Rick Ross at Drai's Nightclub

Artist Profile

About Rick Ross

William Leonard Roberts II — known as Rick Ross, a name borrowed from real-life Los Angeles drug trafficker Ricky Donnell Ross — is a Miami hip-hop artist and entrepreneur born in Clarksdale, Mississippi and raised in Carol City, Florida, whose commanding baritone voice, cinematic production sensibility, and relentless album output made him one of rap's most productive artists from the mid-2000s through the present decade. His debut album Port of Miami (2006) reached number one on the Billboard 200 with no advance singles — a commercial performance that signaled an audience for his street narratives delivered over rich, orchestral production. Hustlin — which preceded the album by nearly a year as a standalone single — established both his persona and his production aesthetic: dense drums, piano-driven melodies, and a baritone voice that communicated authority through presence rather than technical lyrical dexterity alone. His Maybach Music Group label, launched in 2009, became one of hip-hop's most commercially successful imprints of the 2010s — home to Meek Mill, Wale, and Omarion, and a vehicle for cross-promotion with Warner Bros. Records that produced multiple platinum releases across his roster. His own catalog across Deeper Than Rap (2009), Teflon Don (2010), and God Forgives, I Don't (2012) represents the peak of his critical and commercial period, with Teflon Don in particular earning recognition as one of the defining rap albums of its era. Collaborations with Drake, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Diddy, Future, Lil Wayne, and Wale positioned him at the center of hip-hop's commercial mainstream across more than a decade. His Wing Stop restaurant chain and other business ventures have extended his brand well beyond music into the hospitality and food service sectors. His Las Vegas performances at Drai's Nightclub — the premier hip-hop nightclub in Las Vegas, relocated to the basement of Vanderpump Hotel (formerly The Cromwell) on the Las Vegas Strip — and Hakkasan Nightclub at MGM Grand bring his commanding stage presence to the city's most powerful hip-hop nightclub rooms. His confirmed Memorial Day Weekend appearance at Hakkasan on May 24, 2026 is among the most anticipated hip-hop bookings of the holiday weekend, drawing fans specifically around the holiday. Guest list through NoCoverVegas gives qualified guests free entry to Hakkasan on his performance nights — extraordinary access to a platinum-selling hip-hop headliner at one of the Strip's most prestigious nightclub addresses.