Rick Ross, also known as “The Boss” blessed the stage of DAR Constitution Hall in Northwest, DC to a minimal amount of fans – but the people who attended showed him a great deal of love.

Rick Ross, also known as “Mr. Teflon Don” and the “Boss” blessed the stage of Dar Constitution Hall last Thursday with R&B singer, Jeremih (pronounced jer-uh-my-yah) and local DC artist, Fat Trel.  Rick Ross is currently wearing the crown for being one of the top artists in the Hip-Hop scene despite critics that refuse to follow a former Corrections Officer that now boasts of drug dealing and the like.

Rick Ross was blasted in the media several years ago for being William L. Roberts, of the South Florida Reception Center in Dade County.  Ross denied the rumors, but various media outlets confirmed the stars’ position title and salary.

One would think that his critics had the final say in terms of numbers for the turnout for this concert.  Initially, I scanned the auditorium thinking to myself, ‘okay everybody’s late, they’re probably coming home from work’, but the final turnout of the venue was comparable to a high school football game.

However, there are many publications that are less tuned-in with the urban/hip-hop community that really gave a false account of the atmosphere and energy at this concert.  One of the sources I read said that the momentum of the concert was non-existent, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.  The opener, Fat Trel probably got the shortest end of the stick with his very abrasive delivery and controversial lyrics – the crowd did not respond to his presence much and the population of the crowd (or lack thereof) was more apparent when he was on stage.  Ricky Ross (however) was shown plenty of love as I watched him from backstage entering the anticipating crowd and also as I watched him from the left side of the stage entrance.

He definitely held down his core fan base with seductively dressed ladies and “thugged out” gentleman who skipped out on button downs to wear white-tees and Nike Boots.  The chatter was filled with shout-outs to Maybach Music, his own record label, along with memorized lyrics to songs like, “I’m Not a Star” and “I’mma Boss” – which I thought was pretty impressive their memory was pretty sharp with the smell of “earthly herbal essences” in the air.

But to address the low numbers, I would argue that the majority of his fan base (aka the “hip-hop” community) have far more important things to spend their money on (i.e., rent, electricity, groceries, gas) than to make sure they fill the seat of a concert that will last all of 3 hours minus the gas, food, and ticket fees from their bank account.

I definitely believe for the small turnout it was, the audience left content with the money they spent.