Reports of Miami-based rapper Rick Ross putting his career in the hands of Diddy appeared on the internet earlier this year, and recently while talking to MTV News, Ross defended the business move. Under the hip-hop mogul’s direction, he hopes that he will be able to branch out into different areas like clothing.

“The experience and the knowledge that Diddy possesses is priceless,” explained Ross. 

“The relationships that he’s accumulated over the last 20 years is priceless for a young artist such as myself. We developed a mutual friendship. We just stayed in contact. I was calling him for advice anyway. He was doing it for free: ‘What you think about that, homey? Help me get this, homey. I need to meet for that Waka Flocka video, homey.’ He was doing so many different things for me on that level.”

A few things are already in works said Ross, who added:

“I expressed my interest in developing and designing my own clothing label. I expressed interest in branching off into liquor endorsements, book deals…But most definitely, these are the new things we’re bringing to the table, and these are things I haven’t expressed a lot of interest into in the past. It’s looking very, very positive.”

Ross will release his fourth studio album, Teflon Don, on June 29. The LP features collaborations with Kanye West, Jay-Z, and John Legend, amongst others. The lead single Super High, featuring Ne-Yo and produced by Clark Kent & The Remedy, was released earlier this month.