Road to the Riches

Road to the Riches
Studio album by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo
Released	March 14, 1989
Recorded	1988
Genre	Golden age hip hop, East Coast hip hop, Mafioso Rap
Length	46:40
Label	Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. Records 25820
Producer	Marley Marl
Professional reviews
Allmusic [1] Answers.com [2] Robert Christgau (B+) [3] Rolling Stone [4] RapReviews (9/10) [5] Rhapsody (Favourable) [6] Trouser Press (Favorable) [7]
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo chronology
Road To The Riches (1989) Wanted: Dead or Alive (1990)

Road to the Riches is the debut album from hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, released in 1989 on then-prominent rap label Cold Chillin' Records. The album is notable in that it set off the Mafioso Rap trend with the title-cut track; "Road to the Riches" which received strong rotation on the TV show Yo! MTV Raps, and was later featured on the Classic hip hop Radio Station Playback FM from the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Other popular songs included "It's A Demo" and "Poison". In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums^[8]

Album Information

Kool G Rap and DJ Polo were flagship members of the legendary Juice Crew, led by producer Marley Marl. The two first premiered on Mr. Magic's Rap Attack radio show on 107.5 in 1986 with their 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. The album wasn't released until early 1989. The album showcases G Rap's signature multisyllabic rhyme style with lyric topics ranging from Mafioso, materialism, bragadocio, 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 genera, laying the groundwork for future rap stars such as; Scarface, Raekwon, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., AZ, and Nas, among others. Also, according to the linear notes in The Roots's Phrenology, "Men at Work" was the song that brought the group together during a lunch period at their high school.

Track listing

2006 Re-release Track listing

Disc 1

Disc 2

Samples Used

• The title track features a sample from Billy Joel's album 52nd Street. The track sampled, "Stiletto", precedes the hit track "My Life", and is used as a lead-in for the aforementioned song's music video.
• The song "Cars" is a semi-cover of the Gary Numan song of the same name.

Later Samples

• "Road to Riches"
  • "Disciple" by Nas from the album Street's Disciple
• "Truly Yours"
  • "Go With The Flow" by MF Doom from the album "Operation: Doomsday"

Chart Positions

Album

Singles

References