Hall of Fame (Polo G album)

Hall of Fame is the third studio album by American rapper Polo G. It was released on June 11, 2021. The album features guest appearances from the Kid Laroi, Lil Durk, Lil Wayne, Scorey, G Herbo, Rod Wave, DaBaby, Young Thug, Roddy Ricch, Nicki Minaj, the late Pop Smoke, and Fivio Foreign. Production was handled by Einer Bankz, Angelo Ferraro, D Mac, Karltin Bankz, Londn Blue, BKH, Synco, Tahj Money, Varohl, & WizardMCE, among others. The deluxe edition, Hall of Fame 2.0, was released on December 3, 2021, with fourteen bonus tracks. It features additional guest appearances from Lil Baby, Moneybagg Yo, Yungliv, NLE Choppa, and Lil Tjay.^[3]

Hall of Fame
Studio album by Polo G
Released	June 11, 2021
Genre	Trap^[1] drill^[2]
Length	54:04
Label	Columbia ODA
Producer	1040 12Hunna 254Bodi Aidan Hand Angelo Ferraro Ben Billions BJ Beatz Bobby Raps Byrd CashMoneyAP Daniel Magnusson David “Messy” Mescon DMacTooBangin Einer Bankz FinesseGTB FrancisGotHeat Jenius Level Jkei Karltin Bankz Kid Culture LenoxBeatmaker Lil Mosey LondnBlue Mason Wu Mikey Beats Nato Kitch Nick Mira NicoNiceWitIt Ryder Johnson SAFE S.Dot SephGotTheWaves Spaceman Synco Tahj Money Taz Taylor Terrence Rolle Thank You Fizzle Varohl Wheezy WizardMCE
Polo G chronology
The Goat (2020) Hall of Fame (2021) Hall of Fame 2.0 (2021)
Singles from Hall of Fame
"Epidemic" Released: September 25, 2020 "GNF (OKOKOK)" Released: February 5, 2021 "Rapstar" Released: April 9, 2021 "Gang Gang" Released: May 21, 2021

Hall of Fame debuted atop the Billboard 200, earning 143,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, becoming Polo G's first number-one album of his career. The album was supported by four singles, including his first number-one hit on the Hot 100, "Rapstar".

Background and recording

In April 2021, Bartlett hinted at a song with fellow Chicago rapper Lil Durk and Australian rapper the Kid Laroi with a recorded music video.^[4] In May, he confirmed fellow Chicago rapper G Herbo would appear on the album, with DJ Scheme previewing a snippet of their song during an Instagram live.^[5]

On May 16, 2021, Polo took to Twitter to confirm that he had finished recording the album.^[6][7]

Artwork

The album's artwork was created by art director Zanic, and features Polo G in a suit standing at a podium with platinum plaques for his prior albums behind him, and a bust of Polo G.^[8]

Release and promotion

In September 2020, Polo released the album's lead single "Epidemic".^[9] It peaked at number 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

On February 5, 2021, he released the album's second single "GNF (OKOKOK)".^[10] The song peaked number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100. On April 9, he released the third single "Rapstar".^[11] The song peaked number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the song being his first number-one single in his career. "Rapstar" was previously previewed back in May 2020 in a YouTube video in which Polo and the song's co-producer Einer Bankz performed an acoustic version of the song. The song was then announced two days prior to its release with Polo posting a teaser for the music video. On May 21, "Rapstar" was certified platinum^[12] and the same day he released the album's fourth single, "Gang Gang" featuring Lil Wayne.^[13] The song peaked number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. On May 27, Polo released a teaser trailer for the album which also revealed its release date of June 11, 2021, and features a snippet of a new song coined "Lil Wooski" by fans with an option to pre-save the album for all streaming services.^[14] On June 2, Polo posted an Instagram video teasing another song from the album with the caption "Toxic", indicating the song's title.^[15] On December 3, 2021 Polo released a Deluxe version of the album with 14 additional tracks featured on it.^[16]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[17]
HipHopDX	8/10^[18]
Pitchfork	7.0/10^[2]
Riff Magazine	9/10^[19]

Hall of Fame received generally positive reviews. Pitchfork writer Matthew Ismael Ruiz said in his review of the project: "The Chicago rapper steps further into the mainstream on his third album, an ultimately hopeful exploration of how trauma manifests".^[2] Fred Thomas from Allmusic also stated that "Hall of Fame swims even further into the mainstream, offering more of Polo G's catchy if painful reflections over more accessible and pop-minded production. Even still, Some of Hall of Fame's best moments come when Polo G is in his original element, like when he's commiserating with fellow pain rapper Rod Wave on 'Heart of a Giant' or trying on more aggressive approaches on the short but ruthless 'GNF (OKOKOK)'."^[20]

Commercial performance

Hall of Fame debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 143,000 album-equivalent units (including 18,000 copies as traditional album sales) in its first week.^[21] The album also accumulated a total of 181.9 million on-demand streams of the album's songs during that week.^[21] During the week of September 3, 2021 the album sold 17,100 equivalent units bringing its cumulative total to 514,100.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

