Self Made Vol. 1 is a collaboration studio album by Maybach Music Group, the label's first compilation. The album features Maybach's new roster additions, Wale, Meek Mill, Teedra Moses, Pill and Stalley along with Torch and Gunplay of Triple C's. Outside of the label, featured guests on the album include Curren$y, Jadakiss, Jeremih, J. Cole, CyHi the Prynce and French Montana.^[7]

"Play Your Part" was previously released on Rick Ross' 2010 mixtape, Ashes To Ashes, while "Pandemonium" was also previously released along with a music video.^[8][9] The album was planned to be released on May 24, 2011,^[10][11] but got pushed up one day to May 23, 2011.^[12] The album sold 58,900 copies in its first week, debuting at number five on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the Top Rap Albums and Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums charts.^[13][14] As of November 25, 2011, the album has sold 183,000 copies in the US.^[15]

Background[link]

In an early March interview with Rap Radar, Rick Ross was asked if there were any plans of releasing a Maybach Music compilation album to introduce his new label-mates. Ross responded to the question stating:

"I think we will bypass the compilation aspect but we’re gonna be releasing mixtapes. I was on the phone with DJ Drama last night discussing the possibility of a Maybach music, Gangsta Grillz. Like what we could do to make it different, you know. We had a good conversation."

However, a few hours after the interview was posted to the internet, Rick Ross seemed to have a change of heart. He soon announced that he and Maybach Music Group will be releasing their first compilation album, Self Made, and will be distributed through his new deal with Warner Bros.^[16] On April 18 the official track listing was revealed.^[17]

Singles[link]

Prior to the release of Self Made, Vol. 1, five singles were released: "Tupac Back" featuring Meek Mill and Rick Ross was released as the lead single on April 5, 2011. The song peaked at number thirty-one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number twenty-two on the Rap Songs charts. "Pacman" featuring Ross and Pill was released two days later as the second single. On May 10, "By Any Means" was released as the third single, and features Ross, Mill, Wale and Pill. On May 17, "Fitted Cap" featuring Wale, Mill, Ross and J. Cole, and "Ima Boss" featuring Mill and Ross, were released as the fourth and fifth singles, respectively. "Ima Boss" peaked at number fifty-one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, number twenty on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number one on the Heatseekers Songs charts. The remix version of "Ima Boss", features T.I., Birdman, Lil Wayne, Ross, DJ Khaled and Swizz Beatz was released to iTunes on February 7, 2012.^[18]

After the album's release, the sixth single, "600 Benz" featuring Wale, Ross and Jadakiss was released on June 14, 2011. The song was produced by Cardiak. "That Way", the seventh single featuring Wale, Ross and Jeremih was released on August 30. "That Way" was produced by Lex Luger. The song peaked at number forty-nine on the Hot 100. The songs also appears as the final track on Wale's second studio album, Ambition.

Critical reception[link]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(66/100)[19]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[20]
HipHopDX	[21]
Pitchfork Media	(5.3/10)[22]
The Smoking Section	[23]

MMG Presents: Self Made, Vol. 1 has received generally favorable reviews from music critics.^[19] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 7 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable".^[19]

Track listing[link]

Sample credits

• "Tupac Back" contains excerpts and samples of "The God of Thor", written by Gozeay Mills and Billy Bonds, published by Bonds Music, administrated by EMI-April Music, Inc. (BMI) and an excerpt of "1994 Hot 97 Interview: Tupac", spoken by Tupac Shakur.
• "That Way" contains excerpts and samples of "Give Me Your Love", written and as performed by Curtis Mayfield and interpolations and samples of "I'm the Only Woman", written by LaTonya Blige-DaCosta, Curtis Mayfield, Sean Combs, Chucky Thompson, Andre Harrell and Faith Evans, as performed by Mary J. Blige.

Personnel[link]

Credits for MMG Presents: Self Made, Vol. 1 adapted from Allmusic:^[24]

References[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

Vol. 1 is the third official album, but first big name label release, by the rock band HURT, released on March 21, 2006. This album contains many tracks that are very dark in nature, and explain such suggestions as twisted logic from over-obsession in religion in "Rapture", pain from love in both "Falls Apart" and "Unkind", and drug addiction in "Overdose".

This album was released with two different packages. One was the standard jewel case, and the other a cardboard folding case, featuring a few more pieces of artwork inside, and a red bookmark attached to the case. Both pressings, however, contain exactly the same song material.

"House Carpenter" ends at 6:45 and the track continues with a rainstorm sound effect until 8:29, when an apparent hidden track begins. The hidden track is a guitar and several strings playing over the rainstorm, and continues for 1:04. The rainstorm is also heard at the beginning of this band's fourth full-length release, Vol. II. The song ends with the voice of a woman saying "I love you so much". The phrase is also heard in the background of "Unkind" at 1:24.

