Freeway Rick Ross Officially Files Lawsuit Against Rick Ross

In the trademark infringement lawsuit that was filed with California Federal Court this past Friday (June 18), Freeway accuses Ross and others of stealing his name, image and likeness to get street credibility and to establish a successful rap career. Aware of the trademark laws these parties decided to ignore since 2006. “There’s too much confusion going on with mistaken identity and I was legally born with this name and created a story behind it” explain Freeway. Ross acknowledges that he has no beef with no one he enjoys rapper William Roberts, Jay-z and Slip n Slide music as a matter of fact his entourage attended their party in Miami on Memorial Day Weekend 2010 to enjoy the show. The legal documents were accompanied by a temporary restraining order for preliminary and permanent injunction relief to block the release of Ross’ forthcoming album Teflon Don. Rapper Jay-Z, Maybach Music Group, Slip-N-Slide Records and UMG Recordings are also named in the lawsuit as defendants. Freeway warned the southern rapper and his record label about the lawsuit earlier this year when he talked to XXL. According to him, the rapper sharing his name has led to confusion and he is tired of having to explain to people who he is. “I just want my name back. I don’t want to have to be ‘the real Rick Ross.’ When I go places I have to explain to people that I am the real one because Def Jam has put him on TV and now people recognize him. It causes a conflict,” he explained. “It ain’t really against William Roberts you know what I’m saying?”

Before any articles, magazine, interview takes place understand Freeway Ricky Ross is not the type to beef with anyone. He respects all in the game, so this is not a beef and never will be only a lawsuit to discontinue the use of his name by parties that are profiting off his life story. Since his release from a life sentence in federal prison May 4, 2009, Ricky D. Ross a/k/a “Rick Ross”, the ex-drug kingpin from LA, has been preparing to go to war against all parties who profited off of his name unlawfully while he was in jail, without his consent, particularly William L. Roberts II, Def Jam, Jay Z, L.A. Reid, Slip n Slide, Universal Music Group and others. As the above-named parties gear up to release the 4th “Roberts as RICK ROSS” album titled “Teflon Don”, a storm is brewing in the real “Rick Ross” camp against the anticipated album imminent summer release.

It’s no secret that the Boss at Freeway Enterprise. com is unhappy with how his name has been exploited and misused since he went to prison in 1995, and in 2006, the above-named parties signed Roberts to a big record deal and then spent, and made, millions off Ross’ name. Rick Ross protested the exploitation and misuse of his name from prison in 2006, by having a lawyer send letters to Def Jam to cease use, which they ignored.

The above-named parties branded Roberts as “RICK ROSS” and dominated use of the real Rick Ross’ name, created Roberts false drug dealer image and based it on Rick Ross’ real drug dealer image, in the Black, urban crime, and rap community. Roberts’ breakout hit (Everyday I’m) Hustlin was about him falsely being this rapper and drug dealer named “RICK ROSS”, and with the financial backing of the above-named parties, Roberts became a rap star, and Rick Ross got nothing. If Rick Ross was still in jail, the story would be over! However Rick Ross is out of prison, and he’s ready to stand up for his rights.

Billed by Rick Ross’ camp and legal team as “The War Against the 4” (Def Jam, Universal, Roberts and more), “The Thriller of the Dealers”, “The ‘Real’ vs. the ‘Rap’ Deal” , this summer promises to give us exciting times in the rap music business as Rick Ross ‘fights the power” for control of his name in commerce “by any means necessary”! Stay tuned to freewayenterprise.com for the latest developments in this ongoing battle for RESPECT, REDEMPTION, and RESTITUTION.

The real “Rick Ross” has been actively touring urban America spreading his message, and motivational speaking to at-risk youth, the hood, ex-offenders, and recovering addicts, about the powers of redemption, and he spoke at the Annual Savior’s Day as a guest of Minister Louis Farrakhan. A movie about his life, written by producer Nick Cassavettes, is slated for release next year.

For press inquiries and interview opportunities please forward your requests to Patsy Perkins via phone: (917) 214-8401 or email: patsy@prpmediagroup.com

Rick Ross Speaks On How He Stole The Name of The Real Rick Ross.

