Rich Boy (album)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About	[3]
AbsolutePunk	(49%)[4]
AllMusic	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[6]
HipHopDX	[7]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[8]
PopMatters	[9]
RapReviews	5/10[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
XXL	(L)[12]

Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly gave praise to Rich's vocal delivery and Polow's "intricate, varied, and unfailingly catchy instrumentals" for masking the "occasional lapses into generic macho posturing" throughout the lyrics.[6] Jonathan Ringen of Rolling Stone noted how the record follows the Young Jeezy template ("a hypnotic flow, vivid details, synth-soaked beats") but with a more varied list of topics. He also gave credit to Polow's production, singling out "Boy Looka Here" for being a "menacing banger".[11] Pitchfork contributor Tom Breihan said, "[T]he album's stunning, high-impact production fits it into the recent tradition of epic, monolithic Southern-rap albums like Young Buck's Straight Outta Ca$hville and Young Jeezy's Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, but more than those albums, it's the work of one idiosyncratic creative mind. Polow [da Don] is just now finding his voice, and he's got a great career ahead of him. If Rich Boy is lucky, he'll stay along for the ride."[8]

XXL's Paul Cantor credited Rich on "Boy Looka Here" and "Ghetto Rich" for showcasing both his swagger and introspection but felt he falters on "What It Do" and "Lost Girls" when the production either reveals his lyrical flaws or dilutes his given message, concluding that "Sprinkled with a few more moments of clarity, Rich Boy has enough hits to make it worthy of throwin' some cheese on it."[12] J-23 of HipHopDX praised Polow for creating bangers like "Boy Looka Here" and "Touch That Ass" that match Rich's style to perfection but was critical of the latter's rapping talents being exposed by filler tracks, guest artists and producers, concluding that "Rich Boy ends up being a pretty good album, but it probably should have been titled Polow Da Don as he really deserves the bulk of the credit. The album may be good, but a cookie cutter rapper like Rich Boy is going to have less shelf live than his album will."[7]

AllMusic's Andy Kellman commended Rich's unique vocalization and the production, highlighting Brian Kidd's contribution on "Get to Poppin'", but concluded that the album wears thin with stagnant beats and "uninspired variations on the rampant materialism done so effectively on "Throw Some D's.""[5] Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews criticized Rich's "monotonous thuggery delivered with an excessively thick accent" and Polow's production having a "night and day" unevenness throughout the record.[10] PopMatters contributor Gentry Boeckel felt that Polow and Brian Kidd overshadow Rich throughout the album with their contributions instead of helping him craft a unique image, concluding that, "Both as an artist and a persona, Rich Boy lives up to his name, with the best thing one can say about him is that he has a certain get-rich-quick innocence, a certain naive hunger to succeed. Too bad that success depends so much on his collaborators."[9] Reptilia of AbsolutePunk was also critical of Rich's lyricism ruining Polow's catchy beats, concluding that, "Too much of Rich Boy's style is playing up the same "gangsta" stereotypes and not really doing anything to distance his flow and his lack of profound or at least interesting rhyme from anybody else's in the modern rap scene. And unfortunately, the Polow Show doesn't cover those flaws."[4]