The Godfather

J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League producer Colione recently discussed the motivation behind Rick Ross' Deeper Than Rap album revealing inspiration from the late Biggie Smalls.

Speaking on the project's hit single "Magnificent," Colione explained how his crew created the track and their relationship with Ross.

"We actually went to the theaters and saw the Notorious," he explained. "When we got home, we were inspired to work with B.I.G. So we started making tracks for him and 'Magnificent' was one of the beats that came out. We were like, 'Yo, if Biggie was alive today what would he rap to?' We were actually doing it for ourselves. Actually, our management sent that to Ross...We came up with the first 'Maybach Music.' He heard the actual track at the crib and he had a whole idea in his head like, 'Yo, I'm going to name this 'Maybach Music' and I'm going get Jay-Z on this. This going to be big!' So after that, you know, we just been working with him and supplying him some beats and he's really been studying music and his lyrics are getting better. His whole aura, I mean, he's going to be like unstoppable." (Vibe)

Ross is known for working with the Grammy-winning producers and shouting them out in interviews.

"They just started playing beats and I ain't know who these n*ggas were," Ross said in an interview about teaming with J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. "I just sat there, smoked a little weed track after track. I started to think, is the weed that good or was these the best f*cking beats I heard in the last year?" (Smallz Space)

The hip-hop trio, made up of Colione, Rook and Kenny joined forces while in Florida.

"We all met through mutual friends doing music around Tampa, Florida," Rook said in a past interview. "Colione was an artist in Tampa with heavy buzz, [I] was producing for various people in Tampa with a good reputation and Kenny was playing in bands and going to school learning the technical side of music." (iStandard Producers)

The producers' efforts on Ross' Deeper Than Rap are reportedly gaining more notice as Ross' project is en route to debut at No. 1 on Nielsen Soundscan next week.

Miami rapper Rick Ross will top next week's HITS Album Sales chart, with between 150-160k in sales for his third album, Deeper Than Rap, and first for his new Maybach Music Group through Def Jam after a pair for Slip-N-Slide. His last, the gold-certified Trilla, now over 700k, and his 2006 debut, Port of Miami, both debuted at #1. (Hits Daily Double)

Notorious B.I.G. Inspired Rick Ross' Sound, Producers Come Clean | SOHH.com