''Boss of All Bosses'' is the second solo

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 ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rapper

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'". In July 2005, h ...

from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It was released on March 24, 2009, by his Boss Hogg Outlawz label, distributed by

E1 Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had b ...

. The album features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from

Mannie Fresh Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American music producer and rapper. He's best known for his productions on Cash Money Records releases, as well being half of the hip hop duo (alongside ...

Z-Ro Joseph Wayne McVey IV (born January 19, 1977), better known by his stage names Z-Ro and the Mo City Don, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by ''The New York Times'' in 2007. Early li ...

, Mike Jones, Scarface and

UGK UGK (short for Underground Kingz) was an American hip hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by Chad "Pimp C" Butler and Bernard "Bun B" Freeman. They released their first major-label album, ''Too Hard to Swallow'', in 1992, followe ...

, while the production on the album was primarily handled by Mr. Lee, along with several producers, including

Jim Jonsin James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), professionally known as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer, songwriter, businessman and DJ from South Florida. Jonsin has collaborated with numerous artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, ...

, Mr. Rogers, and Bigg Tyme, among others. Upon its release, the album was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics and publications. ''Boss of All Bosses'' debuted at number 15 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 32,000 copies in its first week.

Singles

The album's lead single, titled " I Run" was released on November 11, 2008. The song features

guest vocal In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

s from American hip hop recording artist

Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixta ...

, with a production on the song being handled by

. This song contains a sample of the chorus, of which was based on the song "

I Ran (So Far Away) "I Ran (So Far Away)", also released as "I Ran", is a song by English new wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released in 1982 as their third single and it was the second single from their self-titled debut album. It topped the chart in ...

" performed by

A Flock of Seagulls A Flock of Seagulls are an English new wave band formed in Liverpool in 1979. The group, whose best-known line-up comprised Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, hit the peak of their chart success in the early 1980s. The ...

, but with different lyrics ("I run the streets all night and day"). The album's second single, "Thug" was released on November 17, 2009. The song was produced by Mr. Lee.

Critical reception

''Boss of All Bosses'' received a generally positive reception from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

who saw it as an improvement over his major label debut ''

Already Platinum ''Already Platinum'' is the debut album by American rapper Slim Thug. The album was released on July 12, 2005 on Pharrell and Chad Hugo's Star Trak label. The original release date was slated for February 2005, but heavy bootlegging and numerous ...

''.

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 ...

's David Jeffries praised the album for being a return to Slim's early mixtape years, concluding that "this raw album is a welcome throwback that no longtime fan should be without." Pedro Hernandez of ''RapReviews'' praised the production for being a return to the Southern sound and Slim for expressing his voice through different topics throughout the whole album, saying that it "sounds like the triumphant introduction to Thug's unique brand of Texas rap rather than Thug trying to conform to the current trends." DJBooth gave a mixed review of the album, saying that some of the songs' lyrical material and production was given some flair but others felt by-the-numbers despite Slim's performance, concluding that, "All things considered, Slim Thug can still maintain his administrative position in the game despite this sophomore slump."

Track listing

;Notes * "Smile" features additional vocals by J. Lacy. ;Sample credits * "I Run" contains a sample of "I Ran (So Far Away)" performed by

. * "Top Drop" contains a sample of "Love Is What You Make It" performed by Masterpiece. * "Thug" contains a sample of "Eazy-Duz-It" performed by

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

. * "My Bitch" contains a sample of "Faded Pictures" performed by

Case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods), a package of related merchandise * Cartridge case or casing, a firearm cartridge component * Bookcase, a piece of furniture used to store books * Briefcase or attaché case, a narrow box to c ...

and

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

. * "Hard" contains a sample of "Hard Knocks" performed by

Marc Broussard Marc Broussard (born January 14, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter. His style is best described as "Bayou Soul", a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock and pop, matched with distinct Southern roots. He has released eight studio albums, one liv ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2009 albums E1 Music albums Slim Thug albums Albums produced by Jim Jonsin Albums produced by Mannie Fresh