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Biography
It’s difficult to quite put your finger on how conventional Ross’ pre-hip hop life was, by the genre’s usual standards; he certainly didn’t have the most comfortable of upbringings, but it’s also fair to say that serving as a prison officer - as Ross did for a couple of years in the mid-nineties - is hardly something that’s a common occurrence in a genre of music with a general lack of regard for law enforcement. After addressing that particular issue on his commercial breakthrough record “Deeper Than Rap” in 2009, though - he’d initially denied that the rumours were true - he’s gone on to make himself one of the best-respected and most widely-revered rappers in the world, having been named Hottest MC in the Game by MTV in 2012. He’s probably best-known in the hip hop community for having created his own label, Maybach Music Group; named after his favourite brand of luxury car, Ross has signed the likes of Meek Mill, French Montana and Wale to the imprint.
In terms of his own solo career, Ross’ lyricism has usually focused on the decadent lifestyle he enjoys, with money and material possessions clearly his primary motivation. He frequently offsets that kind of imagery, though, against his struggles as a youngster, both with the law and with his family; it’s this dichotomy that makes him one of his genre’s most compelling artists. 2014’s “Mastermind” met with critical acclaim, even if it didn’t have a single quite as big as his signature song, “Hustlin’” - it’s testament to Ross’ work ethic, though, that it’s not the only new album he’ll release this year, with “Hood Billionaire” being readied, too.
Live reviews
Even by hip hop standards, Rick Ross has an opinion of himself so high that he borders on caricature; most recently, he’s taken to referring to himself as ‘Mastermind’ and has long declared via his Twitter bio that ‘I RUN RAP’; he certainly leads the kind of outrageously lavish lifestyle typically enjoyed by the genre’s biggest stars. His live shows, meanwhile, do little to go against the grain of the public persona he’s carved out; they’re relentlessly energetic affairs, with little room for contemplation or reflection. Instead, he keeps things relentlessly high-octane, putting together intelligently-judged setlists that blend the best of his own classics and new material with reworked versions of collaborations and the odd cover. With a hype man who does his job in the old-fashioned sense of the term - raising Ross to the level of near-deity over the course of his live shows - it’s left to the self-proclaimed Teflon Don to deliver his famous flow with minimal backing and an impressive consistency. Many hip hop shows feel a little incomplete without a live band, but in Ross’ case, that’d almost be defeating the purpose; his gigs, to put it bluntly, are all about him and his legendary appetite for materialism. Don’t go looking for anything especially complex, or nuanced - do go expecting banger after banger, and you won’t be disappointed.
Joeg_67
William Leonard Roberts II is better known by his stage name Rick Ross. Originally from Mississippi, the rapper has been active as a musician since 2001 and has collaborated with the likes of Drake and Chris Wayne. Perhaps also known for his feud with fellow rapper 50 Cent. Away from the controversy, Rick has enjoyed huge success in the States with five of his album topping the billboard chart so he clearly has a strong following.
This is easy to see when packed into a venue of these fans all anticipating Rick's appearance. When he does swagger onto stage there is no doubt this performer is confident as he begins an aggressive rendition of 'Hustlin''. His freestyle ability is applaudable as he races through a number of fan favourites including 'No Games' and 'Free Mason'.
The crowd dance along as they have no chance to keep up with the speed of the verses. Rick's hype-man makes the audience enthusiastic and energetic throughout as Ross himself concentrates on the complicated hip hop. A finale of 'King Of Diamonds' receives rapturous applause from the crowd as the rapper confidently leaves the stage.
sean-ward
Show was decent. I've been to dozens of rap shows and they all have an obvious voice track, and the rappers sing over it. This was the first show I'd been to where the voice track was so front and center that you could not, or very rarely, hear Rick Ross's voice over it. The result was it looked like a lip sync act. Also wasn't very high energy as far as live shows go, so those two things combined... Finally, one of my favorite RR verses is on Drake's Money in the Grave. That song came on, Drake's first verse was on the speakers, and RR said, "no no no" and started laughing "that's it". Show over. Literally, that was the end of the show. He did stay up on stage for about 15 minutes after that and sign books, so big props for being a cool dude.
craig-fossella
It was a disappointing experience. We had to wait outside in the cold for an hour to get inside even though we had gotten the tickets couple weeks in advance. Rick Ross didn’t seem to care about the event , he even played 80s/90s music for last 20 minutes of his “performance “. Not what I would’ve expected from a rick Ross show( and I understand that his attitude towards the show not the venues fault)
olgapope
We didn’t even stay for Rick Ross. It was soooo cold in the building. Honestly, I wouldn’t attend another event at the Masonic temple. We waited outside freezing too long, only to freeze once we got into the building. Doors opened at 8? Not so much. We left a little after 10 and Still... no Rick Ross. Amateurs doing their thing on stage and it was pretty bad.
#ConcertFail
christine-scott-6
Rick Ross was 3 and a half hours late by the time he got on rage at 22:40 ish he performed for about 30 mins. Complete waste of money left stage with out saying anything everybody thought he was coming back until they started packing up 2500 angry people. Want my money back !!!!
herridgeluke
It was a nice show!! Before Rick Ross came on stage Omelly came out And a couple of new local artist from right here in the city from Southwest Philly did a nice Performance!!! And the DJ's were doin there thing too!!They were good!!! I enjoyed myself!!! I had a good time!!
Batman1990
Awesome show! Half of the performances were baby makin music type songs cuz there was a TON of gorgeous women there; Rick was hella focused on getting the girls in the crowd interacting & on stage. The visuals were great, awesome crowd & atmosphere too - all real ones
realp
Yo I loved the show!! And I loved how they brought out Gunplay and they had a Talented new local act from Philly come out!! Omelly Meek Mill's cousin was even there to perform!! HOT show!! Cant wait till he comes back again!! MMG4LIFE
Batman1990
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