Changing Lanes
Former crack dealer ‘Freeway’ Ricky Ross on Gary Webb, the CIA
By Kevin Uhrich 04/29/2010

Ricky Donnell “Freeway Ricky” Ross, the notorious Los Angeles crack dealer sentenced to life in federal prison in 1996 but released in September after serving 14 years, said he had no idea proceeds from his business helped fund CIA-backed counter-revolutionaries in Nicaragua.

But — contrary to the results of an investigation of Ross’ illegal activities conducted in 1996 by Pasadena police — the former drug kingpin, who turns 50 Monday, said he certainly knew some of the profit he was making back in the early 1980s was coming from Pasadena, where Ross said he personally did business in the cocaine trade.

In an exclusive interview with the Pasadena Weekly, the recently freed Ross talked about his time as one of the country’s top drug dealers and his relationship with Pasadena crime lord Elrader “Ray Ray” Browning, who is believed to have ordered as many as 70 murders in a 12-year period. Browning was arrested in 1987 and a year later was sentenced to two life terms in federal prison for drug dealing.

Ross also spoke about Gary Webb, the intrepid investigative journalist who linked Ross to the anti-Sandinista Contras through one of his drug connections, Nicaraguan expatriate-turned-Drug-Enforcement-Administration-informant Oscar Danilo Blandón.

According to Webb’s stories, which appeared in August 1996 in the San Jose Mercury News, Blandón, whose wealthy family supported deposed dictator Anastasio Somoza, and Norwin Meneses Cantarero, a former high-ranking Somoza government official, smuggled cocaine into San Francisco and Los Angeles from Colombia. Blandón, according to the stories, provided Ross with low-cost powder. That was then converted into even cheaper and easy-to-smoke crack nuggets, which over the ensuing decade left in their wake death and ruin in cities around the country, where Ross also did business.

Ross also spoke of Webb’s death: A suicide committed by a despondent reporter — at first vilified by his colleagues then ultimately vindicated by the CIA’s own inspector general and some of those same newspapers, among them the LA Times — who was found dead in his home on Dec. 11, 2004, after shooting himself twice in the head, a rare feat in any coroner’s book.

During an hour-long discussion on the patio of the Gaylord Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, the affable Ross, dressed in a gray hooded sweatshirt and accompanied by his agent John “Apollo” Payne, also talked about his new Web site and the life he’s trying to now build.

One proposal he’s currently considering is a reality show about his life as a former drug dealer — one who never finished high school, but also never used his own “product,” and at times made millions of dollars a week, enabling him to acquire properties along the Harbor (110) Freeway, hence the nickname “Freeway Ricky.”

During Ross’ time in prison, his story captured the imaginations of recording artists, some who used his name in lyrics to songs about drugs and the CIA. He’s been interviewed by a few TV outlets, and it seems his speaking card is full, having just given a talk to students at Compton High School the previous day. In fact, an interview Ross had done with TMZ, the entertainment gossip site, was posted earlier on the day of this interview, April 19.

Pasadena Weekly: Why do you think the media is so interested in you now? Ricky Ross: What they are trying to figure out, what they want to know is why people like me.

You’re obviously a pretty shrewd business guy. Is that part of it? Yeah, that could be. You know, the black community needs heroes, guys who make it. Guys who make it, like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson and all these guys, they don’t come back to the community. Sad to say, but they are afraid of the community. Someone like me, who comes back to the community, someone that they can touch and they can feel, you know, they just cling to it. Not to switch gears, but I was reading through some of Gary Webb’s stories, and you had interviewed with him … Numerous times.

What was your feeling when you heard he had killed himself? [Filmmaker] Kevin Booth was the first one who told me. He was doing an interview for a piece he was doing called “American Drug Wars,” … [in prison] they only allow 300 minutes a month, so I had been spending most of my phone time talking with him, for about three months, four months. Then one day he called me and said that Gary Webb had been killed.

Not suicide?
Yeah, he said killed.
After you heard that, what did you think?

Well, Gary and I had become friends. So it was not like someone in a foreign country getting killed. This is someone who had helped me, almost to the point you could say that I don’t think it was his story that actually got me out, but I know his story helped me get a look in the courts that most people don’t get, so my issues could be discovered. In the court system … if the judges don’t take a good look, you could be overlooked.

