Bawse. Only one name, and voice, comes to mind for hip-hop fans when they read that word, which is Rick Ross. The MMG label head has had a career-changing, and even life-changing year in 2014, and fans have been able to grow with him in his music empire. After dropping Mastermind earlier this year, which was met with rave reviews from fans and critics, hip-hop seemed pretty satisfied after his lengthy two-year hiatus from album-dropping. When it was announced a couple of months ago that Rozay would be dropping a second album in the same year, the upcoming Hood Billionaire, it was met with some not-so-pleased opinions. Why the rush? Why now? Many fans have been wondering what is the strategy to dropping another project, after Mastermind still hasn’t been fully digested by the hip-hop community.

Over the years, we have all seen Ross grow and improve, with his sound broadening more and more each project. That’s probably the one thing people understand about a Ross album, is that there is a recipe to creating each one to be equal, but still different. We can always expect some big-name features, a couple trap songs thrown in, as well as a club banger or two for the ladies on a Rick Ross album, and it hasn’t disappointed in awhile. Hood Billionaire is said to be not far off from that same recipe, and is coming into the aftermath from a crazy turn-up summer. That might just be what hip-hop needs. See some of the reasons why you should give Hood Billionaire a chance on the following pages. –Lindsey India