At a time, there was rumor of an 11-minute version of the song "Rapture". Being J. Loren's personal agenda to have "Rapture" be their first single, this 11-minute version was destroyed, and has been stated to never be heard again.^[3]

Two videos have spawned from this album; one for their single, "Rapture",^[4] and one for the song "Forever".^[5] Both were done in full CGI.

Two songs from this album were released on previous albums. "Cold Inside" originally appeared on The Consumation, and "Unkind" had been drastically changed from the older version on their self-titled album.

Four songs from this album have been released as alternate mixes, known as the CONNECTSets. The songs "Falls Apart", "Shallow", "Rapture", and "Danse Russe" were a part of this set, and are all very similar to the versions that are played during live concerts. The album has sold nearly 150,000 copies since its release.

Track listing[link]

Chart positions[link]

Information taken from this source.^[6]

Album

Singles

Personnel[link]

Personnel information from album liner notes ^[7]

• J. Loren Wince - vocals, guitar, violin
• Evan Johns - drums, percussion, piano
• Josh Ansley - bass, backing vocals
• Paul Spatola - guitar, backing vocals

Additional personnel[link]

• Jane Lewis - executive producer
• Eric Greedy - producer, engineering
• Mick Guzauski - mixing ^[1]
• Tom Bender - mixing ^[1]
• Brian Gardner - mastering ^[1]
• Pete Martinez - additional engineering
• Brian Winshell - additional engineering
• Justin Meldal-Johnsen - bass
• Ted Taylor - art director

References[link]

Look up self-made in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Self-made or Self Made or Selfmade may refer to:

• Selfmade Records, a German hip hop label
• Self Made (album), an album by Rocko
• "Self-Made" (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
• Self Made Vol. 1, a collaboration studio album from Maybach Music Group

See also[link]

• Copyright
• All pages beginning with "Self-Made"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for music. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (December 2011)

Robert Williams (born May 6, 1987), better known by his stage name Meek Mill, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was briefly signed to T.I.'s label Grand Hustle Records and in February 2011 signed to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group. In March 2011, Mill was included in XXL's "Freshman Class of 2011".^[1]

In 2011, he released his debut single, "Tupac Back", featuring Rick Ross, from his label's compilation album Self Made Vol. 1. That same year he released another single from the album, "Ima Boss", also featuring Ross. The song was later remixed, featuring T.I., Birdman, Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled Swizz Beatz and Ross. The remix charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #51. "Ima Boss" is so far Meek Mill's most successful song, peaking at #20 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

In February 2012, MTV listed Meek Mill as the #7 hottest MC in their annual "Hottest MCs in the Game" list.^[2]

On May 7, 2012, Mill released the second fresh installment in his Dreamchasers series. The mixtape features guest appearances from Drake, Jeremih, Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz and more.^[3] Mill has stated his favorite tracks off the tape are "Amen," "A1 Everything" and "Racked Up Shawty" with French Montana and Fabolous.^[4] On May 10, it was announced Meek Mill signed to Roc Nation management.^[4]

Discography[link]

Collaborative albums[link]

Mixtapes[link]

• BloodHoundz – Grimey, Thirsty, Starving, Hungry (2005) (with Mel Love, Dat NIG*A LiL & Young Pooh) +
• BloodHoundz – Blood in Blood Out (2005) (with Mel Love, Dat NIG*A LiL & Young Pooh)
• The Real Me (2007)
• The Real Me 2 (2008) (Hosted by DJ Difference)
• Flamers (2008) (Hosted by DJ Difference)
• Flamers 2: Hottest In The City (2009) (Hosted by DJ Difference)
• Flamers 2.5: The Preview (2009) (Hosted by DJ Cosmic Kev)
• Flamers 3: The Wait Is Over (2010) (Hosted by DJ Drama)
• Mr.Philadelphia (2010) (Hosted by DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar)
• Dreamchasers (2011) (Hosted by DJ Drama)
• Dreamchasers 2 (2012) (Hosted by DJ Drama)
• Same Dream (2012) (with Ace Hood)

Singles[link]

As lead artist[link]

As featured artist[link]

Other charted songs[link]

Guest appearances[link]

References[link]

William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), better known by his stage name Rick Ross (often stylized as RICK RO$$), is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection. Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap and Teflon Don, Ross was also the first artist signed to Diddy's management company Ciroc Entertainment. In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC In The Game.^[3]

Early life[link]

William Leonard Roberts II was born in Coahoma County, Mississippi.^[1] and raised in Carol City, Florida, near Miami.^[2] After graduating from Carol City Senior High School, he later attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship.^[4]

Music career[link]

