{"id":3489,"date":"2026-03-10T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/2026\/03\/rapper-gunplay-says-rick-ross-def-jam-played-with-career\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:30:00","slug":"rapper-gunplay-says-rick-ross-def-jam-played-with-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/2026\/03\/rapper-gunplay-says-rick-ross-def-jam-played-with-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Rapper Gunplay Says Rick Ross &amp; Def Jam Played With Career"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Rapper Gunplay opened up about long-standing frustrations with his music career during a candid interview on the I Say That 2 Say This Podcast. The Miami rapper spoke bluntly about his time around Rick Ross and the role he says Def Jam Recordings played in slowing his momentum.<\/p>\n<p>During the conversation, Gunplay described himself as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hot97.com\/new-hip-hop-music\/rick-ross-drops-10th-album-port-of-miami-2\/\">day-one member of Ross\u2019 circle<\/a> who helped build the early reputation of the crew. Yet he says that same collective energy disappeared when it was time to invest in his own music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen it was Ross\u2019s turn, everybody was a group effort,\u201d Gunplay said. \u201cWhen it was Gunplay\u2019s turn, it was crickets.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title='GUNPLAY GOES OFF ON RICK ROSS! \"I WAS A DAY 1.. YOU AND DEF JAM PLAYED PING PONG WITH MY CAREER!\"' width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OLn0Qy6ohXw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The rapper argued that several of his records generated strong street reaction but never received the label backing required to break through commercially. He pointed to songs like \u201cBible on the Dash\u201d and \u201cYams\u201d as examples of tracks that gained traction without proper promotion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got hit records. Nobody\u2019s giving me a budget. Nobody\u2019s doing nothing,\u201d Gunplay said. \u201cSo what you want me to possibly do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gunplay said the situation became more frustrating because responsibility for his stalled career seemed to bounce between Ross and Def Jam executives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ll play ping pong,\u201d he said. \u201cRoss says it\u2019s on Def Jam. Then Def Jam says it\u2019s on fat boy.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-rapper-gunplay-rips-former-friend-rick-ross-amp-def-jam-recordings-for-his-career-shortcomings\">Rapper Gunplay Rips Former Friend Rick Ross &#038; Def Jam Recordings For His Career Shortcomings<\/h2>\n<p>According to Gunplay, that stalemate left him trapped in industry limbo. Without label support, he said he struggled financially and eventually returned to street activity to survive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me get that chain,\u201d Gunplay recalled saying during robberies. \u201cThat was literally a cry for help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rapper also revealed a publishing deal he now regrets. Gunplay said he sold his publishing for $50,000 through Sony ATV but only received half the money upfront.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI sold my publishing for $50,000,\u201d he said. \u201cThey gave me $25,000 upfront.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked about his relationship with Ross today, Gunplay suggested distance remains.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Papoose DISSED 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj's Controversial Women's Day Message + Biggie Smalls' Legacy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iWnJbW9vL7M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cNot really as of lately,\u201d he said. \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, the rapper insisted his loyalty during their rise never changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen it came to MMG, if you mess with Ross, you mess with Gunplay,\u201d he said. \u201cI basically put myself on.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rapper Gunplay opened up about long-standing frustrations with his music career during a candid interview on the I Say That&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14044,"featured_media":3575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[10,9],"class_list":["post-3489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-rss","tag-culture","tag-hip-hop"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14044"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastaftershock.com\/wca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}