Rick Ross, born William Leonard Roberts, is to say the least an interesting hip-hop phenomenon. Since ascending to fame following his 2006 debut LP Port of Miami, Ross has become a household name in the world of pop music and pop culture. What I find most interesting is that I don't really know why his music 'speaks' to so many people -- his lyricism is not particularly sharp or clever, he doesn't produce his own records, and he certainly does not win over his fans with his looks, the way R&B crooners like R.Kelly once did. But where Ross has excelled is where some would argue it matters most: record sales. This is particularly noteworthy given the bleak status-quo of the record industry and their failed attempts to stop us darn kids from downloading music illegally. His most recent LP, God Forgives, I Don't, is set to sell approximately 200,000 records in its first week, which will easily land Mr. Rozay a #1 Spot on the charts. 

So what exactly is Ross' appeal? I can't speak for everyone, but I think many people, myself included, must listen to Rick Ross ironically. Lyrics on his new Neptunes-Produced track "Presidential" include "I need to hear the trumpets, meaning machine gunning/ I ain't missing nothing, got her sippin' something", a line void of any real metaphor and complete with a lovely little non-sequitur. But unless I am scrutinizing the logistics of his rhymes (which other than right now, I am often not) it doesn't really bother me. Rather, the overwhelming self-seriousness Ross has when delivering these lines is what makes them amazing. They're just lyrical enough to be considered a notch above flat out saying, I have money and thus you should worship me, plus just silly enough to make me laugh. I wouldn't exactly call Rick's songs philosophical, but would I call them fun? Absolutely. On some level I appreciate Rick Ross because he allows me this refreshingly passive listening experience. It's a relief from the hours I spend pontificating on themes and metaphors in the songs of Bon Iver or even Frank Ocean, and that's kind of nice. 

But perhaps what also drives Ross' fame is his activity on social media platforms like Twitter and his ever-popular Instagram (709K followers and counting), where the comments section below his various photos of cars, clothes, and other status symbols is 24 Karat comedy gold. And perhaps it's the personal nature of Instagram that makes his fans think their comments will actually be read by Ross (the photos were feasibly taken on his phone, after all...). One thing is certain: the forum cultivates absolutely outlandish remarks, confessions of love, a healthy serving of shameless self-promotion ("Hey Rick, check out my mixtape homie!") and best of all, classic internet quarrels. So, in honor of the Bawse and his success, we compiled our favorite comments on @RichForever 's Instagram Feed.