By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Michael Tamzil Tamz; HarperCollins
Rick Ross has released his new book, The Renaissance of a Boss.
In this book, the rapper and entrepreneur goes into detail about his journey and his 20 years in hip-hop. Ross made sure to surround himself with a great team, and his business acumen cemented his status as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop history.
Ross stopped by to interview SiriusXM Front Row on Hip Hop Nation to discuss the new book. Ross is approaching his 50s, and he’s far from slowing down. As one of his songs says, every day he is hustling, but in this case, from a professional standpoint.
“I wouldn’t be where I was at if I didn’t have the team that I have,” Ross said. “That begins with my mom and my sister, my co-author. It takes those pieces. I could come up with the ideas. I could come up with the money, but I needed someone who could run it. It’s like buying a franchise. I bought my first wing stop just because I love lemon pepper wings.”
Ross has so many franchises that he lost count. Ross has a vision, and he makes sure to maximize every opportunity and every idea he sets his mind to. After writing the book, Ross did learn more about himself.
“The last thing you want to do, and this is my opinion, is to feel like life becomes stage four of the Pac-Man game,” Ross said. “Once you’ve mastered that, you don’t want to wake up and relive stage four every day. You could get all the ghosts, all the extra points, but if that’s as far as you can take it, you are in a messed-up position. You have to elevate. You’ve got to go to the next level. How do we do that? It depends on where you are in life.”
Ross fell in love with music from the moment he first heard it. In addition, Ross has a deep love and passion for fashion. He watched how iconic rappers like LL Cool J represented themselves through fashion, which inspired Ross.
Ross loves to see people win and not lose. Not everyone thinks that way because most people are competing, but Ross doesn’t waste his time thinking negatively.
“You just gotta move in a way where you prepare for whatever it is,” Ross said. “I’ve been a shot caller for a long time. I’m still here 20 summers later and having fun.”
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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