| Hall of Fame | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 11, 2021 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:04 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Polo G chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Hall of Fame | ||||
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Hall of Fame is the third studio album by American rapperPolo G. It was released on June 11, 2021. The album features guest appearances fromthe Kid Laroi,Lil Durk,Lil Wayne,Scorey,G Herbo,Rod Wave,DaBaby,Young Thug,Roddy Ricch,Nicki Minaj, the latePop Smoke, andFivio Foreign. Production was handled byEiner Bankz, Angelo Ferraro, D Mac, Karltin Bankz, Londn Blue, BKH, Synco, Tahj Money, Varohl, & WizardMCE, among others. The deluxe edition,Hall of Fame 2.0, was released on December 3, 2021, with fourteen bonus tracks. It features additional guest appearances fromLil Baby,Moneybagg Yo, Yungliv,NLE Choppa, andLil Tjay.[3]
Hall of Fame debuted atop theBillboard 200, earning 143,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, becoming Polo G's first and only number-one album of his career. The album was supported by four singles, including his first number-one hit on theHot 100, "Rapstar".
In April 2021, Bartlett hinted at a song with fellow Chicago rapperLil Durk and Australian rapperthe Kid Laroi with a recorded music video.[4] In May, he confirmed fellow Chicago rapperG Herbo would appear on the album, withDJ Scheme previewing a snippet of their song during an Instagram live.[5]
On May 16, 2021, Polo took to Twitter to confirm that he had finished recording the album.[6][7]
The album's artwork was created by art director Zanic, and features Polo G in a suit standing at a podium with platinum plaques for his prior albums behind him, and a bust of Polo G.[8]
In September 2020, Polo released the album's lead single "Epidemic".[9] It peaked at number 47 on the USBillboard Hot 100.
On February 5, 2021, he released the album's second single "GNF (OKOKOK)".[10] The song peaked number 55 on theBillboard Hot 100. On April 9, he released the third single "Rapstar".[11] The song peaked number 1 on theBillboard Hot 100, marking the song being his first number-one single in his career. "Rapstar" was previously previewed back in May 2020 in a YouTube video in which Polo and the song's co-producerEiner Bankz performed an acoustic version of the song. The song was then announced two days prior to its release with Polo posting a teaser for the music video. On May 21, "Rapstar" wascertified platinum[12] and the same day he released the album's fourth single, "Gang Gang" featuringLil Wayne.[13] The song peaked number 33 on theBillboard Hot 100. On May 27, Polo released a teaser trailer for the album which also revealed its release date of June 11, 2021, and features a snippet of a new song coined "Lil Wooski" by fans with an option to pre-save the album for all streaming services.[14] On June 2, Polo posted an Instagram video teasing another song from the album with the caption "Toxic", indicating the song's title.[15] On December 3, 2021 Polo released a Deluxe version of the album with 14 additional tracks featured on it.[16]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [17] |
| HipHopDX | 8/10[18] |
| Pitchfork | 7.0/10[2] |
| Riff Magazine | 9/10[19] |
Hall of Fame was met with critical acclaim upon release.Pitchfork writer Matthew Ismael Ruiz said in his review of the project: "The Chicago rapper steps further into the mainstream on his third album, an ultimately hopeful exploration of how trauma manifests".[2] Fred Thomas fromAllmusic also stated that "Hall of Fame swims even further into the mainstream, offering more of Polo G's catchy if painful reflections over more accessible and pop-minded production. Even still, Some ofHall of Fame's best moments come when Polo G is in his original element, like when he's commiserating with fellow pain rapper Rod Wave on 'Heart of a Giant' or trying on more aggressive approaches on the short but ruthless 'GNF (OKOKOK)'."[20]
Hall of Fame debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200 chart, earning 143,000album-equivalent units (including 18,000 copies as traditional album sales) in its first week.[21] The album also accumulated a total of 181.9 million on-demand streams of the album's songs during that week.[21] During the week of September 3, 2021 the album sold 17,100 equivalent units bringing its cumulative total to 514,100.[citation needed]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Painting Pictures" |
| 2:17 | |
| 2. | "Rapstar" |
|
| 2:46 |
| 3. | "No Return" (featuringthe Kid Laroi andLil Durk) |
|
| 2:48 |
| 4. | "Toxic" | Bartlett |
| 2:11 |
| 5. | "Epidemic" |
|
| 2:57 |
| 6. | "Gang Gang" (withLil Wayne) |
| Angelo Ferraro | 2:59 |
| 7. | "Boom" | Bartlett |
| 2:06 |
| 8. | "Black Hearted" | Bartlett |
| 3:10 |
| 9. | "Broken Guitars" (featuringScorey) |
|
| 2:08 |
| 10. | "GNF (OKOKOK)" | Bartlett |
| 1:56 |
| 11. | "Go Part 1" (featuringG Herbo) |
| Kid Culture | 2:41 |
| 12. | "Heart of a Giant" (featuringRod Wave) |
| BKH Beats | 2:48 |
| 13. | "Zooted Freestyle" | Bartlett | 2:12 | |
| 14. | "Party Lyfe" (featuringDaBaby) |
|
| 2:51 |
| 15. | "Losses" (featuringYoung Thug) |
|
| 2:54 |
| 16. | "So Real" | Bartlett | SephGotTheWaves | 2:44 |
| 17. | "Fame & Riches" (featuringRoddy Ricch) |
| WizardMCE | 2:31 |
| 18. | "For the Love of New York" (withNicki Minaj) |
|
| 2:55 |
| 19. | "Clueless" (featuringPop Smoke andFivio Foreign) |
| Axl Beats | 2:45 |
| 20. | "Bloody Canvas" | Bartlett |
| 4:25 |
| Total length: | 54:04 | |||
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[48] | 2× Platinum | 160,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[49] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[50] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[51] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
