It’s possible that Meek Mill was simply destined to end up in the Maybach Music roster—that the Philadelphia rapper was born Robert Williams, whereas Rick Ross’ given name is William Roberts, is almost too weird to be a coincidence. Not quite, though: Meek worked his way up, starting as a member of four-man group the Bloodhoundz from 2003 to 2007. But he struck off solo in 2008, launching his Flamers mixtape series. “In My Bag,” off his first Flamers tape, became a favorite in Philly clubs and radio stations. That momentum garnered some local co-signs, including Young Chris and Cassidy, and ultimately caught the attention of T.I. Meek was in talks of signing to his Grand Hustle label, but that plan fell apart when he was arrested. He was released in 2009. A year later, he released Flamers 3 as part of DJ Drama’s popular Gangsta Grillz mixtape series.

His break came shortly thereafter: Rick Ross, passing through Philly, had asked his Twitter followers what local rapper he should work with while in town. Meek was the overwhelming response, so Ross extended an invitation to the radio station he was visiting. “The homie had those matted-up braids at the time,” Ross joked during his CRWN interview with Elliott Wilson earlier this year. “Looked like my dog ain’t have his shit done in five months.” Even so, Ross jumped on the remix of Meek’s “Rosé Red” single later that year, and in 2011, he officially signed to MMG. His singles “Tupac Back” and “Ima Boss” dropped soon after.