Search - Kool G Rap & DJ Polo :: Road to the Riches

Here We Go, Let's Go with the Flow.

B. Kraft | Toronto Canada | 04/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All biases aside, G Rap is one of the top five greatest emcees of all time. He brought to hip-hop a style so Kool (if I may) that everyone wanted to be him. The only problem was that he was way too ahead of his time for the mainstream exposure in 1988. He was real. The Kool Genius of Rap painted a perfect picture of the struggle, whether it be crime, love, politics, or money, and did it sounding like a true veteran with untouchable street smarts and an ever loquacious personality. The vocabulary he used was articulate, but not pretentious, and was always putting together crazy tales of life on the other side of town. He ORIGINATED the Costa Nostra Mafioso style in hip-hop, and to this day he did it better than anyone.

G Rap's legacy starts with "Road to the Riches", and it sets the tone for the next two classics that follow. Through each album, his skills improve immensely and he flawlessly masters being a true gangsta documentarian. Each installment to this classic trilogy builds on concepts, style, inventive production, and Kool straight up ripping the mic in half and giving it a new name. "Road to the Riches", his debut has that classic 88 sound, Marley Marl's timeless production mastery, and G Rap hungry as hell to make a name for himself. There is just a feeling on this album that trumps his two proceeding efforts. He does perfect his lispy delivery and content with time, but the truths and vibes that "Road to the Riches" passes off is a sound that is never revisited during his career (the fact that Marl produced all 47 minutes of it is probably why). But, in all aspects (even Cars) this album is a beautiful thing.

It's a shame how slept-on G Rap was and is by the masses, it seems he never gets mentioned along with the upper-echelon of the greatest emcees of all time. He not only pioneered a sub-culture so replicated (never duplicated) in hip-hop, he also was a personality of unique and legendary proportions. Kool never went Gold, never had big transcending fame, but the true students of the game all know that The Kool Genius of Rap could not be stopped in his prime. If you don't know, buy his catalog immediately, and realize how influential and magnetizing this guy really is.

"

The first of MANY lyrical gems from the Don G. Rap

Wayne Maye | Petersburg,VA | 04/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Many say that Kool G. Rap was ahead of his time. I SLIGHTLY agree with that, but aside from Slick Rick, in 88, this MC possessed something that others didn't have at the time: a knack for storytelling, and just like Slick Rick, G. Rap did it with supreme innovation and style. His first album, Road To The Riches, is the very beginning of this great. Basically pioneering the "Don" element in hip hop, this album set off G.Rap in the world of hip hop, and he immediately set precedence with this album. Here's the review:Album Highlights: Road To The Riches, Men At Work, Trilogy of Terror, Butcher Shop, It's A Demo, Poison, and Truly Yours.Production: Thumbs up. Handled marvelously by Marley Marl.Lyrics and Subject Matter: Thumbs way way up. This man comes NICE with his flow.Originality: Thumbs up.The Last Word: While this album does have some filler(Cars, She Loves Me...., etc), I can't in good conscience give this album 5 stars. But on the strength of the highlights of the album, it's enough for just 4 stars. Kool G. Rap would prove he can get better as the years went on, and he certainly did. Overall, I strongly recommend this album."

DAMN NEAR 5 STAR RECORD

kevinmoondogjunior | knockin' em back in AZ | 03/21/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"BY FAR THE BEST RECORD TURNED OUT BY G RAP AND POLO, THIS ALBUM FALLS JUST SHORT OF FIVE STARS. KOOL G RAP HAS CLEAR, CONCISE, VERBALLY INTACT RHYMES THAT FLOW ON AND ON AND POLO RIPS IT UP ON THE WHEELS OF STEEL. "SHE LOVE'S ME" IS THE ONLY REAL BLEMISH ON THIS ALBUM. AFTER THIS ALBUM, IT GETS QUESTIONABLE FOR G RAP AND POLO. IF YOU'D TUSSLE AROUND WITH PAMELA ANDERSON EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD A LITTLE BLEMISH ON HER RUMP (SHE LOVE'S ME...SHE LOVE'S ME NOT), YOU NEED TO CHECK THIS RECORD OUT. IT'S PRACTICALLY A CLASSIC!"