Tiallondra Kemp: Tia Told Me
In preparation for next week’s release of her tell-all book Tia’s Diary: Deeper Than Rap, Tia Kemp spoke with HipHopDX to provide an early sneak peek into what will surely be the (new) most-talked about memoir in some time from anyone even remotely connected to the Hip Hop industry.
The former flame of William Roberts, II, b.k.a. Rap star Rick 
And as she does in her book, Tia provided to DX eye-popping insight into the life of the "Bawse," including Ross’ upper middle-class upbringing and reported Cosby Show-esque childhood, his employment history in addition to his work as a correctional officer, and his rap career inspired by “Peanut.”
The confident mother of three boys (a 12 and 10-year-old from a previous marriage, and three-year-old William Roberts, III – who Tia claims Ross has not attempted to see in four months) clearly has a gift for narration, and will make anyone who reads the interview below only more eager to get their hands on her complete diary. In the words of 50 Cent, “You won’t believe what Tia told me.”
HipHopDX: I wanna start by giving you an opportunity to sell your book to our millions of monthly readers. Tell the readers of HipHopDX why they should buy Tia’s Diary [click to pre-order].
Tia Kemp: I’m giving ‘em all the real deal. It’s the truth, about me, about Rick Ross [click to read]. He’s going around saying that he didn’t have a real personal relationship with me, and just a bunch of lies that he’s telling. So I’m just here to let everybody know that everything that’s in the book is the real truth. It’s worth $15. Go out and support me. I know there’s a lot of young women that been through the struggle that I have been through.
DX: So how much of this book is about your relationship with Ross, and how much of this book is your story?
Tia Kemp: Just a couple of chapters are about Ross, me and Ross. Most of the book is about me and my life.
DX: And what’s that story - just a general overview of what you’re telling the readers?
Tia Kemp: It’s the struggle that I went through. It’s where I came from, who I am. And what’s going on with me now, and how I got to this point.
DX: Regardless of how much of the book focuses on Ross, you know that’s all the readers of HipHopDX really care about. So let’s get into you and Ross specifically. First, did you guys meet in 2003 or 2004?
Tia Kemp: It was January 2004.
DX: And how was Ross paying his bills when y’all met? Did you know how he was keeping the lights on?
Tia Kemp: His mom was paying his bills. He didn’t have a job. He wasn’t doing shows. You know, he was featured on a few people’s tracks, like Trina [click to read] and other rappers, but that wasn’t paying his bills. I’m not sure of how much he was getting paid for the shows that he was doing back then, but when I met him he wasn’t doing any shows, so…
DX: You insinuated in your first interview with Shade 45 that Ross comes from a privileged background. Do you know what his family’s income level was when he was coming up?
Tia Kemp: Well his mom has a Ph.D. She’s a nurse director. She just retired last year if I’m not mistaken – either last year or year before last. And she’s been a nurse director for 30-something years, so she’s been grossing about a $100,000 a year. She also owns a lot of property in Mississippi - that’s where [Rick Ross] was born. And that’s where she’s from. She owns about 15 houses there. His dad was a Language Arts Professor at Miami-Dade Community College. So he came from a very good background. Both of his parents had degrees. His mom drove a [Mercedes] Benz from the time he was a kid on up. So it’s not like he had to walk to school or catch a school bus or anything like that. He rode in a Mercedes when he got dropped off and picked up from school.
DX: Do you know what specific neighborhood he grew up in, like if it was in the hood or…?
Tia Kemp: He grew up in Carol City. It was sort of [a] suburban area. I wouldn’t say it was the hood then. The area that he grew up in only doctors and lawyers lived in that area.
DX: Do you know if he actually ran with any kind of crew, specifically The Boobie Boys – the people he always shouts out?
Tia Kemp: When I was with him, these guys were already gone, so he wasn’t… But what I’m hearing [is] that he didn’t run with these guys. And I know this for sure. He didn’t run with these guys. He knew people that knew these guys and that ran with these guys, and that’s why he’s reppin’ ‘em so hard.
DX: You told XXL recently “he’s rapping somebody else’s life.” Whose life is Ross rappin’ about?
Tia Kemp: He’s rappin’ his friend Peanut’s life. He has a friend named Peanut – they call him ‘Nut – and he’s rappin’ ‘Nut’s life. Continued on page 2 »
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