Just days after his SUV was the target of a drive-by shooting, rapper Rick Ross decided he needs his own version of the secret service -- an armed security detail working 24 hours a day to protect him from another attempt on his life. TMZ reports Ross had an armed security team for public events, but the shooting opened his eyes and now he wants full-time protection. Ross was driving away from his birthday party in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Monday morning when another car pulled up beside his and opened fire. No shots hit his vehicle, and Ross crashed while trying to speed away, but he was able to escape without injury. 

It's important to note that Rick Ross is not a "real" gangster rapper. His whole act is a facade. Before becoming a rap star, William Roberts was a corrections officer. The real drug kingpin from whom Roberts took his rap moniker wasn't surprised Ross was shot. Ross has angered gangs like the Gangster Disciples in the past for writing songs about their leaders and kingpins, like his Larry Hoover-inspired "B.M.F.", without any real connection to their crew. He was appropriating drug and gang culture for pop-rap benefits. But Ross has parlayed his hip-hop stardom into a real-life gangster lifestyle that now requires a security team, after barely escaping a similar fate as rap legends Tupac or Notorious B.I.G.. Real life is scarier than fiction, Ross has learned. 

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