Miami Hurricanes Defensive End Chad Thomas Produced Rick Ross’ 'Apple of My Eye'

Who would’ve thought a Miami Hurricanes football star would have dope production on Rick Ross’ Rather You Than Me album?

Chad Thomas, a senior defensive end at the prominent school, is widely known for his play on the field, but adds his musical touch on “Apple of My Eye,” the intro to Ross’ ninth studio project.

Going by the producer name Major Nine, the young football stud teamed up with Ross to deliver one of the best album intros of the year. “Apple of My Eye” features soul singer Raphael Saadiq and the record demonstrates a calm and chill vibe as an opening to the project. Chad Thomas a.k.a Major Nine established himself as a well-known producer all throughout Miami and has even done work with other 305 artists such as Ice Billion Berg and Ball Greezy.

The football player/producer sat down in an interview with The Washington Post to describe how he felt when he heard the final cut of “Apple of My Eye.”

“I was too happy. It dropped a week after my mama’s birthday, and I wanted to surprise her with it,” Major Nine said. “I couldn’t even wait until the day of the album. I just told my mom I made a beat for Ross, and it’s going to be on his intro. I told my daddy, and he said we’ve gotta print the check stubs and frame that. We’ve gotta go buy the hard copy. It made me drop a tear. The song really touched me. It spoke my life. Then to think that I made the beat, just to come from where I’m from in Miami in Liberty City, a lot of people don’t get opportunities like this. When they do, they either mess it up or somebody messes it up for them. I felt blessed for that opportunity.”

Rather You Than Me was released last week (March 17) and is already doing fairly well. Rozay also dropped some big news for his fans in a recent interview with a Miami radio station where he revealed that he’s releasing Port of Miami 2: Born to Kill as his 10th album.

Listen to two more Major Nine productions below—Ball Greezy’s “Nice & Slow” and Ice Billion Berg’s “Zombie.”

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