Rich Slave is the fifth solo studio album by American rapperYoung Dolph and his last studio album to be released during his lifetime. It was released on August 14, 2020, through his label Paper Route Empire. The production on the album was primarily handled by Bandplay with additional production byJuicy J, Supah Mario, Cassius Jay, King MugZi and others. The album features guest appearances fromG Herbo,Key Glock andMegan Thee Stallion. Dolph explained the album's title, stating "It's the reality of beingBlack in this country".[1]
Rich Slave was preceded by four singles: "RNB" featuring Megan Thee Stallion, "Blue Diamonds", "Death Row" and "Large Amounts". The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. It debuted at number four on the USBillboard 200, earning 65,000album-equivalent units in its first week, marking Dolph's highest-charting project. It also charted at number 84 on theCanadian Albums Chart.
On August 2, 2020, Young Dolph announced that he would be releasing his fifth studio album,Rich Slave on August 14, 2020. He also made the album available for pre-order on all platforms including his website.[2] Dolph also announced that he would be giving away his blue and tangerine colouredLamborghini Aventador to a lucky fan who pre-ordered the album.[2] He stated, "Last week I walked in the garage to get on my 4wheeler and I looked at my Lambo and said to myself 'Dolph u should give someone your aventador and let them enjoy it, u not doin nothin wit it'."[2] The car's retail price was approximately valued at $417,826.[3]
Tom Breihan ofStereogum praised Young Dolph, labelling him as a "cult hero". Breihan also spoke on the album's political aspects and Dolph's use of the term "slave", saying "anytime a Black artist uses 'slave' in a title, a whole lot of history goes into it." Breihan described the album as incidentally political but not overstated, saying that "Dolph hints at that history all through the album." Breihan also praised the production, saying that "the beats onRich Slave are big and warm and solid." Ultimately, Breihan said it "works because it's a strong rapper talking strong shit over strong beats." He also regarded it as "one of the most purely enjoyable rap records I've heard this year."[5]
Rich Slave debuted at number four on the USBillboard 200 chart, earning 65,000album-equivalent units (including 32,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.[6] This became Young Dolph's second US top-ten debut on the chart and his highest first-week sales to date.[6] Physical sales for the album were boosted by offering merchandise/album bundles via his website.[6] The album also accumulated a total of 44.31 million on-demand streams of the set's songs.[6]
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