropped earlier today by one of my favorite sites The Real.


Rick Ross' Land of Make Believe from jeff on Vimeo.

This is quite humorous, but I really think it's quite absurd for hip-hop fans to be that outraged by this new finding about Rick Ross' past. The claims Rick Ross makes on his albums are so ridiculous and outlandish, there was no way in hell he actually had that kind of status. Did we really believe he was birthed in a crackhouse? When I listen to a dude like Joell Ortiz rap about freezing his ass off during a NYC winter trying to make chump change selling crack, I believe him. Dealing drugs is 99.9% of the time a dirt hustle, yet it seems like the only people rapping about it are claiming to be making way more money than my MBA colleagues.

I never really believed Rick Ross and therefore was not that surprised to find out he was lying, I mean, how couldn't he be lying. Ross was a fucking cartoon character, blown out of proportion to the point of absurdity, you'd have to be a completely gullible to think Ross' tale was completely sincere.

Thinking about Rick Ross reminds me a great deal of my childhood love of Pro Wrestling. The pre-WWF Attitude days were my favorite. I mean, we knew that the Million Dollar Man was not wealthy, the IRS did not major in accounting, and that Papa Shango did not possess voodoo prowess. Despite this, it was fun and I enjoyed it. I garner the same type of pleasure out of Rick Ross.

Now, as my friend Conor pointed out, comparing hip-hop to pro wrestling is a slippery slope. It is not to say I don't think many rappers are genuine, I just think this obsession with keeping it real and authenticity is quite problematic. Hip-hop should be fun, and needs to stop taking it self so seriously, Rick Ross was a hilarious concept, and I don't think its important if his back story checks out.

-Nick