It’s not everyday you get to talk to a millionaire.

Recently, I had the chance to do just that when speaking to Dade County’s Rick Ross, who shared what it feels like to have that kind of monetary clout, rising from the bottom up and how music has helped keep his money fresher than a box of Arm & Hammer. Through constant grinding, dedication and self-motivation, this former trafficker and current hustler has made it to a point in his life where counting his possessions & blessings takes more than one hand…and more time than the interview allowed. Does that mean he’s content?

Hell no baby. He’s the boss.

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Ross: What’s up, B?

TSS: Rick, man, how you doin’?

Ross: I’m good, baby, I’m good.

TSS: Excellent. You sound good. How’s that weather down there in Miami?

Ross: Actually, I’m up in here in New York. I’m freezing right now.

TSS: I hear you, man. I’m wearing two coats today, here in Michigan.

Ross: Believe that.

TSS: Alright, well, lemme jump into this, because I know this your last interview for the day. Your first major album, Port of Miami, is about 100,000 records shy of the platinum mark. With record sales so low lately, at what point will you consider your new album, Trilla, a personal success?

Ross: Just me, you know, when I look at Port of Miami not being platinum, but when I perform, the way the tours be, the way the concerts be, it’s like I sold five million. You know, to an artist, that’s what’s important to me, you know what I’m saying? It’s important, of course what I sell, as the business aspect, but as the artist, just watching the people react and respond to my ideas and my concepts…that’s what I love the most. I love the fans and the reactions more than the money.

TSS: Definitely. So, while sales are obviously somewhat important to you, it’s really more about the fan response and making quality music, in general?

Ross: Yea, making the best music. And, you know, we gonna sell records, that’s what we do, ‘cause da best. But, I just love when I get reactions. Lot of times I done been on tours with artists who sold a lot more records than I have, but when I come out there and say, ‘Whip it, whip it,’ I get a louder response. And, you know, that’s just something money ain’t gon’ buy.

TSS: For sure. I feel that. Your last album, Rise to Power, was a compilation of material you did while you were on your previous label, Suave House. Because they released when you weren’t even on the label, it didn’t receive much of a push. Can you explain the situation behind that record?

Ross: That was some music I did in, uh, ’97, ’98. Tony Draper, when I was on Suave House, he broke bread and we always had a real relationship, just as real niggas. And, you know, he kind of went under the weather for a while, and when he resurfaced with this, I gave him my blessings and he released it. I looked at it as a collective edition for Rick Ross’ real fans who really wanted to hear what he sounded like when he was 18-years-old and 19-years-old.

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TSS: From I’ve what I’ve heard a lot of people say, that’s a real good album if you want to hear some real Rick Ross spittin some lyrics. Not as mainstream. Did you learn anything from that experience with Rise to Power?

Ross: Um, yea, it was just fun for me to just listen to a lot of the old songs, you know what I mean?

TSS: Yea, to see how you’ve grown as an artist.

Ross: Of course, yea, of course. Just thinkin’ back to those times, remembering those times. It was just one of them things, you know?

TSS: Alright, yea. Seeing you are the self-proclaimed ‘Boss,’ you’re obviously on top of your business game. When it came time to pick and choose a major label to sign with, you had numerous options, but when you sat down with Jay-Z and Def Jam, it was obviously a wrap. What was that meeting like? Were you star struck at all, or was it just business as usual?

Ross: You know, I’ve been a fan of Jay a long time, but I came up there about my money. We put the star stuck shit to the side for a minute and we just talked like businessmen. What was best for Rick Ross, and the future of everything I was doing at the time. That’s what was important. We sat down and all got on the same page, and we made it happen. Jig, he was more than just a rapper, you know?

TSS: Yea, most definitely. You were one of his first recruits to Def Jam, right?

Ross: Yea, I was one of the first, I believe.

TSS: You were quoted in an older XXL, saying that you need ten million dollars a year just to live. Considering you weren’t even signed to a major label two years previous, how can you justify a number that gaudy?

