And finally, right here is Meek Mill, front and center, focusing a menacing stare into the lens. Dreadlocked rapper Gunplay is en route on a plane from Miami with an arsenal of kooky expressions stowed for the camera. A bit chunkier, but just as chiseled, O, for the purpose of passing time, challenges a member of Ross’ security team (not Ghost) to a push-up contest (he loses).
Over there, Maybach O-MMG’s new soul bastion, aka B2K survivor Omarion-pop-locks his way around the set. The oft-reserved rhymer is a bit anxious (“I’ve never worn all white,” he confesses), but excited about popping his magazine-cover cherry. Take a walk out to the lobby and you’ll find Stalley idling on a couch, wearing his native Cleveland Indians fitted, awaiting styling. That is, until you see his towering bodyguard, Ghost, who makes Rozay look like a bearded kid brother tagging along. Always one for the last word, Wale swivels and counters, “Yeah, you next!” No matter how many times you’ve witnessed Rick Ross in person, you can’t help but gawk at his size. The D.C.-bred rapper has no idea how Ross’ preferred pet name (Wallace) arose, but it has stuck even Jay-Z uses it. “I see you getting pretty, Wallace,” Ross quips at a slouching Wale, who’s being tended to in a makeup chair. Independent schedules prevent frequent fraternity-like chill sessions, yet the camaraderie between the Maybach men is so evident it’s almost tangible. Wale was way more subdued yesterday, when the bulk of MMG occupied a Manhattan photo studio for this cover shoot. Everything is a Spliff TV-directed motion picture. There are over-the-top antics, like a May press conference with open bar Cîroc and disoriented guest speakers announcing project release dates, business ventures and an artist signing. It’s his own musical Dream Team that lives up to Ross’ bigger-is-better mantra. To the naked eye, Rick Ross assembled his diverse unit to grapple with loaded rap rosters like G.O.O.D. But the implied keynote of the speech-which peaks with a nasally imitation of a hypothetical writer-is that, despite hip-hop’s infatuation with new faces, Wale and his Maybach Music Group family have now. But y’all concerned about who’s next…” This rant will continue for three minutes. “They’re so busy telling niggas that they’re not great or not future legends, that they anoint niggas that haven’t done nothing! I’m not taking nothing away from Chief Keef, but they just jumped so fast! Y’all was just on A$AP hard! I sold 165,000 in the first week in the face of niggas that blatantly didn’t want to see me win. “Our genre prides itself so much on finding new shit that we don’t appreciate nothing no more,” Wale proclaims. It’s supposed to be an evening off for the sports-obsessed MC to unwind and watch basketball’s top prospects find their spaceship at the NBA Draft, yet it’s hip-hop’s rookie class that has him on the defense. His arms are flailing and dreads are shaking as he stands over his king-size bed wearing near-white socks and 10.Deep camo pants that are hanging on for dear life. IN ROOM 2323 OF Times Square’s Inter-Continental Hotel, Wale is venting. AND IF ANY OF HIS SQUAD SURPASSES HIM? WELL, THAT’S THE BIG IDEA Words: John Kennedy l Photos: Armen Djerrahian RAPPER BY RAPPER, SINGER BY SINGER, THE CEO IS ROUNDING OUT A ROSTER THAT WILL DEFINE HIS LEGACY IN HIP-HOP. RICK ROSS IS THE CENTER OF THE MMG UNIVERSE.
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