After being signed to Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG, he eventually signed a deal with Slip-n-Slide Records, which has been under the Def Jam umbrella since 2006. While signed to Slip-n-Slide, Ross toured with fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-n-Slide albums.^[2]

[edit] Port of Miami (2006)

His debut album Port of Miami was released in August 2006 and debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, with sales at 187,000 units after its first week.^[5][6] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine predicted that it would be "the summer's biggest rap record".^[7] The second single was "Push It", which samples "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)", the theme song off the gangster film Scarface.^[8] The music video for "Push It" was modeled after the film.^[9] During that time, Ross made guest performances on two singles from DJ Khaled's debut Listennn... the Album: "Born-N-Raised" and "Holla at Me". Port of Miami received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America on November 8, 2006.

[edit] Trilla (2008)

In March 2008, his second album Trilla was released and, as its predecessor Port of Miami had, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200.^[10] Its lead single "Speedin'" featuring R. Kelly peaked at #121 on the Billboard Hot 100; the next one, "The Boss" featuring T-Pain peaked at #17 on the Hot 100. The third single "Here I Am" featured Nelly and Avery Storm.^[11] MTV News ranked Ross on the fourth spot in its 2008 "Hottest MCs In The Game" list among ten rappers.^[12] The fourth single "This Is The Life" featured Trey Songz and was released in July.

[edit] Deeper Than Rap (2009)

"I look at the game and the business and all different aspects, it's a lot of great lyricists on the corner that will never properly understand the business and know how to market themselves and get in a position where they can gain capital. I look at all the strategies people use and what made them successful. What made Birdman just as relevant today after selling 50 million records? That intrigues me. To see the class of Jay-Z, his accomplishments and see how he sits backs and accurately makes his moves."^[13]

A track from the album called "Valley of Death" was what stood out to MTV reporters. In the song, Ross speaks briefly on his controversial stint as a prison guard. "Keep it trilla, nigga, never had a gun and badge," which he stresses, leaving the word that he was indeed an officer of the law. "Kept a nice watch, smoking on a hundred sack/ Back in the day I sold crack for some nice kicks/ Skippin' school, I saw my friend stabbed with an ice pick/ Can't criticize niggas trying to get jobs/ Better get smart, young brother, live yours." Later, he implies that while he was working as a corrections officer, he was on the streets. "Only lived once and I got two kids/ And for me to feed them, I'll get two gigs," he raps. "I'll shovel shit, I'll C.O./ So we can bow our heads and pray over the meatloaf." Although, he still provided no explanation for lying about being a C.O. to begin with, nor did he explain why he failed to pay child support for his children.^[14][15]

The cover of the May 2009 issue of XXL magazine, titled "Rick Ross Up in Smoke", featured Ross wearing a pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses. After publication, a spokesperson for the luxury-goods maker contacted XXL to inform them that Ross was sporting fake sunglasses in the cover image.^[16] It was later revealed that the rapper was wearing authentic Louis Vuitton sunglasses which were altered by Jacob Bernstein, known as "The Sunglass Pimp". Bernstein defended his customizations despite Louis Vuitton's insistence that such modification and resale of trademarked property is not legal.^[17]

[edit] Teflon Don and other works (2010)

Rick Ross released his fourth studio album entitled Teflon Don, which was released on July 6, 2010. The lead is "Super High" featuring Ne-Yo. Actress Stacey Dash made an appearance in the music video. A second official single was released titled "Live Fast, Die Young" which features and is produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 selling 176,000 copies in its first week.

In November 2010, rapper and frequent collabourator, Diddy, who in 2009 signed Ross to a management deal with his Ciroc Entertainment, announced from his YouTube account, that him and Ross are working on an EP together, which is going to be released in 2011.^{[dated info]} A single has been released for the project, called "Another One".^[18]

[edit] God Forgives, I Don't (2011 - present)

Rick Ross had also announced the release of his next album, "God Forgives, I Don't", for December 13, 2011, however it was confirmed on November 17, 2011 it has been pushed back for release in 2012.^[19][20]

Rick Ross premiered two songs from his new album "God Forgives, I Don't", titled "You The Boss" and "I Love My Bitches".^[21]

Along with his music projects, Rick Ross was nominated by The Source as its "Man of the Year".^[22]

Rick Ross performed at BET Awards 2011, which aired on June 26, 2011.^[23] He also received a nomination for Best Male Hip Hop Artist.^[24] In early 2012, Ross was named the Hottest MC In The Game.^[3]

Personal life[link]

Correctional officer photos[link]

In July 2008, The Smoking Gun produced details linking Ross' social security number to an eighteen month stint as a correctional officer at the South Florida Reception Center, along with a photograph purporting to be Ross in his correctional officer uniform.^[25] Ross initially denied that the photograph was of him;^[26] after overwhelming evidence of his past came into the public's eye, Ross later admitted that he did work as a correctional officer in Florida during the early 1990s.^[27] In a 2008 interview with AllHipHop.com,^[28] "Freeway" Ricky Ross, claimed offense that Roberts used his name and identity when he learned that The Smoking Gun posted documents revealing Roberts' previous employment as a Florida correctional officer.^[29]

Legal issues[link]

Mugshot of Rick Ross taken in 2008.

