Story by Isong Maro / Contributing Writer
New-wave rap artist and label owner Rich The Kid, often fondly referred to as “the fourth Migo” due to his relationship with the Atlanta rap group, has released his debut album, “The World Is Yours.” The album’s title and artwork appear to be a lofty shoutout to Al Pacino’s “Scarface,” the “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” video game and the ‘80s Mafioso era in general. The album was prefaced by the successful “New Freezer” single that features Kendrick Lamar and spurned the viral New Freezer online challenge.
Collaboration runs deep on this project, with artist guest spots including Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Offset and Quavo of Migos, Khalid and a slew of others, including a few from Rich’s label roster. Rich also works with multiple producers here, including Metro Boomin, WondaGurl, DJ Mustard and his label’s in-house producer, The Lab Cook.
The album is, for the most part, standard new-wave rap. It contains a few head bops and bangers here and there—the aforementioned “New Freezer” is one of such. “Plug Walk,” produced by The Lab Cook, is another. The track “Lost It,” which features Quavo and Offset is another possible party favorite, but beyond these the album scarcely offers much else.
Despite being considerably shorter in length at 14 tracks compared to the similar release, “Culture II” by Migos earlier this year, this album contains too many filler, unnecessary tracks. “Too Gone,” featuring Khalid, is at best a poorly structured effort with a decent hook, and at worst a lazy and insincere ready-for-radio single. The Lil Wayne feature on “End Of Discussion” is somewhat noteworthy even though the song itself is not.
Lyricism has never been a big focus of the new-wave rap scene, so lyrics, metaphors or incredible punchlines were never the draws going into this album. The new-wave rap scene was built on melodic and moody sonic landscapes and production; however, this project does not do enough to highlight the features that have made the developing genre such a force in contemporary music. What this album does do is showcase that this is indeed an era of producers and beat-makers in hip-hop. Having the right beat sets the tone for whether a song is a hit or not, and it is the artists who possess an ear for beat selection that thrive.
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