Shoot At You Actors Like Movie Directors

Last week, I saw that Sickamore posted evidence from TSG confirming that rapper Rick Ross (born William Roberts) worked as a Correctional Officer at age 19. I didn't really care about it, but the news quickly sprouted shock and pubic outrage across the Urban world... apparently, an artist lying about details of their past is a new concept. Then, I saw that J.D. had posted an AllHipHop interview with the former drug kingpin whose name was assumed by Roberts as his rap alias. While the still-incarcerated criminal "Ricky Ross" now regrets "the actions that helped destroy his community," rapper Rick Ross has capitalized on glorifying similar illegal activities. Since I found that hypocrisy to be strange, I started to look at the CO controversy more closely. Although the naysayers appear united within their overwhelmingly negative reactions to the incident, my research showed me that their opinions on the issue are actually very widespread...

BELIEVERS VS. NON-BELIEVERS

If the allegations are true and Ross is denying being a CO, most people think it makes him look really silly. Just admit you were a CO ten years ago, and keep it moving! The evidence appears to be pretty strong against him, so his denial is only digging a hole and alienating fans who may not have cared in the first place, and as Caniba said: "When you try hard, you die hard © Kanye West." Other folks -perhaps die-hard Rawse fans- refuse to believe that their hustling inspiration could be a phony. I feel bad for those people.

LETTING THE GOONS DOWN

Some guys I know (who regard themselves as being "official," AKA knowledgeable of the drug game) are upset that Ross' lyrical claims may not be legit. They now consider him a "lame" for over-exagerating (and possibly faking) his reputation in the game. According to Shamz from OKP, "it just really shows you where we are as a society and (as) hip hop fans when we shun rappers for being upstanding members of their communities and not being real criminals." A few people mentioned that having associations with law enforcement and the DOC strips Ross of his thug image, while others asserted that it's the perfect cover to play both sides of the field.

ENTERTAINMENT VS. REALITY

A lot of people (like me) were completely unphased by this news. In the entertainment industry, most of this shit is in an artist's marketing plan anyway, so of course there's always room for lyrical fabrication. Ross, however, is way past his young and impressionable years, so he should probably know better than to filter negative content onto the masses. Someone I spoke to even went as far as to compare him to a politician getting indicted... you shake your head at it, but ultimately, you're not surprised.

DID HE EVEN SELL DRUGS AT ALL?

The big kahuna issue: This little CO stint on his resume raises the question of whether or not Ross ever dealt drugs at all. If not, then his lyrics and "boss" image are obviously null and void for his listeners. But if, hypothetically, he did sell drugs, people are then wondering when he started. Was it prior to working in the prison? Did he stop and try to become legit, only to have the game calling him back? Did he witness something while working in that industry that turned him off and made him look to crime? Do you care?!

IF HE DID SELL DRUGS, DID HE NEED TO?

Byron Crawford said "Rick Ross didn't deal drugs to escape the ghetto. He was escaping the middle class." Out of all the reasons that make people upset about this CO outing, this one is the most interesting to me. Because it's been proven that Ross had the CO day job, a few folks I asked were annoyed that he may have turned to drugs. While many agrued that hustling is free to all classes of society, others frowned upon doing so unless it's for survival- especially if the substance is more severe in it's societal destruction (marijuana vs. crack, for example). So I ask you, if overcoming poverty is no longer the main motivation of a drug dealer, does that reckless, Billy The Kid street cred disappear from his image?

Since the opinions are all over the place, I wanted to make sure my perspective was on point, so I polled 10 hip hop-heads before I wrote this post. Their contributions were very helpful, so thanks to Caniba, Blount, Kels, Verse, Mega, Henroc, AC, Couture, TwinAlpha, and Shamz.

I wish more people would realize that this whole incident has touched upon a bigger issue in Hip Hop than "street cred." Rick Ross didn't betray me because I never took him seriously as an "artist" in the first place. As fans, we need to start looking closer at our favorite MCs, and ask ourselves (1) why we like them and (2) if we believe their content. Maybe it's a RAP VS. HIP HOP issue, or an ENTERTAINMENT VS. ART issue, but as long as the music's hot, I don't care what these dudes rap about. It's a business- they're here to make music that makes them money, so they can assume whatever identity they choose. I don't agree with it, but if their life and personality aren't prolific enough to keep us engaged in their art, then of course they'll go the contrived route (and I'm not even addressing all the ghostwriting that doesn't make it to the liner notes.) BUT, if a whistle gets blown in their REAL LIFE (ahem, William Roberts, aka Rick Ross!), I think the only option is to fess up and admit the truth, however contradictory it may seem.

SHAMZ: it's real interesting as well when you listen to some of the responses other rappers have been giving when they're asked about this whole thing, they're VERY careful with how they answer, knowing damn well they might have some skeletons in their closet
ZILLA: i hope its dominoes