In a sumptuous photo session on Maybach music boss Rick Ross’ Atlanta-area house, the hood billionaire rapper and his fiancee, Lira Mercer, redefine Southern Comfort.

Rick Ross and his fiancee, Lira Mercer Rapper Rick Ross is known for his extravagant preferences, but with the release of his latest album, Black Market, the Boss wanted to showcase a more polished side to his over-the-top lifestyle. In this photo series taken on the rapper’s large Atlanta-area home, Rozay and his girlfriend, Lira Mercer, express their inner Lord and Lady of the Manor, replete with monogrammed sweaters and updated riding habits, and teach us a thing or two about contemporary Southern elegance in the process. Tell us about your newest album, Black Market?This is undoubtedly the greatest of the best. This is rap’s caviar. I have some fantastic collaborations with people like Nas, John Legend, and Chris Brown, and the album is soulfully deep in terms of musical layers and production. The subject for our photo shoot was “elegance.” How would you define the term?I feel that elegance is dependent on an individual’s taste, not necessarily the dollar sign.A candlelight meal in the park can be more memorable than a private jet trip to Bora Bora. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done this year?I was detained and kept in solitary confinement 24 hours a day, with a lamp over me. Unfortunately, a young lady was also detained and held in isolation across from me. One night, I woke up and screamed across the room, asking her to sing [the Arrested Development song] “Tennessee,” which she did three times in a row. Another wild thing I did this year was go out on Rich Forever, my yacht. I wanted to jump into the water, so I did, but for some reason I felt so at ease and peaceful that I drifted a bit too far away. I felt like I had to fight for my life for 15 minutes just to get back on that f*cking yacht. Definitely some shit I will not do again. What is one thing that no one knows about you?I continue to collect action figures and play video games. I make sure I have all of the Transformers and ThunderCats. I’ve put up a wonderful location for them at home. What’s the most amazing thing about being yourself?The beneficial influence that I provide. The entrepreneurial spirit and the underdog are finally seeing the light of day. That’s one of my greatest assets. On the opposite side, what is the most stressful aspect of being you?I overextend myself. Of course, I like my commitments to my immediate family and my artists, but I go much beyond that. But it’s an excellent problem to have. What’s the strangest thing you’ve read about yourself online?You see a lot on the Internet, so if it doesn’t have a direct impact on my business partners [or me], I rarely seek out to correct someone. Instead, my music serves to explain any nonsense. But I recently awoke to read on a site that my relationship with Lira had ended and that another rapper was involved. Of course, that was completely contrived. She didn’t do anything to me, and vice versa. I have nothing but love and respect for Lira.