Heavyweight rapper Rick Ross is never far from controversy. As well as being forced to apologise for lyrics appearing to condone date rape last year, the self-styled Boss of hip-hop was shot at in Florida, causing him to crash his Rolls-Royce.
Last night Ross was angrily denying reports his rap crew owe £119,000 after pulling out of a 2012 Wembley show and urged us to raise our middle fingers to the litigious promoter. It was a glimpse of the swaggering leadership that’s built an empire ranging from his record label, Maybach Music, to 25 franchises of US fast food chain Wingstop. A taste for their fried chicken wings may well have contributed to the rapper’s imposing presence on stage.
Unashamedly of the old school, Ross showed off his gold chain and Rolex and rapped about luxury cars on the bleary, bass-heavy Bugatti.
He also gave us a look at his swaying belly (under a T-shirt featuring the Queen) for the furious The Devil Is A Lie, a standout track from his latest US No 1 album, Mastermind. After a promising start, the relentless plugs for Maybach Music became irksome during a far from seamless sequence of shouty tunes. And references to guns, drugs and “bitches” felt clichéd compared to the new breed such as Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
The 2006 debut Hustlin’ still sounded sharp, though his gangsta persona seemed stuck in the Nineties, especially when he paid tribute to that decade’s slain rappers, Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.
Rapping into phones plucked from the front row was a nice touch but it wasn’t enough. Arriving on stage late and leaving after barely an hour must have left fans feeling short-changed.
This hip-hop boss really needs to pull his weight.
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