Ya Heard: Rick Ross’ truth comes light

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

—Abraham Lincol

It's true. Ricky Ross is a fraud! After weeks of denying rumors he was once employed as a Florida corrections officer in the mid- '90s, thesmokinggun.com has released records con-firming the rumors are true. In fact, the records prove William Leonard Roberts aka Rick Ross worked for the Florida Department of Corrections for 18 months beginning in 1995 and ending in 1997. Despite the fact his rhymes portray a life of street sagas and drug dealing prior to his rap career, a photograph in addition to the documents have surfaced to prove otherwise.

A photograph of Ross/Roberts apparently graduating from training academy was the first piece of evidence suggesting the Miami emcee might not have been completely honest about his past. In the photo, a younger, friendlier Ross can be seen shaking hands with the then head of the Florida Reception Center.

When the photograph began to gain attention, Ross responded by telling allhiphop.com, "My life is 100 percent real. These online hackers putting a picture of my face when I was a teenager in high school on other peoples' body. If this [photo] was real don't you think they would have more specifics, like dates and everything? I'm in the entertainment business and a lot of people who like to hate because I'm on top of my game. Like I said before my life is 100 percent real. I live by this, die by this. Fake pictures are created by the fake, meant to entertain the fake."

This was Ross' stance prior to the rumor being confirmed, however, he and his reps have since been tightlipped since thesmokinggun.com blew the whistle.

Ross also went at fellow Miami emcee Trick Daddy after Trick criticized Ross over his shady past. Of Trick, Ross stated, "That's crazy. [He] don't want no parts of me…if you a G, then come see me."

For the time being, Ross aka William Roberts needs to worry about his fleeting fan base.

Let's not get it confused. Just because he worked as a corrections officer doesn't make him any less of a man. It's the fact that he lied about it and tried to hide it. In addition, his lyrics strongly contradict that of a former corrections officer.

If Ross had just acknowledged the fact he briefly worked for the D.O.C., then there wouldn't have been a problem. Yet instead, Ross/Roberts pulled a "Roger Clemens" and is now running around attempting to save face.

THE SMOKEN WORD

I strongly encourage everyone to come on out to "The Smoken Word… A Showcase of Everything Local, Ear Worthy and Relevant in Northern Virginia Hip Hop and R&B." The show is Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m. at Cork'ed Wine & Cigars, 17934 Main St., Dumfries, across from the post office. Ladies must be 18 to enter and fellas must be 21. There is a $10 cover charge at the door.

Featured performers include El Prezidino, Jah-nette, Harmony, Brick Flaco, Kanda, K-nix, as we ll as Christopher Lee and BuckWild of VersAtile Entertainment.

These acts represent the very best in northern Virginia hip hop and R&B. Again, that's Saturday at Cork'ed Wine & Cigars from 3 to 9 p.m. Come and support the revival of north-ern Virginia hip hop and R&B.

KANYE AND MTV SALUTE THE TROOPS

MTV has chosen Kanye West for an hour-long special, titled "Choose or Lose." Ac-cording to sohh.com, the special will feature soldiers surprised to find Kanye West at their home upon their returning from Iraq. MTV and the Dr. Donda West Foundation will also assist the sol-diers and their families in paying off debts. In addition, viewers will be given a chance to hear those soldier's accounts of the ongoing war in Iraq.

In a statement released by West, he said, "There are hundreds of veterans out there who are falling through the cracks. They make the ultimate sacrifices for us by laying down their lives, but it seems like a lot of them just get forgotten about. I know my music inspires and helps a lot of people, but you can always do more. I teamed up with MTV and took the opportunity to share the spotlight with these veterans and hear their stories."

"Share the spotlight" huh? You gotta love Kanye.

DETOX MAY BE MORE THAN AN URBAN LEGEND

Dr. Dre revealed hopes to release his long-awaited "Detox" album before the end of the year.

"I'm just now, over the last couple of months, starting to feel that it's going to be right and it's something I can be proud of, and everybody is going to love it," Dre told USA Today. "In a perfect world, I'm shooting for a November or December re-lease."

This comes as a surprise to many as it was beginning to be thought "Detox" was not going to happen. With hopes of the album being released on the heels of his classic "Chronic 2001" LP back in 1999, many were left hanging when nothing materialized. Over the past nine years, numerous pump fakes occurred, which only heightened fans' anticipation.

This time, it seems to be for real, as Dre stated he is working with Lil Wayne, Nas, and Jay Z, among others, for the album.

Chuck Creekmur of allhiphop.com may have put it best when he said, "He's a master of crafting a complete album, which is rare these days with everything being singles-driven. We've been waiting on this almost a decade, and that ridiculous level of anticipation will translate saleswise. It would be on par with Lil Wayne (whose latest album sold one million re-cords in first week on shelves), if not more."

Keep your fingers crossed on this one. Next up…"Only Built for Cuban Linx II."

HIP HOP TRIVIA

What Busta Rhymes album features the cut "Flipmode Squad Meets Def Squad?"

Be the seventh person to send me an e-mail with the correct answer and receive two free AMC movie tickets courtesy of the Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger. … See you Sat-urday!

Dennis Winn can be reached at 703-200-4928 or .