Rick Ross

Rap royalty has found its fun in south Florida's city of vice for a long time. Some have bought property, even if only for seasonal stays. Raekwon, Ghostface, Fat Joe, Scott Storch, Baby, and Wayne. You go for the weather. They have studios there; what's the rush to leave? Over the past years, though, Miami has developed a stronger hometown scene and sound than it has ever enjoyed before. It started with "Hustlin'," in the prime of the "coke rap" era. Rick Ross, a rotund rapper who'd worked in the Dade County correctional system before being discovered at the dawn of the decade by Houston's Tony Draper who'd launched the career of Eightball & MJG seven years prior, had spent years behind the scenes, writing rhymes for Trick Daddy's femme sidekick, Trina, at Miami's Slip-N-Slide Records. When he came out he, he came out big. Heralded by the opulent organ and thumping 808s that local production team the Runners provided for his first single, boasting of cutting fat lines of blow and knowing "the real Noriega," Ross brought a sonic version of the Scarface fantasy to living room speakers and iPod earbuds across the country. The timing was perfect, coinciding with a revival of synth-pop, Day-Glo '80s fashion, and Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx portraying Crockett and Tubbs in a major motion picture version of Miami Vice