Now, about this CIA connection …

I never claimed that. You have to look at how we met. Gary was chasing Blandón when he met me [in 1995, prior to the start of Ross’ trial in San Diego in 1996]. Trial enabled Gary to talk to Blandón — through my attorney. See, Gary never got to speak to Blandón personally. He only spoke to Blandón while he was on the witness stand, through my attorney. I didn’t have money to hire an investigator, so what my attorney did was use Gary as our investigator, and Gary used my attorney to question Blandón, if you know what I mean. Gary didn’t have the authority to question Blandón. The only one who had that authority was my attorney. … He had become my lawyer’s confidante.

Do you believe he committed suicide?

I didn’t think so. I mean the last time I spoke to Gary, me and Gary hadn’t spoken in a while because I had given up on the CIA case. … The last time I spoke to him, he said he was still pursuing it. I told him I was going on with my life. That had to be around 2002, 2003.

What did you think when you saw the reaction to Gary’s stories from other newspapers that went out of their way to attack him?

I wasn’t surprised. Who wants to go up against the CIA? I was on trial and I was afraid of going up against the government. I’m not surprised the [San Jose Mercury News] editor backed down, either. Basically, Gary’s story was proven true. They admitted they knew these guys were selling drugs. And I don’t believe Gary ever said in his report that the CIA was the actual perpetrators of the crime. But if you go with the conspiracy theory that the government uses to convict, the evidence that they had, you could convict on that evidence. A jury could find [the CIA] guilty.

Were you ever involved with Norwin Meneses Cantarero?

Blandón had testified that I had been in a room with Meneses, and one other guy, but I didn’t remember that.

Did you know these guys were connected to the Contras?

I knew they were fighting a war in their country. I knew nothing about Nicaragua. Remember, I’m illiterate at this time. I never read a book, never read a newspaper, I didn’t care about politics. When I was in prison, I educated myself because it became relevant to me. Before I went to prison, none of this was relevant to me. Who cared about what’s going on in Nicaragua? Not me. I was more concerned about what was going on in South Central and how I was going to keep the lights on and the gas on and food in the refrigerator. Those were my concerns. I was talking today at Compton High School, and I was telling them that when I was in high school I didn’t care about things they were teaching in school, and I didn’t learn it because it didn’t concern me. But once I got in the streets, they taught me how to use a triple beam, how to know ounces, grams, tenths of grams, all these other things.

There was quite an upset in Pasadena when your case became associated with Gary’s stories. A lot of coke went through Pasadena through people like Ray Ray Browning and this dude named Felix Mitchell from Oakland. So did you deal with [Browning]?

I knew Ray Ray.
What was your relationship with him?

I can’t go any further than we’re friends. His case is on appeal. I didn’t know Felix.

Did you do business in Pasadena?

I’ve been to Pasadena numerous times and I did business in Pasadena. … Not that much. I was in Pasadena early on [in the early 1980s]. Pasadena was a small market for me. I had a couple partners who were up there. But their prices were always higher than in Los Angeles.

I’ve read recently that you are going legit. How are you going to do that?

Right now, it’s by going around the country speaking to people about making the right choices. I try to give kids the full story in the drug game, because I found out the people who introduce you to the drug game don’t give you the whole story. I can give them the whole story.

Around the time Pasadena people were talking about it, people like [Congresswoman] Maxine Waters were calling for investigations. One person called crack a scourge on the black community, and another person called it “Holocaustic,” on a par with the Jewish experience during the war, and you being a part of that … how do you feel about that? Did anyone ever say anything like that to you?
Yeah, they called me a Judas. I used to get hate mail while I was in prison.
How did you respond to that?

I do feel bad for what I did, but, on the other hand, the community has to feel bad because they allowed me to get cocaine. There was a time that Rick Ross never saw cocaine. He didn’t know what cocaine looked like. He didn’t know what cocaine smelled like. So how did he get a hold of cocaine? Who is responsible for me getting cocaine for the first time? If you are going to point the finger, you have to point it at the root. You can’t go and look at fruit on a tree and blame it on the fruit. He’s just a piece of fruit growing on the tree. … You have to look at the whole community. The whole community has a problem. This country has a drug problem. Rick is not the problem. The Kennedys sold alcohol. Now their kids are running this country and making policy. The way I saw it, this was a way out of the ghetto. They didn’t leave me too many opportunities to get out of the ghetto.

