''Rich Slave'' is the fifth solo studio album by American rapper

Young Dolph Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. (July 27, 1985 – November 17, 2021), better known by his stage name Young Dolph, was an American rapper. In 2016, he released his debut studio album, '' King of Memphis'', which peaked at number 49 on the ''Billboar ...

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 Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, established i ...

, Supah Mario, Cassius Jay and others. The album features guest appearances from

G Herbo Herbert Randall Wright III (born October 8, 1995), better known by his stage name G Herbo (formerly Lil Herb), is an American rapper from Chicago. G Herbo is signed to Machine Entertainment Group. He has released the mixtapes '' Welcome to Faz ...

Key Glock Markeyvius LaShun Cathey (born August 3, 1997), better known by his stage name Key Glock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. A protégé of Young Dolph, he rose to fame in 2017 with his mixtape ''Glock Season''. He is ...

and

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper and songwriter. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her ...

. Dolph explained the album's title, stating "It's the reality of being

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

in this country". ''Rich Slave'' was preceded by four singles: "

RNB Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

" 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 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, marking Dolph's highest-charting project. It also charted at number 84 on the

Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...

Promotion

On 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. Dolph also announced that he would be giving away his blue and tangerine coloured

Lamborghini Aventador The Lamborghini Aventador () is a mid-engine sportscar produced by the Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini. In keeping with Lamborghini tradition, the Aventador is named after a Spanish fighting bull that fought in Zaragoza, Aragón in ...

to a lucky fan who pre-ordered the album. 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'. The car's retail price was approximately valued at $417,826.

Critical reception

Tom Breihan of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' 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."

Commercial performance

''Rich Slave'' debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, earning 65,000

s (including 32,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week. This became Young Dolph's second US top-ten debut on the chart and his highest first-week sales to date. Physical sales for the album were boosted by offering merchandise/album bundles via his website. The album also accumulated a total of 44.31 million on-demand streams of the set's songs.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2020 albums Young Dolph albums Albums produced by Juicy J Empire Distribution albums Albums produced by Drumma Boy