Rick Ross is back in the rap game with his new deluxe album, “Hood Billionaire.” Whether it's related to his new diet — “shoutout to all the pear,” Ross said in a recent interview regarding his new album — is still unclear.
Ross is a southern rap artist hailing from Miami, Florida. Famous for his 2006 mixtape “Hustlin’,” Ross is out with his seventh studio album, and with “Hood Billionaire,” he's losing some of his charm.
Much like on his previous releases, Ross isn't shy when flaunting his rich and fabulous lifestyle. Tracks on “Hood Billionaire” perpetuate this motif. Drugs, cars and money are all on Ross’ mind, clearly. Ross also inserts some “Maybach music” samples and his iconic grunt makes a feature on some tracks.
Although most of “Hood Billionaire” is typical Ross, some tracks like “Trap Luv,” featuring Yo Gotti, show different sides of the spectrum to Ross’ talent. The production is spotless and the lyrics are intriguing. This track like many others on “Hood Billionaire” uses sampling of phone calls, making the album like a phone conversation. This makes the album flow together — Ross’ own flow, however, is pretty standard.
Ross shows off his fashion designer knowledge on the track “Keep Doin’ That (Rich B*tch)." R. Kelly makes a cameo on this track as well, but very well could have been avoided. This is not the case with the Jay-Z feature on the track "Movin’ Bass" — upbeat and fast-paced, the beat sounds kind of hollow, amplifying Ross’ and Jay-Z’s voices.
However, many of the features on this album are unnecessary, much like the number of tracks on this album. On one track, “Quintessential,” Snoop Dog is featured but is superfluously auto-tuned.
The only good featured track on this album is “Brimstone,” featuring Big K.R.I.T., with a soulful, '70s jam rock background. This track goes against the grain of Ross’ typical style.
Ross produces a few tracks on this album that are decent club, trap music like “Coke Like the 80's,” “Neighborhood Drug Dealer,” “Trap Luv” and “Phone Tap." Coincidentally these tracks give a glimpse into Ross’ experience on the streets, especially “Family Ties,” arguably the best one on the album.
Nevertheless, the album as a whole is only mildly compelling. “Hood Billionaire” might be a sign of Ross’ decline.