The story of Mobile, Alabama, native Rich Boy and his rise to stardom involves a bit of irony. After meeting Atlanta producer Polow Da Don, Rich Boy handed over a demo CD of his production work. Several days later the phone rang, and it was Polow. Without even hearing his skills on a microphone, he suggested Rich Boy fly to Georgia. Joining Polow’s Zone 4 Entertainment, the two worked a deal with industry giant Interscope. The signing helped Rich Boy hone his sound and in turn allowed Polow the chance to showcase his production skills.
While Rich Boy’s self-titled debut album is considered a solo project, it shouldn’t be. The album boasts a sixteen song track listing, eight of which are produced by Polow Da Don. The other eight songs, produced by a plethora of industry veterans (Lil’ Jon, Needlz) and savvy newcomers (Brian Kidd, Aqua) might not include Polow in the liner notes, but certainly ooze his creative sound. On both the chart topping single, Throw Some D’s, and on track number fourteen, Ghetto Rich ft. John Legend, it is evident why Polow Da Don has received work from the industries’ top flight acts (Ciara, Young Buck.)
As an MC Rich Boy has a ton of growth yet to experience. At 22-years old he hasn’t rapped long enough to hone a skill set worth bragging about to his industry peers. Although he lacks in delivery and tempo, Rich Boy more than makes up for his shortcomings with creative lyricism and a vibrant energy . The best example of which can be found on the song Let’s Get This Paper. Over a wavering synthesizer and random trumpet blasts, courtesy of his Polow, Rich Boy speeds up his usually laid-back flow and unloads what seems to be a lot of pent up emotion. Changing the style of his rhyme several times throughout the almost nine minute song [which includes a hidden track], Rich Boy displays a courageous display of heart – an almost forgotten element in today’s new music.
What many rap artists attempt to do, that Rich Boy excels at on his self-titled debut, is diversify his content without being all over the place. Transitioning from radio ready material (Boy Looka Here, Good Things) to street anthems (Hustla Ball Gangsta Mack, And I Love You) is never an easy task, but on this album flawless maneuvering allows the listener to never skip a track or Rich Boy to look as though he missed a beat. Who knew that a production demo would eventually grant Rich Boy a major label album drop and in turn, help the man who signed him take off as the next ‘it’ producer?
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