William Leonard Roberts II was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi,^[9][10] and raised in Carol City, Florida.^[11] After graduating from Miami Carol City Senior High School, he attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship.^[12] Roberts worked as a correctional officer for 18 months from December 1995, until his resignation in June 1997.^[13]

In his early years at Suave House Records, Roberts initially made his debut under the pseudonym Teflon Da Don. He made his recording debut on the song "Ain't Shhh to Discuss" on Erick Sermon's lone album for DreamWorks, Def Squad Presents Erick Onasis.^[14] In the mid-2000s, he changed his name to Rick Ross. He derived his stage name from the former drug kingpin "Freeway" Rick Ross, to whom he has no connection.^[15]

After being signed to Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG, he eventually signed a deal with Slip-n-Slide Records, which has been under the Def Jam label since 2006. While signed to Slip-n-Slide, Roberts toured with fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-n-Slide albums.^[11]

His debut album Port of Miami was released in August 2006 and debuted at the top spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart, with sales at 187,000 units during the first week.^[5][6] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine predicted that it would be "the summer's biggest rap record".^[16]The second single was "Push It", which samples "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)", the theme song from the gangster film Scarface.^[17] The music video for "Push It" was modeled after the film.^[18]During that time, Ross made guest performances on two singles from DJ Khaled's debut Listennn... the Album: "Born-N-Raised" and "Holla at Me". Port of Miami received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America on November 8, 2006.

In March 2008, his second album Trilla was released and, as its predecessor Port of Miamihad, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200.^[7] Its lead single "Speedin'" featuring R. Kelly peaked at number 21 on the U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles; the next one, "The Boss" featuring T-Pain peaked at number 17 on the Hot 100. The third single "Here I Am" featured Nellyand Avery Storm.^[19] MTV News ranked Ross on the fourth spot in its 2008 "Hottest MCs in the Game" list among ten rappers.^[20] The fourth single "This Is The Life" featured Trey Songz and was released in July.

I look at the game and the business and all different aspects, it's a lot of great lyricists on the corner that will never properly understand the business and know how to market themselves and get in a position where they can gain capital. I look at all the strategies people use and what made them successful. What made Birdman just as relevant today after selling 50 million records? That intrigues me. To see the class of Jay-Z, his accomplishments and see how he sits backs and accurately makes his moves.^[21]

A track from the album called "Valley of Death" was what stood out to MTV reporters. In the song, Ross speaks briefly on his controversial stint as a prison guard. "Keep it trilla, nigga, never had a gun and badge," which he stresses, leaving the word that he was indeed an officer of the law. "Kept a nice watch, smoking on a hundred sack/ Back in the day I sold crack for some nice kicks/ Skippin' school, I saw my friend stabbed with an ice pick/ Can't criticize niggas trying to get jobs/ Better get smart, young brother, live yours." Later, he implies that while he was working as a corrections officer, he was on the streets. "Only lived once and I got two kids/ And for me to feed them, I'll get two gigs," he raps. "I'll shovel shit, I'll C.O./ So we can bow our heads and pray over the meatloaf." He still provided no explanation for lying about being a C.O. to begin with, nor did he explain why he failed to pay child support for his children.^[22][23]

The cover of the May 2009 issue of XXLmagazine, titled "Rick Ross Up in Smoke", featured Ross wearing a pair of Louis Vuittonsunglasses. After publication, a spokesperson for the luxury-goods maker contacted XXL to inform them that Ross was sporting fake sunglasses in the cover image.^[24] It was later revealed that the rapper was wearing authentic Louis Vuitton sunglasses which were altered by Jacob Bernstein, known as "The Sunglass Pimp". Bernstein defended his customizations despite Louis Vuitton's insistence that such modification and resale of trademarked property is not legal.^[25]

Ross had a number of accomplishments in 2010. In May, he released the critically acclaimed Albert Anastasia EP. In addition to that, he released his fourth studio album entitled Teflon Don, on July 20, 2010. The lead single was "Super High" featuring Ne-Yo. Actress Stacey Dash made an appearance in the music video. A second official single was released titled "Live Fast, Die Young" which features and is produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 selling 176,000 copies in its first week.

In November 2010, rapper and frequent collaborator, Diddy, who in 2009 signed Ross to a management deal with his Ciroc Entertainment, announced from his YouTube account, that he and Ross are working on an EP together. A single was released for the project, called "Another One".^[26]Ross ended 2010 by releasing another mixtape, Ashes To Ashes on Christmas Eve 2010.

In early 2011, Rick Ross signed Wale and Meek Mill to his Maybach Music Group imprint. The group released their debut compilation album, Self Made Vol. 1 in May. Rick Ross performed at BET Awards 2011, which aired on June 26, 2011.^[27] He also received a nomination for Best Male Hip Hop Artist.^[28] In early 2012, Ross was named the Hottest MC in the Game.^[29]

Big things were happening for Ross's successful career in 2012 as well. He started the year by premiering his Rich Forever mixtape to universal acclaim. Ross's MMG camp released their second compilation, Self Made Vol. 2 in June 2012. Less than a month later, Ross's fifth studio album, God Forgives, I Don't, was released on July 31, 2012, after a few delays.^[30][31] Upon its release, the album charted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart and number two on the UK R&B Albums Chart, making it Ross's highest-charting album and first top 10 album in the United Kingdom. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard200, with first-week sales of 218,000 copies.^[32]

Ross premiered four songs: "So Sophisticated" featuring Meek Mill, "Touch'N You" featuring Usher, "Hold Me Back", and "3 Kings" featuring Dr. Dre and Jay-Z. The album was certified gold in less than two months. To celebrate his accomplishment and promote his upcoming MMG Tour, Ross released a mixtape, The Black Bar Mitzvah in October. Rick Ross was nominated by The Source as its "Man of the Year".^[33]

On January 7, 2013, Ross revealed the title of his sixth album to be Mastermind. The album was set to be released in 2013.^[34] The first promotional single from the album would come in the form of "Box Chevy" which was released to iTunes on February 15, 2013.^[35][36][37] The music video was filmed on April 1, 2013, and features cameos from MMG members Gunplay, Stalley and Rockie Fresh.^[38]

During 2008, it was announced that Ross was set to release a collaboration album with his longtime friend Birdman titled The H, but after that, no information on the album was released.^[39] On May 16, 2013, Birdman and Rick Ross announced that The H would be released as a mixtape hosted by DJ Khaled on May 23, 2013. The project was recorded during a couple of days in 2008.^[40]

On September 5, 2013, Ross premiered the first official single from Mastermind, "No Games" featuring Future produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League.^[41] The following day, it was released to Urban contemporary radio.^[42] It was followed by the singles "The Devil Is A Lie" with Jay-Z and "War Ready" with Jeezy.

Rick Ross released his sixth studio album, Mastermind, in March 2014, the album received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 179,000 copies.^[43] As of April 8, 2014, the album has sold over 290,000 copies in the United States.^[44] In June 2014, it was announced that Ross would make a guest appearance on the docu-series Sisterhood of Hip Hop.^[45]

In October 2014, Ross announced he would be releasing another album, Hood Billionaire, in order to make up for Meek Mill's Dreams Worth More Than Money album being shelved due to his incarceration.^[46] Rick Ross revealed cover art for Hood Billionaire in October 2014 and announced the release date to be set for November 24, 2014.^[47][48] The album received mixed reviews, from fans and critics alike.^{[citation needed]}