He claims in many of his songs that he's been heavily involved in the business of selling drugs. He was not. Rick Ross was a drug kingpin who transported literally tons of cocaine all across the United States.

William Roberts claims to have gang affiliates. No Corrections Officer would be hired if he had any significant ties to gangs.

Rick Ross, However was actually heavily involved in supplying both the Bloods and the Crips with cocaine. They were his main distributors of cocaine.

I don't know if you were around LA in 1996, but it was kind of a huge thing at the time. It's not so far-fetched to think that someone who lived in LA around 1996 might believe that Freeway Rick Ross is now a fat rapper who wears chains that look like himself wearing chains that looks like himself.

Seriously though, even if he's just gonna use the guys name as a gimmick, at least make sure he's getting paid for it. Roberts is simply flat-out denying knowledge of a connection between his "stage name" and the actual drug lord.

The real Rick Ross has since gone on to fund a literacy project and learned to read while in jail (yes, you can run a drug empire without knowing how to read).