Top 5: The five best Rick Ross songs

Rightly regarded as one of the boldest MCs of his generation, Rick Ross will go down in history for his unique delivery and idiosyncratic conception. There is no better example of this than within the release of his impulsive songs.

Ross started his career under the pseudonym Teflon Da Don, and he recorded several demos, one of which landed him a guest verse on the third Erick Sermon album Def Squad Presents: Erick Onasis on the song ‘Ain’t Shhh to Discuss’.

Following this mainstream feature, Teflon Da Don, under the stage name Rick Ross signed to Suave House Records and, after a short stint on the record label, signed to the Miami-based Def Jam subsidiary Slip-n-Slide Records. While on the label, Ross toured alongside Miami rap legend, Trick Daddy Dollars.

Ross has released 11 studio albums, one collaborative album and has even undertaken ventures outside of music, with Ross owning several different Wingstop franchises. With such an illustrious career and such a hefty catalogue, we have sieved through all of Ross’ material to provide you with the top five Rick Ross songs of all time.

You can see the list below.

The five best Rick Ross songs:

5. ‘Stay Schemin’ ft Drake & French Montana – Rich Forever, (2012)

The lead single from Rick Ross’ second mixtape Rich Forever, released in 2012, this single had two of today’s most sought-after artists if you’re looking for a quality melodic hook. Drake and French montana.

Produced by The Beat Bully, the song had a lot of controversy surrounding it as some believed that Drake was dissing Chicago rapper Common on the track. As a result, Common performed a remix where he called out Drake by name and labelled him (among other things) “Canada Dry.” Common’s remix artwork also refers to Drake as “That Hoe Ass Nigga.”

However, the original is much better, but you can listen to both below.

4. ‘Gold Roses’ ft Drake – Port Of Miami 2, (2012)

The lead single from Port Of Miami 2, ‘Gold Roses’ is based around a sample from Rupture’s ‘Israël Suite’ jazz track and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.

The song is lyrically introspective and emotional. Furthermore, with Drake on the hook and laying down a verse on the track, it was certified platinum and did fairly well commercially, reaching number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.

3. ‘Diced Pineapples’ ft Wale & Drake – God Forgives…I Don’t, (2012)

The fourth single from Ross’ fifth studio album, God Forgives, I Don’t ‘Diced Pineapples’ is a more melodic track and is one of Ross’ most popular contemporary songs. It sees an MMG and YMCM collaboration as Ross and Wale work with Drake for a true anthem.

Filmed on the Caribbean island of Anguilla, the music video has already racked up 99 million views and was premiered on BET’s 106 & Park music video show.

2. ‘Aston Martin Music’ ft Drake & Chrisette Michele – Teflon Don, (2010)

Another collaboration with Drake, this track also features Grammy award-winning R’n’B singer Chrisette Michele. Released as the third single for Teflon Don, ‘Aston Martin Music’ went triple-platinum upon its release shortly after Drake’s debut album.

The track was produced by Florida production team J.U.S.T.I.C.E League and was sonically less aggressive than previous releases by Ross. ‘Aton Martin Music’ peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the song’s music video has racked up a staggering 320.7 million views since its upload in 2010 and has been streamed over 165.7 times on Spotify.

1. ‘Hustlin’ – Port Of Miami, (2006)

This song is known worldwide and is undoubtedly Ross’ most well-known song. Recorded in 2005, ‘Hustlin’ was the debut single for Ross’ first album Port Of Miami and was released through Slin-N-Slide Records. The song was so impactful it initiated a bidding war between labels for Ross. The rapper received offers from Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment and Irv Gotti’s Murder Inc. before ultimately signing a multi-million dollar deal with Def Jam.

The song was so popular it warranted an official remix featuring Jay-Z and Young Jeezy. Several unofficial remixes were released, including an all-star remix from Lil Wayne featuring Z-Ro, Jay-Z, T.I., Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma, Young Jeezy and Lil Flip.

‘Hustlin’ is undoubtedly Ross’ best song and is completely worthy of the number one spot on this top ten list. You can watch the music video below.