Rich Slave is the fifth solo studio album by American rapper Young Dolph and his last studio album to be released during his lifetime. It was released on August 14, 2020, through his label Paper Route Empire. The production on the album was primarily handled by Bandplay with additional production by Juicy J, Supah Mario, Cassius Jay, King MugZi and others. The album features guest appearances from G Herbo, Key Glock and Megan Thee Stallion. Dolph explained the album's title, stating "It's the reality of being Black in this country".[1]
| Rich Slave | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Standard cover art. Deluxe edition features a black and white cover. | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 14, 2020 | |||
| Length | 49:32 | |||
| Label | Paper Route Empire | |||
| Producer |
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| Young Dolph chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rich Slave | ||||
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Rich Slave was preceded by four singles: "RNB" featuring Megan Thee Stallion, "Blue Diamonds", "Death Row" and "Large Amounts". The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. It debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200, earning 65,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, marking Dolph's highest-charting project. It also charted at number 84 on the Canadian Albums Chart.
Promotion
editOn August 2, 2020, Young Dolph announced that he would be releasing his fifth studio album, Rich Slave on August 14, 2020. He also made the album available for pre-order on all platforms including his website.[2] Dolph also announced that he would be giving away his blue and tangerine coloured Lamborghini Aventador to a lucky fan who pre-ordered the album.[2] He stated, "Last week I walked in the garage to get on my 4wheeler and I looked at my Lambo and said to myself 'Dolph u should give someone your aventador and let them enjoy it, u not doin nothin wit it'."[2] The car's retail price was approximately valued at $417,826.[3]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
Tom Breihan of Stereogum praised Young Dolph, labelling him as a "cult hero". Breihan also spoke on the album's political aspects and Dolph's use of the term "slave", saying "anytime a Black artist uses 'slave' in a title, a whole lot of history goes into it." Breihan described the album as incidentally political but not overstated, saying that "Dolph hints at that history all through the album." Breihan also praised the production, saying that "the beats on Rich Slave are big and warm and solid." Ultimately, Breihan said it "works because it's a strong rapper talking strong shit over strong beats." He also regarded it as "one of the most purely enjoyable rap records I've heard this year."[5]
Commercial performance
editRich Slave debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 65,000 album-equivalent units (including 32,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.[6] This became Young Dolph's second US top-ten debut on the chart and his highest first-week sales to date.[6] Physical sales for the album were boosted by offering merchandise/album bundles via his website.[6] The album also accumulated a total of 44.31 million on-demand streams of the set's songs.[6]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hold Up Hold Up Hold Up" | Adolph Thornton Jr. | Bandplay | 4:01 |
| 2. | "Black Friday" | Thornton Jr. | Young Dolph | 2:01 |
| 3. | "To Be Honest" | Thornton Jr. | Juicy J | 2:39 |
| 4. | "I See $'s" | Thornton Jr. |
| |
| 5. | "Corduroy Houseshoes" (Skit) | Thornton Jr. | Young Dolph | 2:22 |
| 6. | "What's da Bizness" | Thornton Jr. | Sosa 808 | 2:21 |
| 7. | "The Land" | Thornton Jr. |
| 2:37 |
| 8. | "Death Row" | Thornton Jr. | Bandplay | 3:12 |
| 9. | "Cray Cray" | Thornton Jr. | Bandplay | 2:25 |
| 10. | "RNB" (featuring Megan Thee Stallion) |
|
| 3:31 |
| 11. | "Rich Slave" | Thornton Jr. | Drumma Boy | 2:06 |
| 12. | "Until It Rot" | Thornton Jr. | Bandplay | 2:53 |
| 13. | "Blue Diamonds" | Thornton Jr. | Sosa808 | 3:12 |
| 14. | "No Sense" (featuring Key Glock) |
|
| 2:20 |
| 15. | "Benz" | Thornton Jr. |
| 3:28 |
| 16. | "1 Scale" (featuring G Herbo) |
| Bandplay | 2:56 |
| Total length: | 49:32 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17. | "Large Amounts" | Thornton Jr. | Bandplay | 3:25 |
| 18. | "Fast" | Thornton Jr. |
| 3:46 |
| 19. | "Gimme My Bag" | Thornton Jr. |
| 2:46 |
| 20. | "Green Light" (featuring Key Glock) |
| Bandplay | 2:43 |
| 21. | "Scotch" | Thornton Jr. | Bandplay | 3:21 |
| 22. | "Obey Your Thirst" | Thornton Jr. |
| 4:08 |
| 23. | "No Regrets" (featuring Kenny Muney) |
| Bandplay | 3:21 |
| 24. | "Buy My Way in Heaven" | Thornton Jr. | 3:18 | |
| Total length: | 1:11:40 | |||
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
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Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[14] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Mahadevan, Tara C. (August 12, 2020). "Young Dolph Releases New Song "Death Row" From Forthcoming Album 'Rich Slave'". Complex. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
- ^ a b c Wongo Okon (August 2, 2020). "Young Dolph Prepares His 'Rich Slave' Album With A Lamborghini Giveaway". Uproxx. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ Trey Alston (August 20, 2020). "12 Years a Dolph". Paper. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ Thomas, Fred. "Rich Slave - Young Dolph | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ Tom Breihan (August 19, 2020). "Young Dolph Is Very Good At Rapping". Stereogum. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Keith Caulfield (August 23, 2020). "Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' Rules for Fourth Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ "Young Dolph Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "Young Dolph Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "Young Dolph Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "Young Dolph Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "Top Current Album Sales – Year-End 2020". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "American album certifications – Young Dolph – Rich Slave". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
External links
edit- Young Dolph – Rich Slave at Discogs (list of releases)