Former Drug Kingpin 'Freeway Rick Ross' Will Headline a Speaker Series in Waterloo, Iowa While Promoting His Memoir & Awaiting His Hollywood Biopic

Freeway Rick Ross/Instagram

Freeway Rick Ross of Los Angeles will be the debut speaker for The Volume 82 Speaker Series in Waterloo, Iowa, in September. The series aims to showcase exciting speakers, entertainers, and professionals from various cultures and walks of life who will share inspiring stories and thought-provoking commentary while bringing awareness and motivation to the community via live discussions. Rick will spend two days with the city during this event, sharing his life journey and insights.

On Friday, September 6th, Rick will connect with at-risk youth in the northeast Iowa community to provide outreach and encouragement to minors who receive behavioral services in a remote setting.

Saturday, the 7th, Rick will engage with a broader audience at the Waterloo Convention Center at 7:00 p.m. The event will kick off with a meet-and-greet session at 5:00 pm, followed by a live speaking event where Rick will share his insights and experiences. The event will also include a book signing, photo opportunities, and interaction with attendees. Tickets for the event can be purchased on Eventbrite or by calling 3195041294.  

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During his presentation, Ross will share his daunting life experiences as a former high school star athlete who unintentionally transformed into one of Los Angeles' biggest drug lords who ran a 1 million dollar per day drug operation. Rick will explain how poverty, lack of education, and lack of opportunities encouraged him to sell drugs to earn money, which eventually landed him a life sentence in prison—after serving 15 years of his sentence, it was overturned in 2009. [Before I became a drug dealer-if somebody had told me a couple of weeks before that-that I was gonna become a drug dealer, I wouldn't have believed it! At that time, I had never took a drink of beer; I had never smoked a cigarette or joint. I was pretty much considered a square.]

[I stood behind the defense table, next to my criminal defense attorney, where decades of verdicts and sentences had been rendered. I glanced at the federal seal on the wall above the judge's head. I still hoped the judge would be fair. I expected a harsh sentence, but not this, not life. When the judge pounded the gavel on the hardwood block on his desk, it felt like a hammer coming down on my head, a nail in my coffin. At 36 years old, I was being sent down—with no possibility of getting out. I was going to die behind bars.]—Freeway Rick Ross.

Ross' drug case and its overturning were extremely high profile. The late journalist Gary Webb produced evidence connecting Rick's drug conviction to an extensive drug operation between the United States CIA and the Iran-Contra scandal. Much of this infamous scandal took place during the Reagan administration. Ross' Emmy Award-nominated film, Freeway: Crack in the System, included this information. Rick shared that the CIA and Congresswoman Maxine Waters visited him during his incarceration in connection to the investigation. 

His message stands to be impactful, as Waterloo has a higher crime rate and one of the highest incarceration rates in the state. [Iowa ranks 7th worst in the country in the disproportionate number of Black people in prison compared to white people, according to a new analysis of U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics data], per ACLU Iowa.

Ross will also share his insights about juvenile delinquency, homelessness, education, and his positive emergence back into society. A Q&A will follow the lecture.

Photo by Tavaris Long/Instagram

Upon his return to society, Rick has positively overhauled his life, becoming a philanthropist, prison reform activist, tennis instructor, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker. His journey is a testament to the power of second chances and the potential for positive change. This summer, Tyler, Texas, granted Rick the key to the city. Rick has a large following in Los Angeles, several U.S. cities, and even international locations. He strives to help reshape American communities from the negative impacts of the crack cocaine epidemic that he once helped lead.

In addition to producing his documentary, Rick also produced The Bad Boxer, How Weed Won the West, and Freeway Rick Ross, Man After the Bars (IMDB.com). He appeared in VH1's documentary Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation. His autobiography, Freeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography, is a best seller.

Some elements of the series Snowfall, created by the late John Singleton, Dave Andron, and Eric Amadio, were reportedly based on Rick's young life in Los Angeles. According to Rick, before his death, film director John Singleton captured Freeway's young life by reading his autobiography and having a business meeting with the former Kingpin to help develop Snowfall's main character, Franklin Saint. Rick explained to Cam Capone News that he was displeased with the show, "The show was awful..." "They threw some real stuff in there to get the people hooked, and then they served them the normal, Hollywood, Black Exploitation film." "I didn't like it at all!"

However, Hollywood is currently working on his biopic. Freeway has his sights on certain entertainers who he feels can play him well. He explained, "I always wanted somebody who was inconspicuous. "I like Childish Gambino. I think he's an interesting character and could pull my role off."

Despite his life's positive redirection, Rick has faced some controversy regarding his identity. Former prison corrections officer turned rapper William Roberts took the name "Rick Ross" as his moniker. Freeway Rick lost a legal battle with the entertainer over the use of his name. Yet, he reinforces his birth name with a clothing line that uses the slogan, "The Real Ross Is Not A Rapper." His merchandise is available on FreewayRickyRoss.com.

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Rick still resides in the greater Los Angeles area and regularly appears on media platforms, such as Sway's Universe, Joe Rogan, Vlad TV, and Hot 97. He has a plethora of interviews with journalist Jesse Katz, who was featured in his documentary.