Ross: You see when I said that, I felt that like, for me to fight, I gotta’ win, you know what I mean? When you think big, and you speak things in existence, anything is possible. Actually, I remember when both me and DJ Khaled, they like, I told them we was the best. And they was like, ‘no.’ It took us a long time, but we here. With DJ Khaled, they like, ‘An Arab DJ, how he gonna play Black music?’ And I said, ‘I’m just telling you, we da best, man. We think big, we act big, everything we do…big.’ And that just was my mindset. I’m one of them niggas that really smoke that good good weed, and I really drift off into those worlds, and places. I go there. When I make my music, that’s what I do, for real. I’m the boss. I came from nothin.’

Now, we putting out independent documentaries, now we puttin’ out albums, now my DJ the biggest DJ in the business, now me and Birdman fittin’ to do a movie. So, I look at it like, long as I keep thinking big, and stay trill at the same time, just making the best music, everything we want to accomplish, we can accomplish. If that’s what I want to accomplish, getting’ ten M’s, that’s nothin.’ That’s too easy.

TSS: Well, man, that’s a great point of view. It sounds like you need to put out a self-help book for certain people.

Ross: Yea, man, for real, that’s what it is. You can’t feel sorry for yourself, and don’t expect me to feel sorry for you. I’m one of them dudes, that, I felt like ain’t been asleep in fourteen years, you know what I’m sayin? I got that appetite, and that’s what we gonna’ do, we gonna’ win big, we gonna’ get money, we gonna’ be the biggest and that’s what it is. Straight up.

TSS: Alright, that’s legit. With so many zeros in your bank account, how hard is it to budget your money?

Ross: I’m just gonna’ say that it’s real hard. My bank account, I like to let my bank account live, you know what I’m talking about? I like to get…I like my street money. I’m in this business, so…I can do so many different other revenues of gettin’ income. I like to let my bank be my bank money. But, everyday I’m on the phone for income. I need new money everyday. That’s how you keep from spending your money. You can’t spend your money, you gotta’ make money.

TSS: You can’t let it get stagnant, right?

Ross: Yea, yea. You can’t let it get stagnant. You gotta’ keep fresh ones.

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TSS: What type of relationship do you have with your accountant?

Ross: My private banker, man, we super cool. I got a private banker and my accountant. I got the best accountant in the world. I wanna’ give him a shout out, Floyd Thomas Accounting Services, out of Atlanta, GA. Print that, he might save somebody’s life, that you know.

TSS: Got that. Besides your house, and any cars, what’s the most expensive thing you own?

Ross: Uhm…(long pause)…homes, cars, boat…I dunno. That’s a good question. There’s a lot of shit I gotta’ think about.

TSS: (Laughs) Man, you’re making me jealous.

Ross: My girl was just telling me about a painting. What’s the name of the painting, baby? (Woman responds in background, “A Basquiat”) She want me to get a Bas-qui-at.

TSS: A Basquiat? Oh, that’s a good investment right there.

Ross: A painting, she keepin’ with…(Woman emphasizes, “Jean-Michel Basquiat.”)…she trying to convince me to get a painting. I’m not going to do it though.

TSS: I think that’s a good idea, man. You’re talking about getting your money right, that’s an investment right there. That just grows by itself, you don’t even got to touch it.

Ross: Yea, you don’t. It does grow.

TSS: On the flip side of that, what’s the least expensive thing you own, that means the most to you?

Ross: Um…uh…damn…I dunno. That means the most? I dunno about that one.

TSS: Alright, well you dwell on that one, and if it comes to you, you let me know, alright?

So last question coming up. At what point in your life did you realize that you’d never have to worry about everyday things, like food, shelter, hospital fees, clothes, hospital fees, things like that, ever again? How’d that feel?

Ross: Naw, I ain’t never got to that point. Everyday is still a constant grind. The game is serious. Life is serious, and I take it too seriously, I’m going to feel that I’m that comfortable. That’s why when you hear me in my songs, I talk about gettin’ the money. But when I talk about it, I talk about worrying if it stops ever. That’s that everyday hustle and drive in me. That’s what keeps me motivated everyday to get up. I don’t ever wanna’ think that way. I don’t care how much money I got.

Rick Ross’ newest album, Trilla, will be in stores on 2.19.08.

For more info, visit www.myspace.com/rickross.