In January 2008, Ross was arrested on gun and marijuana charges. During a deposition of Officer Rey Hernandez, a Miami Beach cop who arrested Ross, Ross's lawyer, Allan Zamren, asked Hernandez why Ross’s case was assigned to the gang task force. The officer stated that it was because Ross claimed affiliation with Carol City Cartel and other known gang members. Zamren then pressed Hernandez for a personal link between Ross and the gang members, but ultimately one could not be established.^[30]

In August 2008, YouTube entertainer DJ Vlad filed a lawsuit against Ross for assault and battery. Vlad claimed Ross organized an ambush on him at the 2008 Ozone Awards in Houston, Texas for asking questions about his past as a correctional officer.^[31]

On June 18, 2010, Freeway Ricky Ross sued Rick Ross for using his name,^[32] filing a copyright infringement lawsuit in a California Federal Court.^[32] Jay-Z had been called to testify in the lawsuit, as he was CEO of Def Jam when Ross/Roberts was signed.^[32] The reformed drug kingpin was looking for 10 million dollars in the lawsuit.^[32] Also, the release of his album, Teflon Don, was threatened to be blocked by Freeway Ricky Ross. A week after the filing of the lawsuit, Rick Ross responded to the charges: "It’s like owning a restaurant, you’re gonna have a few slip and falls. You get lawsuits, you deal with them, and get them out your way…sometimes you lose."^[33] He then denied rumors that he would change his name to "Ricky Rozay" as a consequence of the lawsuit. The lawsuit was thrown out of court on July 3, 2010^[34] and his album, Teflon Don, was released on July 20 as scheduled.

On March 26, 2011, Ross was arrested in Shreveport for possession of marijuana. According to the police records, a strong odor of marijuana was detected from his room at the Hilton in Downtown Shreveport.^[35]

Religion[link]

Rick Ross is a Christian,^[36] and in an interview with Corey "Coco Brother" Condrey on Lift Every Voice, he indicated that "I had told myself at one point no matter what I go through, I never question God."^[37] In addition, Ross indicated that he prays every time he goes on stage to perform.^[38]

Seizures[link]

On October 14, 2011 Rick Ross suffered two seizures in the same day, once in the morning and once again early evening. Following the morning seizure, he was unconscious and CPR was being performed. He did, however, post a video to his Twitter account later in the day saying that he was OK.^{[citation needed]} Ross boarded another plane later in the day and suffered another seizure. On October 14, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital confirmed that Ross had been admitted to the emergency room. TMZ, who first reported the seizure, updated their story originally posted at 4:45 PST, stating that Ross was in stable condition.^{[citation needed]}

Feud with 50 Cent[link]

In January 2009, Ross started a feud with rapper 50 Cent because he supposedly looked at him the wrong way at the BET Awards. 50 Cent told news sources that he did not remember seeing Ross there.^[39] In late January, "Mafia Music", by Ross, leaked onto the Internet. There were several lines that seemed to diss 50 Cent. Days later, 50 Cent released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to Ross's disparaging remarks on his "Mafia Music" song.

Before going to Venezuela, 50 Cent uploaded a video entitled "Warning Shot," wherein he stated: "Rick Ross- I'mma fuck your life up for fun." In addition, 50 Cent released the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. Early in February, 50 Cent once again made a video which he uploaded to YouTube in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross's children. She verifies that he was a correctional officer and claims his whole persona is fake and fraudulent.^[40] On Thursday, February 5, 2009, Game, who 50 Cent has a long-standing "beef" with, called up Seattle R&B station KUBE. When asked about the beef between 50 Cent and Ross, Game sided with 50 Cent and said that things are not looking good for Ross. He offered to help, stating, "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man," and, "50 eating you, boy."^[41] On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross references 50 Cent in the song "In Cold Blood". A video for the song was released that portrayed 50 Cent's mock funeral. Upon release, Ross stated that he has ended 50 Cent's career.^[42] That same day Ross released a new diss track called "Push 'Em Over The Edge". The next day 50 Cent released the controversial video "A Psychic Told Me", dissing DJ Khaled. On February 12, 50 Cent responded with "Tia Told Me", along with Lloyd Banks' response "Officer Down" and Tony Yayo's "Somebody Snitched".