If you know me personally enough to have listened to a lot of music with me, you probably know that I really enjoy Young Dolph’s music. If you are in the car with me or hand me the aux at a kickback or party, it will not be long before I start playing some song by Dolph. If you do not know me personally(which is obviously most readers), type Young Dolph’s name into the search bar located on this page. I wrote a long and detailed piece about his life and career a while back, and it will not only give context as to why I like his so much but also tells the story of a really interesting and talented individual. Young Dolph is one of those artists who never seems to stop working. He tends to release multiple projects a year, most of which with 15-20 songs each. I feel like Young Dolph is one of those people that goes into the studio and raps literally every single day, and he probably has hundreds of songs in the vault that he has not even released. Young Dolph’s newest project is called Rich Slave. I am pretty positive that this title has a lot to do with the social unrest that is going on in this country. Even if you have a lot of money, you still have to pay a lot of taxes and do what your government tells you to do, whether you like it or not. With that being said, there is not really any major underlying theme to this album, and it is not necessarily telling a story. Young Dolph is the kind of artist that is just searching for the underground hits; most of his songs almost feel like stand-alone singles that were all put on the same mixtape and they are not necessarily cohesive with each other. Because of that, I am just going to write about all of my favorite songs from this project instead of actually reviewing it. Please let me know down in the comments if you agree with my picks for the best songs on this album, or if there are some other songs that you like more!

TO BE HONEST

As soon as I heard that Juicy J producer tag at the beginning of this track, I knew it would be a banger. Juicy J is such an underrated producer, and he puts out some of the most smooth and fun Trap beats that you will hear. If you want a bigger taste of his production chops, listen to Megan Thee Stallion’s last record, as he heavily contributed to the way that album sounds and was credited as the producer a few of the best songs. ‘To Be Honest’ is a song that is very quick and to the point. At only 2 minutes and 40 seconds, this track gets to the point right away. The melody for this song has an old school Southern Hip Hop vibe that is driven by some sweet-sounding horns; this song has the kind of melody that I would expect to hear someone like Outkast on back on the day. Young Dolph glides effortlessly over this beat when he is rapping; his signature flows and low voice just work perfectly with this super easy and cool beat. If you are a fan of chill Trap music that just sounds supernatural and silky, ‘To Be Honest’ is a song you should download.

I SEE $’s

Didn’t need a label, came in with my own cake (Okay). Then I fucked this rapper baby mama by mistake (Damn). Ever since then that big head motherfucker been hatin’ (Haha). How it feel to be a fuck n****? Congratulations…

Young Dolph is definitely not the kind of artist that is known for rapping on a more low key and melodic Trap instrumentals. When I think of the kind of beats I would expect to hear Dolph on, I expect to hear very heavy and foreboding songs with huge bass and an almost intimidating quality to them. ‘I See $’s’ has the kind of instrumental that I would expect to hear artists like 6lack, 21 Savage, or MadeinTYO on. Because the instrumental is a lot softer and more chill than most of the ones he typically raps on, Dolph raps in a way that is a lot less intense than what is usually expected of him. One of my favorite things about this song is the fact that he rips on the rapper Yo Gotti within the first few lines of the track. Yo Gotti and Young Dolph have had an ongoing beef for years that seems to not be going away anytime soon(read my aforementioned article about Yo Gotti to learn more about that situation), and Young Dolph loves to make light of it every time he can. If you are a fan low key Trap music that is lyrical savage as hell, this is a song for you.

WHAT’S DA BIZNESS

One thing that is cool about Young Dolph’s albums is that the energy is always constantly changing. He can capture so many kinds of energies and feelings on one record; from low key Trap to Party Trap to Horrorcore Trap to Retro Trap, Young Dolph likes to dabble in everything and can excel at many different styles of Trap music. ‘What’s Da Bizness’ has more of an old school Trap feeling to it that reminds me of the kind of stuff that Gucci Mane and the Crime Mob made back in the day. I love the weird sound effects that pop up throughout the instrumental; all of the bells and whistles that keep sounding off remind me a lot of the party Trap music from the early 2000s that was super ratchet and fun to listen to. Young Dolph’s low voice and super smooth delivery sound perfect on this instrumental and provide the right amount of energy to turn anyone up who is listening to this track. If you are a fan of old school Trap music that will make you want to turn up, ‘What’s Da Bizness’ is a song you should download.

THE LAND

Just ’cause I’m a black man in America. That’s what give them permission to treat us terrible. They say this the land of the free. It seem like the land of bullshit to me…

Typically, one would not think of Young Dolph as someone who is going to make a song that is supposed to be a political statement. Young Dolph has always excelled at the underworldly and seedy lanes that he typically stays in. ‘The Land’ is something different for Dolph, though. So many people in our country have been affected by the death of George Floyd and all of the other instances of police brutality that have been caught on camera in the last few years, and Young Dolph is actually no different. ‘The Land’ is a song that has more of a melodic R&B Trap feeling to it than most of the other songs on this record; the heaviness of the melody and the softness of the beat make this song seem very somber and serious. On ‘The Land,’ Young Dolph is rapping about his own negative experience with the police and the brutality that he has seen and experienced. As a young black man in this country, it seems like it is inevitable to not have a negative experience with a cop, and Dolph is no different. I really appreciate that Young Dolph would make a song like this, as it shows that he is more than just a gangsta rapper. ‘The Land’ is yet another great song from 2020 about the racial injustices in our country. Hopefully, there will be a time in the near future where popular rappers do not need to make songs like this. Until then, every single one of them will be appreciated by me.

RNB FEAT. MEGAN THEE STALLION

If you have heard this song and knew that it was on this album, I know you would assume it would be on a list like this. That is because it is super fun and an absolute banger. ‘RNB’ is for sure the best club song on this record. Out of all the artists who have been on fire in 2020, it would be tough to debate someone that said Megan Thee Stallion is the hottest. It seems like everything she touches turns to gold; I have not heard a song yet where her contribution did not make it better. She has such a unique yet familiar sound and feeling, and she just brings so much great energy to every song she is apart of. ‘RNB’ is a track with a lot faster of a pace and a lot more of a Pop feeling to it than Dolph’s music typically has. This song was obviously meant for a larger demographic than the Underground Trap fans that make up pretty much his whole fan base, and it definitely succeeds at being a fun bop that makes Young Dolph’s gruff sound more palatable for a larger audience.

1 SCALE FEAT. G HERBO

The next song that I picked for this list is another one of the few tracks on this project that actually have a feature on it. Typically, Dolph does not have a lot of features; he has such a high energy and unique rapping style that is hard to match up with, so most of the time he does not need a contribution from anyone else to complete his songs. The aforementioned Megan Thee Stallion and G Herbo are two artists that have sounds and rapping styles that can keep up with the chaotic energy of Dolph, which is very apparent from their contributions to the record. ‘1 Scale’ is another song with a softer and more melodic tone than one would expect from Young Dolph’s music. In fact, this song has the kind of Melodic Trap feeling that I would expect to hear from G Herbo. Because this song is more in his style, G Herbo steals the show on this track, using his weird intensity and witty wordplay to glide over this beat like it is butter. Young Dolph’s sound and flow matches up super well with G Herbo’s and I would love to hear more from these two together in the future. Until then, I will be listening to the song ‘1 Scale’ very frequently.