A little over 12 months ago, Rich the Kid was sitting in a jail cell. Since his release, he's been on a tear; he's released seven mixtapes, taken Famous Dex under his wing, and networked relentlessly to position himself among hip hop's upper class. Rich is a true hustler. He knows what he wants (money) and he'll stop at nothing to get it.
Click through the gallery to listen 10 of Rich's best songs.
"Plug" feat. Kodak Black and Playboi Carti
Rich the Kid is socially agile in the rap game, quick to align himself with all the right people. On Trap Talk standout "Plug," he taps Kodak Black and Playboi Carti to assist as he relays his sordid tales of Guatemalan drug trafficking.
Who pioneered the sideways ski goggles look, Rich or Nef the Pharaoh?
"Just For You"
Verging upon a straight-ahead R&B love jam, "Just For You" is unlike any other song Rich the Kid has ever made. Meanwhile, OG Parker shows why he is one of the most underrated producers in the game with an unexpected flip of Mint Condition's "Caught My Eye."
"I Just Might"
One of Rich the Kid's strengths is the immediacy of his raps, the feeling that the distance between his heart and his lyrics is almost non-existent. This is especially true of "I Just Might," a song that is a force of pure id in which Rich speculates on future moves and begins with the candid line, "I might just cum on her face."
"Dab Fever" feat. Wiz Khalifa
Hours before the clock struck midnight to signal the beginning of Christmas 2015, Rich the Kid dropped off a present for the people in the form of a new tape, Dabbin Fever. The title track features Wiz Khalifa. While Wiz does not share Rich's level enthusiasm for the dab, which rivals that of Desiigner's, he certainly knows how to lay down a major league dab.
"No More" feat. Freddie Gibbs
"No More" features one of Rich the Kid's catchiest hooks and leaves zero doubt in the listener's mind that he is utterly infatuated, head-over-heels in love, with money.
"Change" feat. Quavo and Migo Bands
Had this song come out a bit later in Rich's career, which has really taken off since he got out of jail last summer, it might have been a street hit on the level of OT Genasis' "Cut It" -- another track that features a catchy, legible, no-frills beat and an unforgettable hook that you can't help but rap along to.
"Keep it 100" feat. Fetty Wap
In the "Keep it 100" video, Rich and Fetty Wap enlist a pair of curvaceous females to seduce two wannabe drug dealers and put them to sleep with chloroform -- the price one pays for not keeping it 100.
"Ran It Up" feat. Young Thug
"Ran It Up" is self-produced. According to Rich, it's the first beat he ever made -- impressive, if true, as the beat channels shades of Mannie Fresh from the Hot Boys days. On the lyrical side, Rich continues his streak of never going a full song without throwing in a random simile -- in this case, a Boy Meets World reference: "I got that white like Topanga."
"We Got It" feat. Lil Yachty
The release of "We Got It" doubled as an announcement for a Rich the Kid X Lil Yachty mixtape called Lil Boat and The Goat. The tape may or may not have been an April Fool's joke, which is a shame, because Rich and Lil Boat trade 8s on "We Got It" like Fat Joe and Big Pun.
DJ Carnage - "WDYW" feat. Lil Uzi Vert, A$AP Ferg, and Rich the Kid
Not generally known for his diversity of flows, Rich the Kid switches gears multiple times over the course of his verse on "WDYW." He attacks the beat from an entirely different angle than Lil Uzi and Ferg. There's more than one way to skin a cat.