Miami
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African music is dominating the global soundscape, with Afrobeats and different genres reshaping mainstream music worldwide. But Rick Ross, the stage identify of William Leonard Roberts II, says this moment was inevitable — and believes Africa’s global affect ought to have arrived a lot sooner.
“I love it,” Ross stated of Afrobeats’ global takeover. “For the ones that really understand live and real music, you understand. It’s been well overdue for a long time.”
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with NCS’s Lamide Akintobi in Miami, the American rapper and founding father of the Maybach Music Group traced immediately’s Afrobeats explosion again a long time to the pioneers who laid the inspiration.
“When you think about Afrobeats now, that’s Fela Kuti,” he stated. “That funk vibe been going on for years and years and years to me.”
Rick Ross on Afrobeats, African collaborations and his legacy in hip-hop
Drawing a parallel acquainted to hip-hop followers, Ross in contrast pioneering Nigerian musician Kuti’s impact on African music to James Brown’s affect on early hip hop, noting, “So much hip hop was inspired by James Brown and his samples; to me that’s what Fela was.”
“It was always genius,” he added. “Now, I sit back and enjoy it. And I really feel it’s only the beginning.”
Early African collaborations — earlier than it was mainstream
Long earlier than cross-continental collaborations turned commonplace, Ross was already constructing musical bridges. He recalled how his look on the 2012 remix of “Beautiful Onyinye” with Nigerian duo P-Square got here collectively organically.
Ross described the music he launched between 2009 and 2014 — what he calls his “Maybach Music era” — as a chance to discover a broader sound, weaving jazz and funk components into hip-hop. “I love those records,” he stated.
Ross stated discussions with Senegalese American star Akon about African music drew him deeper into the sound. During a type of conferences, he linked with P-Square, which led to the remix of “Beautiful Onyinye.”
“They were young, but they were dope. I saw the vision. I saw the talent, and this was before this was popular… and it was just organic,” stated Ross.
Years later, collaborations with artists equivalent to Nigeria’s Yemi Alade continued that momentum.
“For one, she is on fire. She is just dope. Her style, her energy,” Ross stated. “It’s organic, it’s real… and to me it’s something that, man, it ain’t no cap to it. There ain’t no limit on how big this sh*t just gonna continue to grow.”
He has additionally labored alongside artists together with Nigerian American rapper Wale and Ghanaian star Stonebwoy, additional increasing his African collaborations throughout genres.
Now, Ross is doubling down. He revealed {that a} new collaborative challenge with African artists and producers is already in movement by his label Maybach Music Group.
“So many African artists, producers, big ones, small ones… we’ve been collaborating on this project for over 12 months… halfway through this year, get ready for it, we’re gonna do some real big things.”
He additionally shared his final dream lineup — a cross-generational African diaspora supergroup. “If I had a dream collaboration right now, it’d be Ricky Rozay (Ross’s nickname), it’d be Bob Marley, Fela Kuti and Burna Boy,” he stated. “Imagine that… that’s king level.”
He added: “I wanna most definitely salute Burna Boy and what he got going on. Boy on fire, on fire… I see the young Rozay in him. Don’t stop… And to me, that’s what the game is about. The culture is about.”
The rapper’s connection to Africa extends past music. On a current journey to Zimbabwe, Ross obtained a hero’s welcome from followers and native leaders.
During the go to, he expressed an curiosity in investing in property within the nation — signaling that his ties to the continent might quickly embody enterprise and actual property. The go to bolstered what he has lengthy stated publicly: Africa is a spot of alternative and long-term partnership.
Ross additionally recalled a strong moment throughout his May 2025 journey to Durban, South Africa, the place he headlined the Durban Music Fest at Moses Mabhida Stadium. Ahead of the present, he stated he visited underserved communities, regardless of warnings from authorities.
“I saw the beauty in where we were going,” he stated.
“The very next night I had one of the biggest concerts out there… and it was just one of those things, man… it felt good. The energy was there; the love was there. This is what Rozay is supposed to do right here.”
For Ross, Africa is not a moment — it is momentum. “It’s an amazing place and just warming up,” he stated.
And as Afrobeats continues to dominate global charts, the Miami rapper insists the world is merely catching as much as a rhythm that has all the time been there. “I sit back and enjoy it,” he repeated. “And I really feel it’s only the beginning.”