Visit Ross’ Web site at freewayenterprise.com.

Ross will be appearing as a guest on “Grand Theft Audio: The Jake, Brant & Carl Show” at latalkradio.com Channel 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. May 6. Podcast can be downloaded beginning May 7 from iTunes.com’s “Grand Theft Audio” page.

Reporter Carl Kozlowski, one of the co-hosts of “Grand Theft Audio,” contributed to this story.

Freeway Ricky Ross; Hip Hop Detox visits New Orleans, LA

New Orleans, La. - Equipped with a message of hope, inspiration and redemption, former Los Angeles drug dealer Freeway Rickey Ross and Brother Enoch Muhammad of Hop-Hop Detoxx spoke to countless youth and members of the community in the sister cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Mr. Ross and Hip-Hop Detoxx were invited to the state by Brother Arthur "Silky Slim" Reed, CEO of Stop the Killing Inc. Freeway Rickey Ross and Brother Enoch began their work in the city of Baton Rouge by speaking in several churches and conducting several interviews.

"The condition of our community is in such a condition that we need and must use as many people we can to help win this fight for the minds of our people. I felt that the work of Brother Enoch and those who work with him with Hip-Hop Detoxx along with Freeway Rickey Ross we could really touch the hearts and minds of many," stated Brother Arthur, a reform gangster who is now working to save the youth. After a full day of work in Baton Rouge, the brothers hit the road in the morning headed to New Orleans to continue their work. A classroom full of students working to attain their G.E.D.'s patiently waited for the arrival of the special guests speakers.

Brother Enoch begun the program with his energetic Hip-Hop Detoxx presentation that captivated the youth. Hip-Hop Detoxx is a social and emotional therapeutic learning program that strategically uses creative activities to analyze Hip-Hop music, lyrics and cultural in a non-judgmental way. "When I say Hip-Hop, you say detoxx! Hip-Hop," shouted Brother Enoch. The students responded in unison, "Detox!" They eventually broke out into laughter after Brother Enoch tripped them up by saying, "Hippty, hippty, hippty, hop, hop!" Once the ice was broken and the spirit enlivened the process of detoxifying began. Brother Enoch begin to talk about how the same toxins that exists in Hip-Hop music today existed in the music that the students parents and grandparents listened to.

The students listened attentively to every word spoken by Brother Enoch. Next up was Freeway Rickey. "Before I start I want to begin by saying that I am not here to answer questions about how much money I made and what material items I owned when I was selling drugs," began Mr. Ross. "That part of me is dead. I am here to encourage each of you to take responsibility for your life and inspire you to be the best you. I have only been out for ninety days and within that time I have been speaking to youth all over," he continued. Mr. Ross shared with the students how he was illiterate for much of his teenage life and what inspired him to learn to read. "One day after reflecting on some words of my attorney. I realized that no one should know more about my case than me. At that moment I decided I would learn to read. I shared my inability to read with my cellmate, who began to help me to learn how," stated Freeway Rickey. Mr. Ross's words touched and inspired many who had the chance to hear him. "Hearing him talk about how he has read over three hundred books and has written several screen plays and his own autobiography that will be made into a movie inspired me to want to write more," stated Jere'lynn. Immediately after speaking with the group of students at the local G.E.D. program, Freeway Ricky and Brother Enoch moved throughout the city conducting a slew of interviews. The next morning the brothers were speaking to a group of youth who were incarcerated at a youth correctional center.

After hearing Brother Enoch and Freeway Ricky the students did not want them to leave. "After speaking to the youth, I told the brothers that I wish I could remain with those youngsters for two more months. If I could I would show everyone that those young brothers and sisters can change," commented Freeway Rickey." "Our children don't need programs. They need a process that will help them," stated Enoch Muhammad. Hip-Hop Detoxx is the process that Enoch uses to address the social and emotional issues which have produced the toxic condition that others_listen.jpgexists in Hip-Hop that are influencing the youth. "I really enjoyed what everyone said. From Freeway Ricky Ross to the guy from the Hip-Hop Detoxx.

