''Plata O Plomo'' is the collaborative

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American rappers

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

and

Remy Ma Reminisce Mackie ( Smith; born May 30, 1980), known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. Discovered by Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad. In 2006, she released her debut stud ...

, released February 17, 2017 by RNG (Rap's New Generation) and

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

Background

The title of the album, "plata o plomo", translates from Spanish to "silver or lead", meaning "money or bullets". The phrase was used by Colombian drug lord

Pablo Escobar Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist who was the founder and sole leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed "the king of cocaine", Escobar is the wealthiest criminal in h ...

who would offer government officials and law enforcement the choice of taking a bribe, or having a murder contract placed against them. Fat Joe commented: "the name of the album is called Plata o Plomo... money or bullets. You know what I'm saying? However you want it."

Critical response

Neil Yeung of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising the album for its mix of old school hip-hop with a new modern radio-friendly sound, saying that the album "plays like a mixtape (or playlist) with a wide variety of club-friendly hip-hop that often tugs on '90s nostalgia heartstrings while updating their sound with 2017 production". ''XXL'' gave the album a 4 out of 5 stars, noting that the album is a "a triumphant return for Fat Joe and Remy Ma. Scott Glaysher of

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

gave the album a 3.2 out of 5 stars, saying "Plata O Plomo was definitely made with the right intentions and features some solid rapping but the most memorable moment remains “All the Way Up” which has since been inducted into Hip Hop's overplayed archives." In a negative review, Evan Rytlewski of

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

gave the album a 5.3 out of 10, and also said "On this collaborative LP, their hard styles are too similar to make for a compelling dynamic."

Commercial performance

''Plata O Plomo'' debuted at number 44 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, earning 11,158

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...

s in its first week. The album also debuted at number 19 on the US

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart and number three on the US

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...

charts respectively.

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plata O Plomo 2017 albums E1 Music albums Fat Joe albums Remy Ma albums Collaborative albums Albums produced by Cool & Dre Empire Distribution albums