MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped a felony charge against rapper Rick Ross a month after he was arrested in Miami Beach when a woman he was living with told police he hit her, court records said.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office filed paperwork Thursday to drop a felony charge of battery by strangulation because of “insufficient evidence.” Ross, whose legal name is William Roberts II, still faces a misdemeanor charge of battery domestic violence.
Ross, 50, has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his attorney said Friday that his client would continue to defend himself against the allegations. Ross surrendered at the Miami Beach police station on Oct. 1, two days after the woman filed a report with police, officials said. He was freed on bail several hours later.
According to an arrest report, a woman told Miami Beach detectives that she had been living with Ross when he accused her of cheating on him and struck her multiple times on Aug. 28. She said Ross also choked her with the collar of her shirt and slammed her into a wall. The woman said she was eventually able to leave the home and returned later — after Ross left — to collect her belongings.
Ross previously pleaded no contest to aggravated assault in 2017 after he was accused of forcing a man into a guesthouse at his suburban Atlanta mansion in 2015 and beating him with a handgun, according to Georgia court records. Under a Georgia first-time offender program, the court issued an order exonerating Ross of guilt on that felony count.
Ross is a longtime South Florida resident who gained prominence in 2006 with his debut single “Hustlin'.”
The rapper and entrepreneur helped put Miami on the musical map in the early 2000s, when most hip-hop fans looked to Atlanta and Houston as Southern rap headquarters. “Hustlin'” was certified platinum twice by the Recording Industry Association of America and sparked a bidding war for Ross. He eventually signed with Def Jam Records, headed by Jay-Z.
Ross’ debut album, “Port of Miami,” also went platinum, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It was the first in a series of chart-toppers, including 2008’s “Trilla” and 2009’s “Deeper Than Rap.” He has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards.
In 2008, he founded the influential label Maybach Music Group, boosting the careers of signees like Wale, Meek Mill and French Montana.
His most recent album, “Set In Stone,” was released in July.
FILE - Rick Ross arrives at the BET Awards on June 28, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Rick Ross performs during the BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Gospel legend Kirk Franklin is getting tired of defending his musical decisions.
He isn’t apologetic for praying with Chris Brown and Usher before a recent concert, a moment that drew social media criticism.
He isn’t sorry for teaming up with GloRilla for his 14th studio album, “I Am What I Am," despite the explicit content of her music catalog.
What Franklin is is a 56-year-old, 20-time Grammy winner who overcame a tumultuous childhood after being adopted at 4 to achieve a rarefied fame in music and collaborate with a mix of artists — whether they’re associated with piety or not.
“Why do you think historically there’s always this challenge with what I do and who I am?” asked Franklin, questioning what he describes as an elitist, holier-than-thou attitude among some gospel music fans. “It's far beyond my understanding.”
Franklin says his decision to pray for Usher and Brown, R&B megastars known for their sexually charged music and performances, was a simple one: because they asked him to.
“We as believers sometimes become judge and jury,” the “He's Able” artist told The Associated Press. “The decision to determine what needs to have the harder penance is where we find ourselves lost in how we miss reaching those that need us.”
That message permeates throughout “I Am What I Am,” Franklin's first double album, out Friday. Its 14 tracks are divided between contemporary songs and live-recorded traditional selections.
Karen Clark Sheard of the legendary Clark Sisters is featured, along with popular mainstream artists like Afrobeats superstar Davido, Jelly Roll, and GloRilla, who's on "This Time.” That single extended Franklin’s record-holding mark to 10 No. 1s on Billboard’s hot gospel songs chart.
Franklin's musical relationship with rappers has always ruffled feathers, resurfacing a debate about working with artists whose music frequently comes with parental advisory labels.
“You start trying to play in other people’s sandboxes, it is going to come with scrutiny,” said Franklin, who’s worked with rappers like Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West) and Lil Baby. “There’s no way I can pay these artists what they normally get in these mainstream spaces, so why are they doing it? There’s a deeper reason that they feel pulled and called to want to do it.”
“I Am What I Am” is among the most introspective works from Franklin, who’s not a traditional lead vocalist, but mainly a songwriter, producer and musician. Honored with the icon award by the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective last year alongside Pharrell Williams and Brandy, album standouts include “Hope in You” with Davido and “Welcome In — Live,” which finds him feeling forgotten by God at times, but expressing gratitude for God's steadfast presence.
But the most compelling song may be “Free Me Tonight” with Jelly Roll, referencing Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” Performing spoken word, Franklin reflects introspectively while acknowledging his imperfections and public criticisms. He even mentions his 2021 controversy in which his estranged son Kerrion leaked a recording of his father threatening him and cursing.
“The Bible is a collection of these horrible, beautiful, painful, inspiring, challenging stories of people’s lives and journeys,” said Franklin, who found creating the song cathartic, once worrying the recording would end his career. “Gospel music is able to handle the raw, unfiltered truth about how ugly and difficult life can be.”
The Texas native is known for gospel classics like “Melodies From Heaven” and “Something About the Name Jesus,” along with crossover hits like “I Smile” and “Looking For You.” But it was 1997's “Stomp (Remix)” featuring Salt of the legendary rap duo Salt-N-Pepa that catapulted him into the mainstream. The smash found heavy rotation on radio and music video networks, propelling the “God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation” album to No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and topping the R&B albums chart — a first for a gospel project.
Franklin, once a rebellious high school dropout and teen father, has no plans to slow down. Within the industry's atmosphere of glitz and glamour, he says his art is not just entertainment, but a lifelong calling.
“The hole that I came from was so deep that whenever I’m around light, I never get tired of feeling the sunlight,” said Franklin. “That makes me very proud that when the question or the conversation of the bigger purpose of life, and does God really exist, I’ve been able to be included somewhere in keeping that a relevant conversation.”
Follow Associated Press entertainment journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.
Gospel singer Kirk Franklin poses for a portrait on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Gospel singer Kirk Franklin poses for a portrait on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Gospel singer Kirk Franklin poses for a portrait on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
