Slim Thug Platinum Albums

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AlreadyPlatinum is the debut studio album by American rapper Slim Thug. It was released through the Neptunes's Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Geffen Records (part of the Interscope Geffen A&M corporate unit) on July 12, 2005. Its original release date was scheduled for February 2005, but heavy bootlegging and numerous delays held the album back, forcing a vast majority of its original track listing to be replaced. The original track listing included a version of the track "I Ain't Heard of That" which featured Jay-Z.

In an interview with XXL, the rapper explained the album title does not suggest he will go platinum, but that his lifestyle (before he got a record deal) was already similar to that of rappers who had reached the platinum status. In an interview on The Tyra Banks Show, mentor Pharrell revealed that he was a millionaire before the two met, and he especially liked that about him. He continued to say that he was "already platinum," the album name was just in confirmation of this.[citation needed]

The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, with 130,000 copies sold in the first week.[1] Ironically, the album has only sold 500,000 copies in the United States, signifying gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[2][3][4]

In 2016, in an interview with Slim Thug, he claims to have met the albums executive producer Pharrell Williams in Houston prior to career a mentorship arranged by Jimmy Iovine, as both acts were signed to Interscope Records at the time. Slim Thug also claims to have recorded a bulk of album in Los Angeles; Williams played him a then-unreleased remix to Jay-Z's 2003 single "Change Clothes" (which Williams also produced), which was later reworked and became a song on the album, "I Ain't Heard of That". The song was also supposed to keep a verse performed by Jay-Z as a guest feature, however once the song became heavily bootlegged, the verse was replaced by fellow Houston rapper Bun B. Jay-Z received a formal songwriting credit on the song, despite Slim Thug alleging that Williams wrote the chorus.[5]

Entertainment Weekly writer Michael Endelman gave note of Slim having a "steady, linebacker-strong flow and [a] baritone" throughout the album but gave credit to the Neptunes for giving him "spacious and stark beats that are equal parts frightening and funky".[8] Steve Jones of USA Today said that big names like T.I. and Jazze Pha didn't turn the attention away from the main artist, saying that "Slim [Thug]'s confident, laid-back deliveries keep him from being overshadowed."[14] Chris Ryan of Spin commended Slim for lending his voice to the Neptunes' atmospheric production, saying they "contribute some of their most adventurous work yet."[12] Tom Breihan of Pitchfork was critical of most of the tracks by the Neptunes, saying they "lost the gleaming, clattering swagger they once had, relying instead on bloodless synth lines and itchy, nattering drums" and that Slim's performance on them suffered. But said that the tracks by Mr. Lee ("Diamonds" and "3 Kings") were the highlights, concluding that, "On tracks like this, Slim sounds prehistoric, like he's always existed, like this voice has been echoing over canyons and through caves since before time began."[10]

Perhaps best known for his memorable features on other artists' hits, the Houston rapper and Boss Hogg Outlawz leader lands his first ever RIAA album certification for his 2005 solo full-length debut, signifying 500,000 units in sales and sales equivalents including streams.

Released in July on that year via Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo's Star Trak, then a Geffen imprint, Already Platinum debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart and No. 1 on Top Rap Albums. The single "Like A Boss" made it to No. 67 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while "Incredible Feelin'" with Jazze Pha and "3 Kings" with T.I. peaked at No. 73 and No. 78 there, respectively.

While none of the tracks off Already Platinum ever earned RIAA certification, two contemporaneous singles boasting Slim Thug features did. He guests alongside Bun B on Mike Jones' 2004 single "Still Tippin," which went platinum after reaching No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also appears on Beyonc's platinum single "Check On It," which hit No. 1 on that chart in 2006.

As it turns out, Slim Thug actually named his album Already Platinum as a reflection of his living the lifestyle of a platinum-selling rapper, having logged years as an artist from the latter half of the 1990s through Swishahouse and then his own Boss Hogg Outlawz. At the time, Houston rap was in the midst of a mainstream explosion, with artists like Three 6 Mafia, Paul Wall and Mike Jones logging hip-hop hits that successfully reached a national audience.

After Already Platinum, Slim Thug returned to being an independent artist and has since released multiple albums including 2009's Boss Of All Bosses, 2010's Tha Thug Show and, most recently, 2017's The World Is Yours. In a 2016 interview with FORBES' Shawn Setaro, he explained his major label stint:

"I just took advantage of the promotion they gave me. They promoted me worldwide, and I wanted to take advantage of that and say, let me go back independent with the worldwide promotion that Interscope gave me already and benefit off of that. At the end of the day, the Boss of All Bosses project had my biggest records. When I do a show, the records off of Boss of All Bosses are bigger than the records I did on Interscope with Already Platinum. From radio to sales to everything, the independent album did better."

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