In an appearance on the Full Send Podcast, Rick Ross spoke about his brief stint as a correctional officer and why he doesn’t beef with other rappers.
Prior to his career in hip-hop, Ross worked as a correctional officer in the mid ’90s. His past became a contentious topic in the rap community when photos surfaced of him in his uniform, initially drawing denials from Rozay. He later admitted he worked in that capacity in Florida between 1995 and ’97, and now he’s opened up about what that experience was like and why he decided to leave the job behind.
The 46-year-old said he worked as an officer when he was “maybe 20,” but didn’t work in prisons. “I didn’t really get to make it to the prison, because you gotta go through training and all that and I didn’t last long,” he said at the 46:50 point of the episode above. “I lasted four months before they said…I was a little tardy.” As for why he pursued the job for a while, he said, “One of my big homies had just got in trouble, and a lot of people…a lot of things were going on. He just suggested it.”
Asked if he enjoyed the work, Ross made it clear that it was a miserable experience. “I didn’t. Anything you gotta really do, you fucking running and jogging,” he said, later revealing his “horrendous” paycheck amounted to “500 bucks like every two weeks.” While he didn’t stick with the career, obviously, he almost went into training to become a firefighter instead. When one of the hosts suggested it would be funny to have Rozay sent out to deal with a fire, he replied, “You would probably burn like a fucking piece of chicken.”
Earlier in the interview, the topic of beef came up and Ross was quick to explain why he doesn’t like to get involved in feuds. “You know, I only rap beef with people with more money than me, and I guess that’s why I never rap beef,” he said at 22:28. When it was highlighted that Ross had issues with 50 Cent in the past, he said they’ve since sorted that out. “Rozay’s shoes ain’t never been stepped on, man,” said the MMG mogul.
Ross has a number of beloved collaborations with Drake, and at the 29:40 point of the episode he said he was put on to to the Toronto rapper by a woman he was seeing. “I remember like it was yesterday, but she was a cool, fly chick so I was like, ‘Play some of his music,’” he said, noting he doesn’t remember what song it was. “It was most definitely one of them early [ones]. … Maybe the next time or two I was in the studio with Wayne, I met [Drake] and it was just genuine. He was just a cool young n***a.”
Another notable collaborator of Ross’ is Kanye West, whom he took a moment to defend amid recent controversies about his behavior and Kim Kardashian’s new boyfriend Pete Davidson. At the 1:10:20 mark, Rozay was asked if he thought Ye is “losing his mind” as of late.
“Nah, he not losing his mind at all, because if you felt he was losing his mind now, it would’ve been lost 15 years ago, if you felt like that,” he said. “I’ve never felt like that. Homie’s always been a genius. He going through his thing with his family.” Ross commented on Ye buying a house across the street from Kim, too, joking that when he heard the news, he was convinced “she gonna sell hers next week.”
Rick Ross took time to defend DJ Khaled from critics as well. “He’s very entertaining, I look forward to seeing him every day,” he said at the 40:00 point. “Just for anybody that doubted, his motivation is fucking genuine. Before was got money he was that.” One of the hosts highlighted that people have criticized Khaled for not being hands-on with records, or not producing much.
“Anybody that say that, they really don’t know what the fuck they talking about,” Ross said. “On my first album, the record that I collaborated with Wayne, DJ Khaled produced. You gotta realize, as a producer, homie was sitting right there. Carrying the records, making the records, coming to the crib, doing the remixes. Putting artists that wasn’t hot on big remixes. … You just don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. That let me know the level of your musical [acumen], when you say Khaled ain’t hands on with the records. You a donkey.”
Other topics he mentioned included his success with Wingstop and his friendship with comedian Druski. Perhaps the most interesting, though, is that he plans to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2024.
“I’ma hike to the top of Kilimanjaro,” he said. “For the rest of this year I’m getting ready, prepared mentally. Next year I get prepared physically.”
Check out the full interview up top.
