At first, “the Forrest Gump of hip-hop” sounds like an incongruous nickname. Surely there are few characters who embody the spirit of that genre less than Tom Hanks’s slow-witted sprinter? But Dante Ross is thrilled with the title. “Gump is the connector,” he explains on a Zoom call from his home in Los Angeles. “He’s connected to all these things. But you don’t really know who he is.”
This sobriquet, given to Ross by Black Thought, lead rapper of the Roots, is one of many endorsements that grace the cover of Ross’s new memoir, Son of the City, which details his career as one of the most successful industry executives of 90s hip-hop. The roster of rap royalty that fill the rest of the cover is a testament to Ross’s status: from Chuck D and Mike D to Questlove and Queen Latifah.
