I am always late when it comes to listening to Ross records but in the case of “Hood Billionaire” I am glad that I did not sleep for too long. This album plays like a classic Ross mixtape and is not crowded with guests like it’s predecessor “Mastermind”. The beats Ross chose fit the boastful and boisterous LP : from Metro Boomin’s opiate-laced keys on the Future assisted “ Neighborhood Drug Dealer ” to the futuristic Timbaland &Jay-z collabo “Movin Bass”, Ross keeps the sonics avant-garde while dipping into a trunk rattling Memphis influence on slapper’s like “ Elvis Presley Blvd.” (Featuring Project Pat at his most ignorant and intricate) and “Trap Luv” which features an emotional Yo Gotti verse which continues the line of Rozaybringing the best out of the Memphis Mc’s bars in particular.Even the obligatpry R&B cuts are not too shabby on this one. R.Kelly and K.Michelle were great additions to this album , staying in their Lane on their respective songs and thankfully this lovey-dovey section was not dragged out unlike on Ross’ “God Forgives I Don’t” for example. The Snoop feature was dope on the song featuring my favorite word as the title, “ Quintessential ” - giving listeners just that : Ross on decadence and Snoop on gangbanging both as boastful as can be. Matter of fact the whole of Hood Billionaire is just that :as boastful as can be. And how could Ross not be? as practically every track ends with the title of the album like an advertisement reminder for a championship that as the MMG tag blares on the intro of almost each song, you damn near feel like you helped win! Even as Boosie & Ross brag about killing someone over a $5 bag of crack on “Nickel Rock” and all the other heinous acts described in this record , you still can’t help but root for the villain here. I’m not even a Meek Mill fan, but after hearing Ross speak on his labelmate’s imprisonment on this record I was almost ready to yell “Free Meek” at the end of the R.Kelly joint, even though as of this writing, Meek has been back on the streets.Yes, the bars are repetitive and degenerative.the lyrics on this Rozay LP are far from the genius of Teflon Don, but it does not matter, as the LP closes with a modern day negro spiritual provided by Country Cousin Big KRIT and Zimmerman threats on a “Burn” more scathing than Meek Mill and Big Sean’’s - “Hood Billionaire” is Ross in trap mode : as paranoid and cut throat as “Phone Tap” yet still prideful in the face of danger rapping on damn near every other song on this record about driving bulletproof cars like Ross slimmed down enough to fit in Bruce Wayne’s batsuit and claming that he loves the trap so much that he bought a mansion “right across the street ” This is blaxplotation on wax. At it’s funnest. Hell, even I could not resist reciting “Elvis Presley Blvd.” when it started to play, and that’s what good music is all about - illiciting positive emotion out of listeners, and “Hood Billionaire” definitely raised a positive reaction out of me.