Georgia State University to Offer Law Class on Rick Ross This Fall

• Georgia State University is among the institutions embracing the popularity of celebrities for unique course offerings.
• This fall, the College of Law will use the legal contracts of rapper Rick Ross to teach students how to draft, interpret, and negotiate deals for a wide variety of clients.
• The course on Ross is the fourth installment of the institution's "Legal Life of … " series which previously analyzed legal contracts for Ludacris, Kandi Burruss, and Steve Harvey.

Award-winning rapper and entrepreneur Rick Ross has become the latest recording artist to inspire a university classroom.

Georgia State University announced last month that starting this fall, the institution's College of Law will offer a course that examines the career, contracts, and legal transactions of Ross.

Students will additionally have the opportunity to apply their knowledge of Ross' businesses to other existing businesses in the real world.

"When I began my research on Ross, I realized early on that my students would learn about a businessman who turned his love of music into an empire that includes massive real estate holdings, food and beverage franchises, investments in the car and bike industry, literary works and corporate equity ownership," professor Mo Ivory, who created and implemented the course, said in a press release.

Ross, who is the CEO of Maybach Music Group and the Rick Ross Car & Bike Show, boasts a hefty investment portfolio as a partner in Sovereign Brands, a franchise owner of dozens of Wingstop restaurants, and through partnerships within the cannabis industry.

Students will hear from the lawyers who negotiated many of these deals for Ross as they analyze his contracts.

They will additionally learn to draft, interpret, and negotiate deals for different types of clients as well as gain an understanding of the necessary risk and crisis management that comes with working in entertainment law.

The course is called the "Legal Life of Rick Ross" and is the fourth installment of this type of course at Georgia State.

The "Legal Life of … " series first began at Georgia State in 2019 following the businesses and legal transactions of rapper and actor Ludacris. Since its launch, students have also had the opportunity to examine the legal deals of singer and songwriter Kandi Burruss and comedian and TV host Steve Harvey.

Outside of Georgia State, many other institutions have implemented courses inspired by celebrities like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, and Harry Styles.