Biography

Black Rob is certainly no stranger to classic hip hop. After guest appearing on a string of timeless Bad Boy cuts from artists like Mase and the Chairman of the Board himself, P. Diddy, Rob finally bum rushed the streets on his own with the unforgettable hit, “Whoa!” 

The track, produced by Buckwild, proved to be a phenomenon, immediately engaging listeners and holding dance floors hostage with its blend of traumatic bass and synthesizers underneath Rob's glowering snarl, which dropped the word “Whoa!” at the end of every line. Not surprisingly, the undisputed street anthem and instant club staple would go on to be the biggest record of the year in 2000 and parlay a platinum album for its author.

“’Whoa!’ is unstoppable,” laughs Rob. “To this day, you could put that record on in any club or drive through any hood pumping it in your car and people are going to stop and sing along with it. I’m sure I made the history books with that one!”

Raised in Spanish Harlem, making rap history wasn't always a priority to Robert Ross. In his early years finding his way around the streets of Harlem he was just trying to survive from day to day. Rob was forced to grow up quick and, without a father figure, became victim to the trappings of the streets, eventually running away from home, living in group-homes and ultimately, prison. As a young adult, he began to put crime life behind him and was soon discovered by P. Diddy and Bad Boy music man Harve Pierre. Black Rob inked a deal with Bad Boy Records in 1995.

”When Puff came across me, it was in a time in my life when I was just doing a lot of wrong things,” Rob says. “For him to give me that hand and let me do what I do, was a blessing. I just needed a chance.” 

It's been five years since Black Rob dropped his classic debut “Life Story” on the heels of the groundbreaking single “Whoa!.” Still B.R. has proven that not only is he getting better at dismantling mics, but his fans have an undying allegiance for him. 

“This is B.R. I'm futuristic, daddy,” Rob said while taking a break from working on his new album with legendary Bad Boy producer Deric “D-Dot” Angeletti, at Daddy's House recording studio. “My creativity is at an apex. It's through the roof. Understand me? I'm 150 songs strong right now and I could keep this up for a minute. I could sit at the round table and play my cards right now. You're going to understand the validity of what I'm saying when you hear what I got.” 

“It’s a beautiful thing man,” Rob said about the support of his label Bad Boy and its CEO Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. “That just shows me that they're still behind me. They got faith in B.R. It’s loyalty. This Bad Boy thing been a (space) part of me for ten years. I can't even see myself on no other label. They stuck behind me through everything I've had to endure. So I had to come back like crazy.” Black Rob’s new album, “The Black Rob Report,” is being released in the fall.

”The Black Rob Report” not only details some of its author's trials, tribulations and ultimate triumphs, it finds B.R. returning to form as one of hip-hop's premier gutter griots, never relinquishing his mastery of slick word play and story telling. 

There’s “Watch Your Movements” featuring Akon, on which Rob speaks the truth about his life then and now. “Rapping since the day of my birth I was coming up the worst./ Snatch the purse, put my hand up the skirt./ Put the body in earth./ Then I thought ‘what's it worth.’ Now forever I'm cursed/ I'm cursed, bowing down in the church praying to stay away from the hearse.”

”Star in Da Hood” is vintage Robbie O club-land flavor spread over heavy bass and synths, celebrating ghetto celebrities everywhere. On this track Rob trumpets the fact that you can still walk with a special swagger even though you don’t have paparazzi chasing you everywhere. Just to receive praise from everyone in your neighborhood is an accomplishment.

Other highlights are the hard-hitting and brutally honest, “She’s A Pro,” the witty street classic “Ready,” and the soon-to-be club hit “Fire in the Hole,” featuring Ness and produced by Tony Dofat. 

“Brothers that belong here, stay here,” Rob says. “We can get money forever, bottom line, man. People are going to say ‘he came back after five years and killed them again and kept killing ‘em.’ That’s ‘cause I belong here,” Rob boasts.

Unfortunately the story behind Rob's five year layoff wasn’t the usual relaxing and enjoying success while finding inspiration to write and record his next project. He's had run-ins with the law and also fought his way back from a rare kidney disorder. 

"A while ago when I was in Atlanta, I just was feeling like I wasn't myself,” he reveals. Rob, however, didn’t get the help he needed right away and the delay took its toll on him physically and professionally. “I wasn’t focused and I couldn’t focus,” he remembers of his sickness. “I was sick. Puff would come over and be like 'Yo what happened?' He could see I was sick and I had to straighten my act up. I'm good now. I try to stay healthy, get a lot of rest, do what my doctor tells me and just do what I do and make it official.” 

While Rob is back in good form, he reflects on his illness and says it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “It’s alright, man,” he smiles. “I needed to slow down. It's always something that’s gonna happen in your life to make you realize you got only one life. That’s’ what happened with this kidney thing. It was a wake up call to me to 'chill!'”

Now refocused, healthy and poised to once again sit at the head of the table amongst the street's most heralded microphone marksmen, “The Black Rob Report” proves that true legends continue to grow stronger, even if they take a break every now and then. 

Rob is also making moves as a business man. He’s taken a group of young MC’s under his wing and is grooming them to become the next new crew on the hip hop horizon. Besides getting back in the studio and stepping out into the business world, Black Rob hit the stage recently with Jay-Z as part of the sold out “Jay-Z and Friends” tour where stars like Diddy, Ja Rule, T.I., Foxy Brown and Busta Rhymes made appearances in different cities. 

Black Rob is back and “The Black Rob Report” will prove to be some of his best work ever. “This album is the next phase of Bad Boy, and B.R. is coming up in the journals of hip hop history as one of the best to ever do this thing. This project is going to be something different, something special. I can feel it.”

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