Rick Ross Reflects on 50 Cent Beef

Rich Ross opened up about his beef with 50 Cent during a HuffPost Live interview this week. Ross is promoting his Mastermind release, out next month. 

Looking back to the start of the 2009 rift with Fif, Ross recounted why he obliged the G-Unit founder. "At the end of the day, it’s all about chess," Ross told host Marc Lamont Hill. "When you don’t have nothing to lose, like I didn’t at that point, it really ain't matter."

Going forward, Ross isn't interested in trading lyrical barbs. Although he and 50 haven't made peace, the Bawse has ended beef with another rival, Jeezy (with help from T.I.), by collaborating on a Mastermind track. 

"The position I'm in now, it's certain things you gotta bring to the table to even catch my attention," he said. "We doing big moves out here, we talking' big moves … other than that we keep the music first. It's all about family with [MMG], it's not about who sold the most records. When we get in the studio it's all about who got the hottest lines, the hottest ideas, the dopest titles, and let's just keep it family."

Later in the interview, the 37-year-old talked about the message in his music, working with Diddy to make an album that feels "like it was in the '90s," and his relationship with Rebook.

The sneaker brand dropped him a multi-million endorsement deal amid backlash last year from his rhyme on the Rocko track "U.O.E.N.O." Not long after the controversy died down, the MMG boss was photographedwith the company's CEO, and today things are "super cool," Ross assured. "It's not about business right now it's about being cool," he explained. "You know we made history, we did a lot of fun things, a lot of positive things, and I still rep Reebok."

On the subject of the "rape lyric" that got him in the hot water, Ross said his intention to capture "a certain vibe" was misconstrued. "When I realized so many women were affected by that, I wanted to make sure I apologized and they understood [that] what I represent, and where I come from, [rape] that's not even tolerated," he said.

Rozay's sixth studio album, Mastermind, drops March 4.