I pulled my book out, stoked to open up and dig into the last third of what had so far been an interesting read. As I’m pulling out the book, the conductor passed me by again and for whatever reason, he began to watch me. Directly, I paid him no mind as he stared at me for the greater part of ten seconds. Suddenly, he squawked, “A rapper?! You think you’re gonna learn anything from a rapper?!

Having already completed reading two-thirds of the memoir, it was a simple “yes” for me. Albeit, I couldn’t help but reflect on all of the things on the pages of this book that I had already taken in. In fact, it was these very pages that separated me and the conductor.

Bearing witness to the epitome of judging a book by its cover, a mild sensation of disappointment set in. I looked down at the tattooed face of the Mississippi-born, Dade County-bred self-proclaimed boss that I was holding in my hands. I understood that this “rapper” whose illustrious career is altogether more than meets the eye, indeed had a story to tell. And despite already doing so for over twenty years through a different medium, he had the courage to go beneath the surface yet again; this time, in print. In an Entertainment Weekly exclusive in the Spring of 2019, Rick Ross stated, “With this book I wanted to go deeper than I ever have. I wanted to tell people about the life of William Leonard Roberts.”

Carrying his face around on the cover of 288 pages worth of memoirs and recollections, wherever I went, I read on! Content with my decision to meet Mr. William Leonard Roberts lll at the particular depths of transparency of his choosing, I completed the memoir satisfied and left with a much clearer understanding of Rick Ross as an individual; in and out of the booth, on and off stage, and on and off of the camera.

When someone is willing to collect the details of their personal experiences and make available those details for others, at minimum, a baseline level of appreciation is warranted. In partnership with Neil Martinez-Belkin, Rick Ross details the pieces of the puzzle that he put together in order to understand the world he was living in at a young age including accounts of his beginnings in Carol City as well as his recollection of the Miami race riots and their echoing effects across Miami-Dade County. He goes on to reveal how he in fact became obsessed with hip-hop, his ascension as a drug dealer in Carol City during a new era for crack cocaine dealers in South Florida, details of his short-lived college football career and the often times labeled “controversial” story of his days as a correctional officer.

Ross also shares with readers dark moments of his music career and the tribulations he endured to establish deserved respect as a songwriter and a noteworthy MC. This book is laced with details that make clear some of the cleverest bars and collections of wordplay that can be found in all ten of his albums.

Two of the biggest treats that this book includes are:

1. A photo gallery of some of the most memorable moments of the Teflon Don’s life to date.

2. The memories spanning the near 300 pages of this book are told to us with the nuances of South Florida slang, vernacular and colloquialisms fully included. (Having spent so many years of my childhood there, I have a particular appreciation for this feature and I also believe that the story deserved to be told this way)

The details of this book seem to collect in a way that simultaneously describe Ricky Rozay to perfection: hard-edged, unapologetic, mastermind, survivor. Despite being best known by most as a rapper whose songs explore the extent of drugs, violence, and women, Hurricanes is a solid read and an insightful memoir. Entirely, Hurricanes is deeper than rap.