Rick Ross Isnt Moving to Paris Anytime Soon

Heavy is the head that wears the crown: Since 2006, the rapper Rick Ross has catapulted to the upper echelons of hip-hop with streetwise rhymes, an uncanny grunt and a braggadocio fit for a mafia Don. The self-dubbed Bawse, Ross oversees Maybach Music Group, an incubator for successful rappers like Meek Mill and Wale; he also recently inked a management deal with former Warner Music Group honcho Lyor Cohen, an industry legend. And yet, success hasnt come without setbacks: In 2008, leaked documents showed that Ross served 18 months as a correctional officer in his native Miami casting doubt on his above-the-law persona and in 2011, he suffered multiple seizures while flying to an event. Last year, he was attacked in a drive-by shooting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where 18 bullets were fired at his Rolls-Royce; somehow, he left unscathed. Later that year, Reebok dropped the rapper as a spokesperson after a maelstrom of bad publicity over his song U.O.E.N.O. which contained a lyric that was widely interpreted as pro-rape. (Ross later publicly apologized: “To every woman that has felt the sting of abuse, I apologize,” he wrote in a statement.) But the shadow of controversy and murder attempts havent rattled Rick Ross. As he gears up for the release of his sixth studio album Mastermind (out now on Def Jam Records), the 38-year-old is ready for war and putting the past behind him; Mastermindfeatureship-hop A-listers like Jay Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. His sleepy eyes partially obscured by designer sunglasses, Ross spoke to TIME from Jay Zs 40/40 Club in New York about being raps pervasive yet elusive self-proclaimed boss. TIME: As you release your sixth studio album, youve already reached many rap career milestones. Are you still inspired? Of course. Ive been listening to hip-hop my whole life. I just ran out on stage with Jay Z in Miami on the Magna Carta Holy Grail tour. 75,000 of my people in my city. Im a mile-and-a-half away from the house that I grew