Ghostwriter

Album: Black Market (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The dark art of ghostwriting was a big topic in the rap world during 2015 because of the beef between Drake and Meek Mill. This song finds the Maybach Music Boss opening up about his own experience penning lyrics under someone else's name with their consent.

    Ross told Time: "I finally wrote a record telling the way it feels for me to be a ghostwriter, and not only a ghostwriter, but one of the biggest in the rap game. Because of my own personal success I've always been able to keep that in the shadows. On this record, I just felt it was so current. It was needed."
  • Rick Ross expanded on the background to the song in a track-by-track interview with Billboard magazine: "That's just me speaking of one of my more lucrative hustles. It's pretty much a given known fact in the industry that before I was successful, I wrote for other artists. I had a lot of fun with it and I wanted to make that a record because it's such a trending topic. I wanted to make a record to let the fans and listeners see it from the inside."

    "I do see a lot of young artists who write records or sacrifice records, because there are a lot of older artists who are preoccupied, they don't have as much time as they used to to be in the studio. Here is this young artist putting out five albums a day who can just sit there and come out with these ideas from verses and rhymes, whatever it is. They play their music for an artist, an executive or a label, and they end up letting that label use their music – which can also be a good thing for a writer if they have their s--t in perspective."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?