Freeway Rick Ross
Most people will look at “Freeway” Rick Ross as a monster. Yes, he is the real Rick Ross, the drug baron who was responsible for introducing cocaine and crack to Los Angeles and many other American cities in the 1980s. (The rapper who calls himself Rick Ross is really a former prison guard, who took on the persona of Rick Ross and has never sold drugs in his life.) Ross gained the nicknamed Freeway because he owned several properties near the Los Angeles Harbor Freeway. Ross actually lived the high life of a drug baron and survived to tell his tale. It’s all the more amazing he did this even though he was a functionally illiterate, high school drop out.
Ross is currently promoting his book, “Freeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography,” which details his rise and fall. Ross estimates he made more than $1 billion in the drug industry and at one point was generating a $1 million a day. He stressed it was not all profit, this was gross revenue. A 2013 Esquire magazine article estimates if you convert that to today’s earning that would be between $2.5 billion gross and $850 million in profit.
In many ways Ross could be seen as an American success story. He built a billion-dollar business with franchises across the country from his own sweat, all without any help from the government. (Republicans should love him!) The only problem is he did it illegally. And Ross has unique insights into many issues plaguing the black community such as drugs, violence and incarceration.
In a telephone interview, Ross says he was introduced to the drug business by a friend. He got into it simply to make money. The stark reality of the drug trade is, it’s a business just like any other with consumers, retailers, wholesalers and a supply chain.
Ross said the violence involved in the industry didn’t faze him, because he grew up in South Central surrounded by violence. In his book, he details seeing his mother shoot her brother dead, in self defense. And Ross himself had a gun pointed in his face by a rival gang member, when he was a teenager.
Ross said he could have gone straight, but after he lost a tennis scholarship, when it was discovered that he couldn’t read, he turned to a life of crime to get by.
“When you lose an opportunity, you find something to replace it with,” he said.
According to Ross, dealing drugs is strictly a financial decision for poor youths. They do it so they can afford the things many middle class Americans take for granted such as nice cars, homes and vacations.
Ross was one of the first to get in on the cocaine craze. He estimates on the best days he was making $1 million a day and on bad days between $500,000 -700,000 per day. He added the longer you stay in the business, the better you get at it and the more money you can make.
However, Ross claims he wasn’t able to hang onto any of his money after he was sentenced to life in jail in 1989. (This was later reduced to 20 years.) He came out broke. Many ethnic communities have used illegal means to fund legitimate businesses, which was Ross’ goal all along. Ross feels black people were targeted by the authorities to stop this from happening. “Right now the black jail population is bigger than the number of people during slavery,” he said.
Ross states African Americans make up about 13 percent of the United States population and about 60 percent of people incarcerated. He says there is a lot of money to be made in the entire criminal justice system. In the book, Ross details how he spent millions of dollars on lawyer fees keeping him and his associates out of jail. Ross also said prisons support a lot of other jobs, court reporters, bailiffs, people who supply food to the inmates, etc. Inmates families also get gouged when they try to call their loved ones. According to the LA Times, the Federal Communications Commission recently capped calls to correctional facilities at 25 cents per minute.
According to Ross, jail is another form of slavery, with white people making money off of mainly black bodies. He has a point, because we have seen a rise in privately-run jails and companies, like Corrections Corporation of America. Many jails often have inmates perform labor for way less than minimum wage, which is good for the profits of the companies that use their services.
“Jails are traded on Wall Street,” Ross said. He also pointed out the constitution allows slavery, if you have committed a crime.
Not surprisingly, Ross is highly critical of law enforcement for breaking the rules, when it comes to apprehending suspects. In his book, he talks about run-ins with police, where they, beat suspects, plant drugs and shoot at him while he is running away. One of the problems is the way law enforcement officials are promoted. He said Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials get promoted based on how many drug arrests they make or if they apprehend a big-time criminal. So, basically law enforcement agents will do whatever it takes to build cases against people, sometimes even providing drugs for criminals to sell, then turning around and arresting them on drug charges. This process is known as a reverse sting. (The FBI has also used this tactic by having undercover agents provide weapons and fake bombs to suspects, then arresting them for terrorism.)
The government used this tactic to bring down Ross. He was set up in a deal orchestrated by his main supplier, Danilo Blandon, who it turns out was also working for the CIA, who were using drug profits to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. In his book, Ross points out that Blandon spent a short time in jail and was still given a green card, even though he was a former felon. Ross said the only people that can authorize that are the president and the attorney general.
Ross blasts the Reagan administration as being hypocritical for pushing the War on Drugs and the “Just Say No” campaign, and at the same time harboring elements within the government that were protecting drug suppliers.
“The CIA came out and admitted they did it (sell drugs to the black community,)” Ross said. “They are the people who created the situation.”
Having seen the drug business from the inside and outside, Ross has some interesting ideas about stopping the problem of illegal drugs. He said trillions of dollars have been spent on the Drug War and narcotics are still readily available. Ross says that criminalization of drugs has not worked and it’s time for leaders to sit down and look at alternative ideas such as legalization.
“It’s harder for a kid to get cigarettes than pills or cocaine,” Ross said.
Ross has mixed feelings about the impact of pop culture in glamorizing the image of the gangster. America has a long history of romanticizing outlaws. He points out if you go to a lot of homes you will see pictures of Al Pacino as “Scarface” on the wall. Although the character Al Pacino plays meets a grim end, many youngsters see Tony Montana as a hero, because he came to America with nothing and built a financial empire.
Surprisingly, Ross is not bitter at the rapper Rick Ross, who literally stole his identity.
“I think he (the rapper Rick Ross) had a brilliant marketing scheme to get his career started,” Ross said. He added Rick Ross, the rapper, has managed to keep his career afloat in a volatile business.
Ross was released from jail in 2009 after doing 20 years behind bars. According to his book, he used his time in jail to catch up on sleep, learn to read and devour motivational books like “Think and Grow Rich,” by Napoleon Hill. Ever the hustler, Ross started an illegal commissary in jail, selling candy and cigarettes underground and got thrown in solitary confinement several times.
He now has several business ventures such as a production company and a record label. He is also a motivational speaker at high schools and colleges and an author. Apart from the book, he has a documentary called “Crack in the System.” Ross said he is well received by young people, who admire his business acumen and realize that it takes a certain skill to do what he did.
His record label, named Rick Ross Music Group, tries to promote positive rappers. While he’s critical of much of current rap, he says he likes Kendrick Lamar.
“I think rap is at a point where it needs to change,” Ross said.
Ross added he understands why many rappers talk about the drug game and even model themselves after drug dealers.
“I understand why the rappers rap about it,” he said. “They grew up around that and the drug dealer was their first hero.”
Ross says the best way to solve many of the problems in the black community is through employment and training.
“People say money is the root of all evil, but I say poverty and lack of money is the root of all evil,” Ross said. He said when people are gainfully employed they are less likely to rob you.
He also pointed out other immigrant groups have succeeded in America, because they arrived on these shores with a plan. Black American ancestors arrived in America stripped of their language, culture and knowledge of their history.
“Most people come over here with a plan,” Ross said. “Our ancestors arrived here in shackles, we need a plan.”
