Road to the Riches

Kool G Rap, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cold Chillin Records
• ASIN: B0000010EC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #442,780 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Road to the Riches

2. It's a Demo

3. Men at Work

4. Truly Yours

5. Cars

6. Trilogy of Terror

7. She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

8. Cold Cuts

9. Rhymes I Express

10. Poison

11. Butcher Shop

Editorial Reviews

People throw the word classic around lightly. Kool G Rap and DJ Polo’s 1989 debut album is a triumph in the Hip Hop world that has withstood the test of time, and will always be referred to as a cohesive project that demonstrates lyrical and production ability, as well as artistic chemistry. Cold Chillin’ Records and Traffic proudly present Kool G Rap and DJ Polo’s Road To The Riches, available for the first time as a 2-disc set, including the original album, and a plethora of substantial bonus material, from artwork to audio. With all songs being digitally re-mastered, and all additional photography being supplied by George DuBose, and a deluxe digipak with a 24 page booklet including all the lyrics and liner notes written by Fly Ty, Mr. Magic, George DuBose and The Kool Genius of Rap himself, this project has been thought out, done right and handled with care and we sincerely hope you enjoy it. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Deluxe Treatment for a Classic Rap Album, February 27, 2007

By 

Hype Currie "scholar of pop culture" (Detroit, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Road To The Riches (Audio CD)

Kool G Rap-- His lisp is still crisp-- Possessing one of the most distinctive voices in hip-hop, he blazed a trail for several rappers to follow, despite being relatively unknown by mainstream standards. He's kind of like Iggy Pop of the hip hop world-- he never sold a tremendous amount of records, but he maintains a cult following that won't quit, while scores of newcomers point to him as an influence.
The 2 disc collection starts off in the late-1980's, back when the Marley Marl-led "Juice Crew" was among the early hip-hop posses to achieve prominence, being signed to Prism Records, which eventually would become Cold Chillin'. Shortly afterwards, label head Ty Williams secured a distribution deal with Warner Bros.
"I'm Fly" and "It's a Demo" are sparse early tracks which makes listeners focus even more on Kool G's lyrics. At this time, he was somewhere between LL Cool J and Rakim, spouting whimsical braggadocio with occasional inflections of sober battle-ready aggression. His technique would be fine-tuned on his first album, "Road to the Riches", featuring the title cut, "Dope Car" (sampling Gary Numan), "Poison", and "Men at Work". Marley's 808-driven funk production is at it's best here. The first disc has the original album and a few bonus cuts including the early, non-album singles. The second disc has a great collection of rarities, including radio promos & interviews, as well as alternate takes, remixes & instrumentals which were previously only available on 12" maxi-singles during the original release of the album (the best of the bunch: an alternate take of Big Daddy Kane's "Raw" featuring Kool G. The collection has better than average liner notes, including commentaries from photographer George DuBose, Ty Williams and Kool G Rap himself. There are also lyrics printed for all the original songs.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here We Go, Let's Go with the Flow., April 23, 2005

By 

B. Kraft "dr_skillionaire" (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Road to the Riches (Audio CD)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The first of MANY lyrical gems from the Don G. Rap, April 16, 2004

By 

Wayne Maye (Petersburg,VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road to the Riches (Audio CD)

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.