The girl who performed the poem did a good job also," stated Glenn a volunteer at the G.E.D. program. Their work in the city of New Orleans concluded with a community meeting at the historical Craige Cultural Center. The event was organized by the New Orleans Peace Keepers, Black Men United for Change and Muhammad Mosque #46. "I am thankful for the brotherhood that I share with Brother Arthur. That relationship made it possible for us to be blessed to have Freeway Rickey Ross and Brother Enoch's Hip-Hop Detoxx to come to the city. I believe that is important to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible when it comes to bringing enlightenment to our community. The work that these brothers did in the city over the last two days further helps what we are doing," stated Student Minister Willie Muhammad. With a standing room only attendance, Brother Enoch, Brother Arthur and then Freeway Rickey shared inspirational messages with the audience.

The common theme of each of their presentations was their testimony of how impactful the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was and is in each of their lives. If you are interested in bringing Freeway Rickey Ross and Hip-Detoxx to your city you can reach them at www.hiphopdetoxxonline.com and www.freewayenterprise.com.

Rappers Invite Public To Join "Hip-Hop Unity"
Call

A number of rappers will show their support for Unity in the South when Freeway Ricky Ross host’s “The Hip-Hop Unity Conference Call” tonight (December 7). Freeway Ricky Ross was released from prison in September, after serving a total of 20 years in prison for dealing thousands of kilos of cocaine during the 1980’s, earning millions in illegal drug money.

Since his release, Freeway Ricky Ross has been on a speaking tour talking to children across the country about the ills of gang violence, drug culture and prison through his non-profit organization The Freeway Foundation. Freeway Ricky Ross and his assistant Tiffany Davis have gathered some of the biggest names in Hip-Hop, who will take part on the conference call tonight. ''We all need to come together and stop being selfish, we need this positive movement and I am with it,' Davis told AllHipHop.com.

The purpose of the call is to resolve old issues, mediate any new issues and to foster a general sense of unity amongst the artists. Former G Unit member Young Buck will participate on the call, along with artists like Blood Raw, Pastor Troy, Rasheeda, producer Zaytoven, Diamond, Lil Scrappy and hundreds of DJ’s, producers and radio personalities. Turk, the incarcerated member of The Hot Boyz, will make a special call in from prison during the conference call.

“There are two influential people that are in the process of forming change and bring culture to the forefront through Unity, and that is Rick as a visionary and Turk as a soldier. The Hip-Hop Community needs to jump on and pay attention,” Turk’s manager Steve Williams told AllHipHop.com. CTE artist Blood Raw took a cue from CTE CEO Young Jeezy, who recently squashed his violent beef with Gucci Mane. Blood Raw was instrumental in fostering an attitude of unity between the artists, and helped organize the call with his road manager, Florida J. Freeway Ricky Ross will host “The Hip-Hop Unity Conference Call” tonight at 6:00 PM. Fans are encouraged to dial in by calling: 218.862.1300 pin # 961590.


Life Of "Freeway" Ricky Ross Coming To Big Screen

Freeway Ricky Ross The life of the real Rick Ross, a legendary drug trafficker who once claimed to have generated a "$2-3 million a week" income at the height of his illicit empire during the early 80s, is coming to the big screen. Emmy Award winning actor and director Nick Cassavetes (John Q, Alpha Dog, My Sister's Keeper) will co-write and co-produce the screenplay, which will detail Ross' humble beginnings in Los Angeles to his ascent in the drug world and subsequent downfall and incarceration.

Cassavetes recently spoke on the project: "Freeway Ricky Ross is a living American legend. A modern day street genius. To not know his story is to not understand our country - how it works, what it needs, and what it will do to get it. From his modest Los Angeles beginnings to his meteoric rise to the top of the drug world, Rick's 'hustle' was unparalleled in modern history...but when that government was done with him, it locked him up and left him as the fall guy responsible for the destruction of an entire community."

Ross, who was officially released from prison in late September after serving over 20 years, had nothing but praise for his collaborator and the film's potential in a statement released yesterday (November 23). "I love working with Nick, I think he's great I love his films. He and I really vibed the first time we met and I think he truly understands the story. Not only has he been following my life for 25 years but he's also someone I can kick it with!"

A timeline has yet to be given for the project.