Rich Boy (album)

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Rich Boy
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 13, 2007
Recorded2006–2007
Genre
Length68:01
Label
Producer
Rich Boy chronology
Rich Boy
(2007)
Break the Pot
(2014)
Singles from Rich Boy
  1. "Throw Some D's"
    Released: August 15, 2006
  2. "Boy Looka Here"
    Released: February 14, 2007

Rich Boy is the eponymous debut studio album by American rapper Rich Boy, released on March 13, 2007 through Interscope and Zone 4. The album was supported by Rich Boy's smash hit debut single, "Throw Some D's" produced by and featuring Polow da Don, which peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The remix of "Throw Some D's" appears on this album and features Nelly, Jim Jones, Andre 3000, The Game, Murphy Lee and Lil Jon.

The album debuted and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 with 112,000 copies sold in its first week.[1] By the week of June 17, 2007, 332,000 copies had been sold.[2]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About[3]
AbsolutePunk(49%)[4]
AllMusic[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[6]
HipHopDX[7]
Pitchfork7.5/10[8]
PopMatters[9]
RapReviews5/10[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
XXL (L)[12]

Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly gave praise to Rich's vocal delivery and Polow's "intricate, varied, and unfailingly catchy instrumentals" for masking the "occasional lapses into generic macho posturing" throughout the lyrics.[6] Jonathan Ringen of Rolling Stone noted how the record follows the Young Jeezy template ("a hypnotic flow, vivid details, synth-soaked beats") but with a more varied list of topics. He also gave credit to Polow's production, singling out "Boy Looka Here" for being a "menacing banger".[11] Pitchfork contributor Tom Breihan said, "[T]he album's stunning, high-impact production fits it into the recent tradition of epic, monolithic Southern-rap albums like Young Buck's Straight Outta Ca$hville and Young Jeezy's Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, but more than those albums, it's the work of one idiosyncratic creative mind. Polow [da Don] is just now finding his voice, and he's got a great career ahead of him. If Rich Boy is lucky, he'll stay along for the ride."[8]

XXL's Paul Cantor credited Rich on "Boy Looka Here" and "Ghetto Rich" for showcasing both his swagger and introspection but felt he falters on "What It Do" and "Lost Girls" when the production either reveals his lyrical flaws or dilutes his given message, concluding that "Sprinkled with a few more moments of clarity, Rich Boy has enough hits to make it worthy of throwin' some cheese on it."[12] J-23 of HipHopDX praised Polow for creating bangers like "Boy Looka Here" and "Touch That Ass" that match Rich's style to perfection but was critical of the latter's rapping talents being exposed by filler tracks, guest artists and producers, concluding that "Rich Boy ends up being a pretty good album, but it probably should have been titled Polow Da Don as he really deserves the bulk of the credit. The album may be good, but a cookie cutter rapper like Rich Boy is going to have less shelf live than his album will."[7]

AllMusic's Andy Kellman commended Rich's unique vocalization and the production, highlighting Brian Kidd's contribution on "Get to Poppin'", but concluded that the album wears thin with stagnant beats and "uninspired variations on the rampant materialism done so effectively on "Throw Some D's.""[5] Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews criticized Rich's "monotonous thuggery delivered with an excessively thick accent" and Polow's production having a "night and day" unevenness throughout the record.[10] PopMatters contributor Gentry Boeckel felt that Polow and Brian Kidd overshadow Rich throughout the album with their contributions instead of helping him craft a unique image, concluding that, "Both as an artist and a persona, Rich Boy lives up to his name, with the best thing one can say about him is that he has a certain get-rich-quick innocence, a certain naive hunger to succeed. Too bad that success depends so much on his collaborators."[9] Reptilia of AbsolutePunk was also critical of Rich's lyricism ruining Polow's catchy beats, concluding that, "Too much of Rich Boy's style is playing up the same "gangsta" stereotypes and not really doing anything to distance his flow and his lack of profound or at least interesting rhyme from anybody else's in the modern rap scene. And unfortunately, the Polow Show doesn't cover those flaws."[4]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Madness"Marece RichardsRich Boy3:04
2."Role Models" (featuring Attitude and David Banner)
3:49
3."Boy Looka Here"
  • Richards
  • Jones
Polow da Don3:51
4."Throw Some D's" (featuring Polow da Don)
  • Polow da Don
  • Butta
4:23
5."What It Do" (featuring Lil Jon, Sean P & Cutty Cartel) Lil Jon3:42
6."Good Things" (featuring Polow da Don and Keri Hilson) 
4:22
7."Hustla Balla Gangsta Mack" Brian Kidd4:06
8."Touch That Ass" Polow da Don3:45
9."On the Regular" Polow da Don3:39
10."Gangsta (Interlude)" Needlz2:42
11."Get to Poppin'" (featuring Mark Twain) Brian Kidd3:18
12."And I Love You" (featuring Big Boi and Pastor Troy) Mr. DJ4:31
13."Lost Girls" (featuring Keri Hilson and Rock City) 
  • Polow da Don
  • Aqua
3:57
14."Ghetto Rich" (featuring John Legend) Polow da Don4:02
15."Let's Get This Paper" Polow da Don8:58
16."Throw Some D's (Remix)" (featuring André 3000, Jim Jones, Murphy Lee, Nelly and Game) Lil Jon5:51

Charts[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hasty, Katie (March 21, 2007). "Musiq, Lloyd Usher Six Big Debuts Onto Album Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
  2. ^ Kuperstein, Slava (June 20, 2007). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Week Ending 6/17/2007". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
  3. ^ Rich Boy – Rich Boy (Interscope). about.com
  4. ^ a b Reptilia (January 26, 2008). "Rich Boy – Rich Boy". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Rich Boy - Rich Boy". AllMusic. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Vozick-Levinson, Simon (March 30, 2007). "Rich Boy". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  7. ^ a b J-23 (March 16, 2007). "Rich Boy - Rich Boy". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on March 19, 2007. Retrieved February 8, 2012.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (March 30, 2007). "Rich Boy: Rich Boy". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Boeckel, Gentry (May 7, 2007). "Rich Boy: Rich Boy". PopMatters. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Juon, Steve 'Flash' (March 13, 2007). "Rich Boy :: Rich Boy :: Zone 4/Interscope". RapReviews. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Ringen, Jonathan (March 20, 2007). "Rich Boy : Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on May 26, 2007. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Cantor, Paul (April 2, 2007). "Rich Boy - Rich Boy". XXL. Harris Publications. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  13. ^ "Rich Boy Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Rich Boy Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Rich Boy Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2020.