Slip N' Slide/Def Jam recording artist Rick Ross, who rose from ruling the underground rap scene in Miami, to becoming 2006's buzz-worthiest hip-hop artist with the RIAA platinum #1 single "Hustlin'" - and his #1 Pop/#1 R&B/#1 Rap major label debut album Port Of Miami - returns with TRILLA, the long-awaited follow-up and one of 2007's most hotly anticipated new releases, set to arrive in stores December 18th. Busting open the path for TRILLA is its first single release, "Speedin'," featuring R. Kelly.
"Speedin'" is off to a fast start. The track was the #1 most added single at urban radio this week, and will be prominently featured in ABC's coverage of the NASCAR finals on Saturday. "We're speed-racing to the top," Ross told MTV News about the track. "It's a race to see who gets the most money, it's a race to see who puts their side on the map, it's a race to see who's the best. Living, to me, is a race. It ain't no time for sleeping and resting. It's that fast life."
Following the platinum success of his #1 debut album, Ross has had his pick of A-list collaborators. R. Kelly was at the top of that list. "I been a fan of his for so long," Ross noted to MTV. "Once I got my money right, I had to go see him."
"This album is better, bigger," says Ross. "When 'Hustlin' took off I finished Port of Miami in the back of the van on promo tour, this one I really sat down with producers and everybody I really wanted to work with and put together something that's really timeless." DJ Toomp, Cool N Dre, and The Runners are among the track masters lending their talent to Trilla and the results are nothing short of phenomenal. "Street Money" featuring fellow Floridian and Poe Boy brethren Flo Rida is banger, and is already heating up the streets. The monumental "Maybach Music" features Jay-Z and takes the chill factor of the "Hustlin" remix to unfathomable levels. That song will be battling head-to-head with "Luxury Tax" (featuring Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Trick Daddy) for record of the year.
One of last years biggest records, "Hustlin'" was certified gold at the inaugural RIAA mastertone certification press conference in June 2006, and hit platinum one week before the album's release - to become the first mastertone ever certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of 1 million copies before the associated album had even been released. With the success of Port Of Miami, six-foot-two, 300-pound Rick Ross finally came into the spotlight. A "hip-hop heavyweight," was how the New York Times described him. "The number one ghostwriter in the South," was how he described himself and his work behind the scenes for all those years. "I'm bridging the gap between the South and the East Coast," he told Rolling Stone. "The sound is real Dirty South. But I'm spittin' hard, to where the East Coast appreciates it." All eyes are now on Rick Ross, as TRILLA underscores the promise of one of today's premiere hip-hop voices. "I'm A-List top shelf right here," Ross says proudly. "This is strictly that Caterpillar Sushi. Port of Miami let them know that I rep the streets, but this time we reppin the streets and letting them know we commercially successful. So expect some big, big things."
