An appeals court rules that +Rick Ross partly based his likeness on a famous drug-dealer, but that he isn’t an imposter. With a First Amendment bullet, hip hop superstar Rick Ross has shot down a lawsuit from a former drug kingpin +Freeway Rick Ross who ruled Los Angeles streets during the 1980s.
That drug kingpin was “Freeway” Ricky Ross, who once sold as much as $3 million worth of cocaine a day, had ties with the Nicaraguan Contras and became the object of scorn for many prominent politicians during the “Iran-Contra” political scandal. He served 13 years in prison, and before he was released in 2009, came across a magazine article about “up and coming” rappers including William Roberts II, whose stage name was +MMG +RICK ROSS.
Now released, and by many accounts a model citizen these days, “Freeway” Ross has been pursuing Ross in court for appropriating his name and likeness. Other defendants in a $10 million lawsuit included Warner Bros. Records, Universal Music and Jay Z as those who allegedly helped the hip hop star hit it big with a stolen identity.