Rick Ross - Hood Billionaire - Printable Version +- Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com) +-- Forum: Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4) +--- Forum: Soul/R&B/Hip Hop/Rap (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=15) +--- Thread: Rick Ross - Hood Billionaire (/showthread.php?tid=12135)

Rick Ross - Hood Billionaire - Music Head - 05-12-2014 enters the Billboard chart this week at #6 Spotify online listen 3.5 of 5.0 by allmusic 7th studio album 9 featured artists guess he couldn't do it by himself always gotta give a rapper credit when he uses a real name banter in between tracks with some dude in prison gives the album authenticity liked some of these jams but it's just too many niggas for me Bio - from allmusic Tattooed with pictures of AK-47s, Miami's 6', 300-pound rap figure known as Rick Ross embraced his city's reputation for drug trafficking on his debut single, "Hustlin'," in 2006. While Atlanta and Houston artists were establishing their cities as Southern strongholds, Ross aimed at putting Miami back in rap's national spotlight. Ross, real name William Roberts, grew up in Carol City, Florida, an impoverished northern suburb of Miami. Influenced by artists like Luther Campbell and the Notorious B.I.G., Roberts formed local rap group the Carol City Cartel and began rapping in the mid-'90s. (He took his rap name from Los Angeles drug kingpin "Freeway" Rick Ross, who ran one of the largest crack cocaine distribution networks in the country during the '80s and early '90s.) Ross had a brief stint on Suave House Records, former label of Eightball & MJG, before he ended up on Miami-based Slip 'N' Slide Records, the label home of Trick Daddy and Trina. During the early to mid-2000s, he became popular and well-known locally through touring with Trick Daddy and appearing as a guest on a few Slip 'N' Slide releases, but didn't release any solo material until 2006. Once "Hustlin'" caught the ear of a few executives within the national industry, a bidding war ensued that included offers from Bad Boy CEO Sean "Diddy" Combs and The Inc. (formerly Murder Inc) president Irv Gotti. Nonetheless, Def Jam president and veteran rapper Jay-Z signed Ross to a multi-million-dollar deal. The Miami anthem "Hustlin'" went on to receive gold status from RIAA in May 2006 and sold over a million ringtone units before the physical release of his debut album, Port of Miami. Released in August 2006, Ross' debut was Slip 'N' Slide's first project under the Def Jam partnership, and it went to number one on the Billboard album chart. His follow-up, Trilla, was released the following year, prefaced with the Cool & Dre-produced title track. Early 2009 saw the release of Deeper Than Rap, an album greeted with numerous positive reviews in the hip-hop press. In early 2010 he released the Teflon Don album featuring the hit single "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)." The star- studded God Forgives, I Don't followed in 2012, with guest shots from Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige. At the start of 2013, he announced details of his sixth studio album. He enlisted the help of Scott Storch and DJ Khaled as executive producers and released the pre-album single "No Games" featuring Future. The album, titled Mastermind, landed in March of 2014 with the simultaneous release of the single "War Ready" featuring Young Jeezy. Just six months later, Ross announced that he would be releasing his seventh studio album, Hood Billionaire, toward the end of 2014. The album arrived in November that year and was preceded by the singles "Elvis Presley Blvd." and "Keep Doin' That (Rich Bitch)." Album Review - from allmusic With the November release of Hood Billionaire, platinum rapper Rick Ross had put up two albums in 2014, having already dropped the superior effort Mastermind in March. This album's lumbering and epic single, "Elvis Presley Blvd." with Project Pat, also leaked in the summer, making the whole year feel like a Maybach Music festival, where cocaine and caviar were in endless supply. Whether or not this justifies the padding and shagginess found on Hood Billionaire all depends on the listener's hunger for Ross and his slick brand of thug music, and yet the album is quite self-aware, putting a two-minute intro up front to act as hater repellent. Then, there's a taped, jailhouse phone call from Miami dealer Kenneth "Boobie" Williams woven throughout the LP, a hood endorsement that fans will relish as it makes the Ross mythology all the more real, but the real wins here are all the long, stretched-out "Elvis Presley Blvd."-styled bangers and the new creative opportunities they allow. On the hallucinatory, heavy, and haunting "Quintessential," special guest Snoop Dogg sounds truly renewed, and that's even considering his recent reggae rebirth, while "Brimstone," with Big K.R.I.T., is an excellent and organic funkster somewhere in the vicinity of George Clinton's Parliament or Raphael Saadiq. When it comes to the tried and true, "Keep Doin' That (Rich Bitch)" with R. Kelly is inspired by a woman who appreciates both backdoor action and smart real estate buys, as if Caligula and the condo life were longtime friends, then producer Timbaland joins the show with "Movin' Bass," a kinetic highlight in the spirit of "Tom Ford," which also features that track's maker, Jay-Z. Still, being 16 tracks long and Ross' second album of the year means mixtape gimmicks like "Heavyweight" ("I step into the ring/Ding! Ding!") get to graduate to an official track list and muddle up the flow. They only keep the often surprising Hood Billionaire off the top shelf of Ross releases, so bring some patience as this mixed bag is certainly worth sorting. first single: [video=youtube;SzBRjDK5yPg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzBRjDK5yPg[/video] Track Listing 1. Intro 2. Hood Billionaire 3. Coke Like the 80s 4. Heavyweight 5. Neighborhood Drug Dealer 6. Phone Tap 7. Trap Luv 8. Elvis Presley Blvd. 9. Movin' Bass 10. If They Knew 11. Quintessential 12. Keep Doin' That (Rich Bitch) 13. Nickle Rock 14. Burn 15. Family Ties 16. Brimstone