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Freeway Ricky Ross

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"Freeway" Ricky Ross is known for the "huge drug empire that he presided over in Los Angeles in the early and mid-1980s."[1] The nickname "Freeway" came from Ross owning several properties along the Harbor Freeway.[2] In 1996, Ross was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of trying to purchase more than 100 kilograms of cocaine from a federal agent. Ross became the subject of controversy later that year when a series of articles by journalist Gary Webb in the San Jose Mercury News brought to light a connection between one of Ross's cocaine sources, Danilo Blandon, and the CIA as part of the Iran-Contra scandal.[3]The decision in Ross's case was brought to a federal court of appeals where his sentence was reduced to 20 years. His sentence has since been reduced further for being a model prisoner and he is currently scheduled to be released on August 13, 2010.[4]

References in rap music

  • American rapper Freeway derived his moniker from the nickname of the drug trafficker.
  • American rapper Rick Ross derived his moniker from the personal name of the drug trafficker.
  • The lyrics of many rap songs make reference to Ricky Ross. For example, in the song "My Favorite Mutiny" by The Coup, rapper Boots mentions that the CIA directed Ricky Ross to distribute crack ("before the CIA told Ricky Ross to put crack in the sack".[5]
  • In Mos Def's 1999 song "Mathematics," he alludes to the link between Ross and the CIA with the lines, "Nearly half of America's largest cities is one-quarter black/ That's why they gave Ricky Ross all the crack."[6]
  • In The Game's 2006 song "Ol' English", he says "Wanted to be Freeway Rick/ He showed me how turn a stolen 5.0 into a brick."[7]

References

  1. ^ United States Department of Justice Archive
  2. ^ Webb, Gary (August 19, 1996). Shadowy origins of crack epidemic. San Jose Mercury News
  3. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r1KfHaIF_Y; NBC: Drugs and the CIA, YouTube
  4. ^ Federal Bureau of Prisons
  5. ^ ""My Favorite Mutiny" lyrics". The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  6. ^ ""Mathematics" lyrics". The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  7. ^ ""Ol' English" lyrics". The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
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