Rick Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II, is an American rapper and record executive.
Ross was the subject of a bidding war before releasing his debut single, “Hustlin’,” in 2006, garnering bids from Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment and Irv Gotti’s Murder Inc. before securing a multimillion-dollar deal with Jay-Def Z’s Jam Recordings.
Did Jay Z discover Rick Ross?
Yes Jay Z discovered Rick Ross. Rick Ross’ first song, Hustlin, was released in 2006.
He had deal signing proposals from two top record labels, Murder Inc., managed by Irv Gotii, and Bad Boy Entertainment, run by P. Diddy, prior to this. He eventually opted for neither after being signed to Def Jam Recordings by Jay-Z.
Rick Ross’ first and second albums were both commercial hits, with both reaching the top of the Billboard 200 chart.
Port of Miami, which was released on August 8, 2006, sold 187,000 copies in its first week, and Trilia, which was released on March 11, 2008, sold 198,000 copies in its first week as well.