Heart of a Champion (album)

Heart of a Champion
Studio album by Paul Wall
Released July 13, 2010
Recorded 2009-2010
Genre Hip hop, Southern rap, Rap rock
Length 56:45
Label Warner Bros., Swishahouse, Asylum
Producer Travis Barker, The Neptunes, Beanz N Kornbread
Paul Wall chronology
Fast Life
(2009)		 '''Heart of a Champion'''
(2010)
Singles from Heart of a Champion
  1. "I'm on Patron"
    Released: March 30, 2010

Heart of a Champion is the fifth studio album by American rapper Paul Wall. It was released by Warner Brothers/Asylum Records and his own label Swishahouse on July 13, 2010.[1][2]

Contents

Background

Collaboration

The album featured a lot of production from Travis Barker, drummer of Blink-182, and production duo Beanz N Kornbread produced a majority of the tracks as well. Guests featuring on the album included rappers Yelawolf, Lil Keke, Jim Jones, Raekwon, Bun B, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug and Devin the Dude. Wall's jewelry business partner TV Johnny also appeared on Heart of a Champion.[1] Wall had a session with The Neptunes but they didn't make the final cut.

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at #56 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 7,600 in its first week.[3] It also debuted at #7 on the Top Rap Albums Billboard chart.[4] In its second week the album fell to #124 on the Billboard 200 and brand its sale total to 11,000 copies.[5] To date, the album has sold over 27,000 copies in the US.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [7]
HipHopDX [8]
Slant Magazine [9]
Spin Magazine [10]
XXL (L)[11]
DJBooth.net [12]

The album received a 3/5 star rating from XXL.[11] Sean Ryon, editor of HipHopDX gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and said "As flawed as it is, Heart of a Champion is still an album worthy of merit. Paul exhibits a lyrical vigor unheard since his 2005 major label debut. While the album may not be a complete victory, he proves without a doubt that he's still the People's Champ."[8] Ben Detrick of Spin Magazine said this is his best album since his platinum-selling 2005 major-label debut.[10]

Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine gave Heart of a Champion a 1.5 out of 5, claiming the album "feels like a misguided departure and a lazy retread."[9]

Track listing

The track listing was posted by HipHopDX and Amazon.[13][14]

No. Title Producer Length
1. "Take Notes"   Travis Barker 3:11
2. "Showin' Skillz" (featuring Lil' Keke) Travis Barker 4:30
3. "I'm on Patron"   Beanz N Kornbread 3:49
4. "Round Here" (featuring Chamillionaire) Beanz N Kornbread 4:05
5. "Im'ma Get It" (featuring Kid Sister & Bun B) Travis Barker 4:15
6. "Stay Iced Up" (featuring C. Stone & Johnny Dang) Da Shit Factory 4:05
7. "Pocket Fulla Presidents" (featuring Andre Nickatina & Mitchy Slick) Beanz N Kornbread 4:04
8. "Ain't a Thang" (featuring Jim Jones) Travis Barker 3:15
9. "My City" (featuring Dallas Blocker & Yo Gotti) Beanz N Kornbread 4:08
10. "Smoke Everyday" (featuring Z-Ro & Devin the Dude) Beanz N Kornbread 6:38
11. "Live It" (featuring Jay Electronica, Raekwon & Yelawolf) Travis Barker 4:04
12. "Not My Friend" (Expensive Taste featuring Slim Thug) Travis Barker 3:16
13. "Still On"   Yung Chill 4:01
14. "Heart of a Hustler" (Expensive Taste solo) Travis Barker 3:24

Chart positions

Chart (2010) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200[3] 56
U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums[4] 7

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11075/title.travis-barker-to-produce-half-of-paul-walls-heart-of-a-champion
  2. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11423/title.tuesday-rap-release-dates-fat-joe-jeezy-rah-digga
  3. ^ a b http://beta.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11766/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-7-18-2010/
  4. ^ a b http://www.billboard.com/artist/paul-wall/243458#/charts/rap-albums?tag=relcharts
  5. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11806/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-7-25-2010
  6. ^ http://hiphopencounter.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/rap21.png
  7. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1814055
  8. ^ a b Ryon, Sean (21 July 2010). "HipHopDX reviews: Paul Wall's "Heart of a Champion". HipHopDX.com. http://beta.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.1482/title.paul-wall--heart-of-a-champion. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  9. ^ a b Cataldo, Jesse (11 July 2010). "Slant reviews: Paul Wall's "Heart of a Champion"". Slantmagazine.com. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/paul-wall-heart-of-a-champion/2175. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  10. ^ a b Detrick, Ben (2 July 2010). "Spin reviews: Paul Wall's "Heart of a Champion"". Spin.com. http://www.spin.com/reviews/paul-wall-heart-champion-swishahouseasylum. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  11. ^ a b Cho, Jaeki (2010). XXL Magazine July/August Issue. XXL. p. 96. 
  12. ^ Slavik, Nathan (13 July 2010). "DJBooth.net reviews: Paul Wall's "Heart of a Champion"". DJBooth.net. http://www.djbooth.net/index/albums/review/paul-wall-heart-of-a-champion-07121001/. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  13. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11494/title.jay-electronica-raekwon-guest-on-paul-walls-heart-of-a-champion
  14. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Champion-Paul-Wall/dp/B003LS3PCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1276821058&sr=1-1
Paul Wall
Albums
Chick Magnet · The Peoples Champ · Get Money, Stay True · Fast Life · Heart of a Champion
Collaborations
Singles
Featured singles
Related articles