This is more like an Uncle Luke/Rick Ross edition but Luke dropped some rather OBVIOUS jewels in an open letter to Rick Ross. Highlights below.
"all this gangster bullshit is jeopardizing your career. No club or arena is going to risk people getting shot. You can forget about doing any tours or CD signings. And if you can't make money, watch how fast Warner Bros. Records turns on you. "The full article can be read here. Luke makes some good points and I agree with everything he said except, I don't think it's as easy as just "squashing your beefs". Let's not trivialize how difficult it would be for Ross to squash his "beef" with a bunch of different sets of Gangster Disciples by paying them off. As soon as he's paid off one or two, others would pop up because well, now they know they can extort him. And how exactly, does one go about paying off a known gang/drug organization after all these public threats and not end up (by legal definitions) involving himself in illegal activity? So while I applaud Luke for keeping it real in this letter and stating some obvious truths, I think Rick Ross is probably in a tough spot and he is going to need that security and arsenal. But like Luke basically said, this is the consequence of purporting a gangster lifestyle when you're pretty much removed from that life (if you were ever involved) because you're rich.
"It's a shame you can't enjoy life without spending part of your earnings on heavy security or risking your freedom by purchasing an arsenal. Remember, that's what landed T.I. and Lil Wayne in prison. You don't want that to happen to you. However, those are the consequences of rapping about being something you're not. "
"very gangster rapper takes on the role of a real hood legend to build up street cred. But I don't want you to fall into the trap of believing you are really a gangster. "