Rick Ross and his bison and horse. PHOTO:
Rick Ross and Meek Mill’s new album title Too Good to Be True makes sense, because that’s exactly how Ross sees his life right now.
At 47, the Florida-raised rap titan and the biggest boss isn’t just continuing his decades of dominance with the new collaborative effort, he’s also unwinding when he gets his much-deserved time off.
Tending to animals on his massive 235-acre Fayetteville, Georgia estate, which he calls the “Promise Land,” Ross has garnered headlines over the last several years for his various adventures on the property: everything from chopping down trees to tending to his bison.
But to him, it’s taught him a valuable lesson, and has even gotten him further in touch with the outdoors.
“F— yeah,” Ross tells PEOPLE when asked if he considers himself a farmer.
“You just wish many others get to just try this. Try this for once. Try this for once. Just relax, let everything go,” he says of life on the ranch. “Sit your f—ing phone down and just sit back and relax. Let’s feed the cows some carrots. Let’s talk to the horses. Let’s fish for four hours. Let’s do that. Let’s do that.”
Rick Ross and Darius Burton on the farm.
As Ross explains, life away from the studio and his many business deals is simply “a different vibe” on the estate, where he admits to being a “cowboy at times.” “And maybe that’s how I recharge my battery and when I get around music, I’m ready to go, because I do a little bit of it all,” he says.
Ross’ latest hobby, outside of tending to his horses and cows, is going on boat rides. The premise of the hobby is simple enough, too. He calls it “salt life.”
“Being on the water, being in the boats, being on the boats. I’m taking different boats on test drives. Test rides. Yeah, different vibes,” he says.
Asked if he has a favorite boat, Ross smiles: “I think my favorite boat is the new one I just bought.”
Rick Ross and his dog on the farm.
It makes sense that Ross would be seeking solace on his farm and on the water, because on the other side of things, his new album is making waves of its own. The LP sees him and longtime collaborator and Maybach Music Group signee Mill team up for what he describes as “gelled together but the balance is there.”
Too Good to Be True features verses from the likes of Future, French Montana, and even Shaquille O’Neal specifically for a remix of their single “SHAQ & KOBE,” and makes for “a beautiful moment in hip-hop,” according to Ross.
“The title should speak for itself. It should explain the moment, and that’s exactly what that did. It’s Too Good To Be True. Ricky Rozzay, Meek Mill, we came together and man, we made some magic, some dope s— for the streets,” he says. “And we took it where we wanted it to go.”