RICK ROSS: MIAMI HUSTLER

Ross began rhyming in the mid-Nineties, and around that time he formed the Carol City Cartel, a five-man rap collective that is currently planning a debut album. Taking his name from ''Freeway Rick'' Ross, a Los Angeles drug kingpin, he earned a reputation around Miami as an MC to watch, thanks to club performances and dozens of freestyle-laden mix tapes.

About five years ago, Ross signed to Trick Daddy's Miami-based Slip-N-Slide Records. Though Ross never recorded his own album for the label, he appeared on various Slip-N-Slide releases and toured with Trick Daddy. The increased notoriety helped Ross become, in his words, ''the number-one ghostwriter in the South.'' Ross won't specify whom he wrote raps for but says that his clientele included platinum-selling MCs.

Back in the BMW, Ross swings through Carol City to visit Trick Daddy's home studio, then stops for a midday drink at Tootsies Cabaret, a massive strip club that used to be a discount outlet. Sitting in Tootsies' velvet-roped VIP section, Ross is relaxed despite his hectic schedule: Besides finishing Port of Miami, he's been in negotiations with P. Diddy to replace Young Jeezy in the Bad Boy group Boyz N Da Hood (Bad Boy did not confirm this at press time), and he's been recording a slew of guest spots: on the remix of Yung Joc's ''It's Goin' Down"; ''On Some Real Shit," the first single from Daz's new album; and the remix of LeToya's R&B hit ''Torn." He'll also be featured on an as-yet-untitled Timbaland-produced cut from Snoop Dogg's new disc, and on new CDs by Too $hort and by Lil Wayne and Baby. But for the moment, he's content to revel in his big-time prospects. "Port of Miami", he says, leaning back. ''It's gonna be a classic.''