Rick Ross did something unexpected last week when he signed Rockie Fresh, the 21-year-old rapper from Chicago, as the newest member of the Maybach Music Group. While Rockie had built up a sizable buzz with a string of mixtapes and touring appearances, MMG was far from an obvious home for the fresh-faced rapper. In a new interview with MTV News, Ross says he was drawn to Fresh for his broad appeal as an "everyman" as well as his track record.
"Other than, of course, his ability to make music and write choruses and putting visuals together, when I was just sitting there talking with him and connecting with him, I saw that he's a reflection of every man," he said. "Everybody can see a little bit of themselves in Rockie Fresh, and that's how he presents his music."
Ross' MMG A&R, Spiff, first contacted Rockie after seeing his video for "Into the Future," the opening track on his most recent mixtape, Driving 88. Soon he was invited out to Los Angeles to meet Rozay on the set of DJ Khaled's "Take it to the Head" video shoot.
"I like to say he has a system," Ross said of what he observed in Rockie. "I'm sitting back and I'm watching all his videos, his virals and I'm like, 'Yo, this kid is ready for the majors right here.' Because this is major, what I'm looking at is major and I just wanted it to be organic."
Fresh joins a roster that includes Wale, Meek Mill, Stalley, Gunplay and Omarion.

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