Road to the Riches

Last updated

Road to the Riches
Roadtotheriches.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 14, 1989
Genre
Length47:49
Label
Producer Marley Marl
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo chronology
Road to the Riches
(1989)
Wanted: Dead or Alive
(1990)
Singles from Road to the Riches
  1. "Poison"
    Released: Summer 1988
  2. "Road to the Riches"
    Released: October 1988
  3. "Truly Yours"
    Released: 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
NME 5/10 [2]
RapReviews9/10 [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Village Voice B+ [5]

Road to the Riches is the debut album by hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, which was released in 1989 on then-prominent hip hop label Cold Chillin' Records. The album is notable for being one of the blueprints for the mafioso rap trend with the title track "Road to the Riches," which received strong rotation on the TV show Yo! MTV Raps , and was later featured on the old-school hip hop radio station Playback FM from the 2004 game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . Most of the songs, however, are not crime-related. Other popular songs included "It's a Demo" and "Poison." In 1998, Road to the Riches was selected as one of The Source 's "100 Best Albums". [6]

Contents

Album information

Kool G Rap and DJ Polo were members of the legendary Juice Crew, led by producer Marley Marl. The duo first premiered on Mr. Magic's Rap Attack radio show on 107.5 in 1986 with its first single "It's A Demo." They spent the next few years releasing singles, and eventually wrote and recorded Road to the Riches in 1988, but wasn't released until early 1989. The album showcases G Rap's signature multisyllabic rhyme style with lyric topics ranging from crime, materialism, braggadocio, to love. The production was entirely handled by fellow juice Crew member Marley Marl, who provided a more hard-edged style of production than that of his previous work.

Road to the Riches is often cited as the beginning of the mafioso rap genre, laying the groundwork for future hip hop stars such as Scarface, Nas, Raekwon, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., and AZ, among others, however the bulk of the album features battle rap lyrics similar to Big Daddy Kane or Rakim without the explicit mafioso or gangsta rap subjects of the title track. G Rap would begin expanding his vivid storytelling and organized crime themes on his next album, Wanted: Dead or Alive and especially on 1992's Live and Let Die .

According to the liner notes in the Roots' Phrenology , "Men at Work" was the song that brought the group together during a lunch period at their high school.

Track listing

#TitleSongwritersPerformer (s)Length
1"Road to the Riches"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap 4:48
2"It's a Demo"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap 4:27
3"Men at Work"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap 5:02
4"Truly Yours"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap 5:07
5"Cars"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap 3:07
6"Trilogy of Terror"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap 2:40
7"She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap 5:21
8"Cold Cuts"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
DJ Polo 3:52
9"Rhymes I Express"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap 3:47
10"Poison"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap 4:45
11"Butcher Shop" (CD version only)
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap 3:44

2006 re-release track listing

Disc 1

#TitleSongwritersPerformer(s)
1"Road to the Riches"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
2"It's a Demo"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
3"Men at Work"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
4"Truly Yours"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
5"Cars"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
6"Trilogy of Terror"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
7"She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
8"Cold Cuts"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
DJ Polo
9"Rhymes I Express"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
10"Poison"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
11"Butcher Shop"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
12"Radio Album Introduction"N. Wilson
13"Radio Freestyle"
  • N. Wilson
  • Craig Morgan
14"Radio Interview"
15"Riker's Island Radio Promo"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
16"Raw (Demo Version)"
  • N. Wilson
  • Antonio Hardy

Disc 2

#TitleSongwritersPerformer(s)
1"It's A Demo (Original 12" Version)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
2"I'm Fly (Original 12" Version)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
3"Riker's Island (Original 12" Version)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
4"Rhyme Tyme (Original 12" Version)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
5"Poison (Hip Hop Version)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
6"Poison (Dub Version)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
7"Poison (Remix)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
8"Men At Work (Extended Version)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap
9"It's A Demo (Original 12" Version Instrumental)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
10"I'm Fly (Original 12" Version Instrumental)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
11"Riker's Island (Original 12" Version Instrumental)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
12"Men At Work (Extended Instrumental)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
13"She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not (Instrumental)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
14"Men At Work (Acapella)"
  • N. Wilson
  • M. Williams
Kool G Rap

Later samples

Charts

Chart (1989)Peak
position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [7] 29

References

  1. Kellman, Andy. "Road to the Riches – Kool G Rap & DJ Polo". AllMusic . Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  2. Woodbridge, Joe (April 8, 1989). "Kool G Rap & DJ Polo: Road to the Riches". NME . p. 33.
  3. Pitt, Vern (May 6, 2008). "Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo :: Road to the Riches :: Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. Records". RapReviews. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  4. Caramanica, Jon (2004). "Kool G Rap & DJ Polo". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  465–466. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  5. Christgau, Robert (June 27, 1989). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  6. "100 Best Albums". The Source . No. 100. January 1998.
  7. "Kool G Rap Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2017.