William Leonard Roberts, better known as rapper Rick Ross, has been arrested again, for the second time this month. Roberts was charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery.
Details of the arrest are still scant, but Ross reportedly pistol-whipped a worker who was doing repairs on his house a few weeks ago. Ross’ bodyguard was also arrested at the residence today, and both of them now await their initial bond hearing while in police custody. Nadrian James (bodyguard) was charged with kidnapping and aggravated battery.
Last time around, Ross was arrested on a simple marijuana possession charge. According to TMZ, Ross was taken in by a special fugitive task force of the U.S. Marshals Service and charged with kidnapping, assault, and aggravated battery. Clearly, things are much more serious this time around.
At what point does society see a man whose entire public existence consists of crime braggadocio, with a name derived from a drug kingpin, as spotlight material? What’s worse – being a fake criminal who raps about being hard, or an actual real-life scumbag who hurts people and happens to spit some decent rhymes?
There is no one-shot solution to widespread systemic rot in America that we see invading our sociopolitical discourse every day, but incremental change can have a massive impact. Perhaps choosing to close the door on the age of idolizing champion-thug criminal narratives can be a kickstart to helping young people look to more productive figures in the spotlight – or at least less damagingly influential ones.