Hall of Fame track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Painting Pictures"	Taurus Bartlett	1040 Yung Fuel	2:17
2.	"Rapstar"	Bartlett Shane Lindstrom Einer Bankz Alexander Wu	E. Bankz Synco	2:46
3.	"No Return" (featuring the Kid Laroi and Lil Durk)	Bartlett Charlton Howard Durk Banks	Taz Taylor Ryder Johnson Mason Wu	2:48
4.	"Toxic"	Bartlett	Jkei WizardMCE	2:11
5.	"Epidemic"	Bartlett Tahj Vaughn David McDowell Sterling Reynolds Lukas Payne	Tahj Money D Mac LondnBlue Karltin Bankz	2:57
6.	"Gang Gang" (with Lil Wayne)	Bartlett Dwayne Carter, Jr.	Angelo Ferraro	2:59
7.	"Boom"	Bartlett	12Hunna Spaceman BJ	2:06
8.	"Black Hearted"	Bartlett	Aiden Han Damn Mikey	3:10
9.	"Broken Guitars" (featuring Scorey)	Bartlett Corey Ward	WizardMCE Daniel Magnusson	2:08
10.	"GNF (OKOKOK)"	Bartlett	Varohl WizardMCE	1:56
11.	"Go Part 1" (featuring G Herbo)	Bartlett Herbert Wright III	Kid Culture	2:41
12.	"Heart of a Giant" (featuring Rod Wave)	Bartlett Rodarius Green	BKH Beats	2:48
13.	"Zooted Freestyle"	Bartlett	Lil Mosey Nick Mira NicoNiceWitIt	2:12
14.	"Party Lyfe" (featuring DaBaby)	Bartlett Jonathan Kirk	Ben Billions David Mescon Terrence Rolle	2:51
15.	"Losses" (featuring Young Thug)	Bartlett Jeffery Williams	Wheezy Fizzle Bobby Raps	2:54
16.	"So Real"	Bartlett	SephGotTheWaves	2:44
17.	"Fame & Riches" (featuring Roddy Ricch)	Bartlett Rodrick Moore, Jr.	WizardMCE	2:31
18.	"For the Love of New York" (with Nicki Minaj)	Bartlett Onika Maraj	CashMoneyAP Finesse Byrd Menace	2:55
19.	"Clueless" (featuring Pop Smoke and Fivio Foreign)	Bartlett Bashar Jackson Maxie Ryles III	Axl Beats	2:45
20.	"Bloody Canvas"	Bartlett	WizardMCE S.Dot Safe	4:25
Total length:				54:04

Charts

Weekly charts Chart performance for Hall of Fame Chart (2021) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[22] 3 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[23] 7 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[24] 6 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[25] 79 Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[26] 2 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[27] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[28] 3 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[29] 10 French Albums (SNEP)^[30] 81 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[31] 28 Irish Albums (OCC)^[32] 3 Italian Albums (FIMI)^[33] 38 Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)^[34] 11 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[35] 2 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[36] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[37] 8 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[38] 5 UK Albums (OCC)^[39] 3 UK R&B Albums (OCC)^[40] 38 US Billboard 200^[41] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[42] 1

Year-end charts 2021 year-end chart performance for Hall of Fame Chart (2021) Position US Billboard 200^[43] 58 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[44] 28 2022 year-end chart performance for Hall of Fame Chart (2022) Position US Billboard 200^[45] 27 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[46] 19

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Hall of Fame

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[47]	Gold	10,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)^[48]	Silver	60,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[49]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Album Review: Polo G is grinning through the pain on 'Hall of Fame'". Riff Magazine. 11 June 2021.
2. Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (June 18, 2021). "Polo G: Hall of Fame Album Review". Pitchfork.
3. Zidel, Alex (22 November 2021). "Polo G "Hall Of Fame 2.0" Tracklist Features Lil Baby, MoneyBagg Yo, & A Song Called "Piano G"". Hotnewhiphop. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
4. "The Kid Laroi, Lil Durk and Polo G have a song + video in the tuck". XXL. April 8, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021 – via Twitter.
5. Boog, Zach (May 1, 2021). "Polo G Talks Hall of Fame, Goat Status, Chicago Violence & More". 1011thebeat. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
6. G, Polo (May 16, 2021). "💯%". Retrieved June 3, 2021 – via Twitter.
7. Findlay, Mitch (May 17, 2021). "Polo G's "Hall Of Fame" Album Is Done". Hot New Hip Hop. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
8. Strauss, Matthew (May 26, 2021). "Polo G Announces Release Date for New Album Hall of Fame". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
9. Yoo, Noah (September 25, 2020). "Watch Polo G's Video for New Song "Epidemic"". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
10. Bloom, Madison (February 5, 2021). "Polo G Shares Video for New Song "GNF (OKOKOK)": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
11. Yoo, Noah (April 9, 2020). "Polo G Shares Video for New Song "RAPSTAR": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
12. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
13. Bloom, Madison (May 21, 2021). "Polo G and Lil Wayne Share Video for New Song "Gang Gang": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
14. Doria, Matt (May 28, 2021). "Polo G sets a release date for new album 'Hall of Fame'". NME. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
15. "20 Chains💎6 Figures Just To Hit The Stage😈💯..."Toxic"☠️🤢🖤🖤🖤 #Hof #06/11🔥🔥". June 2, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved June 3, 2021 – via Instagram.
16. "Polo G Drops Deluxe Edition of 'Hall of Fame' Album f/ Lil Baby, Moneybagg Yo, and More". Complex. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
17. Thomas, Fred. "Hall Of Fame - Polo G | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved June 11, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
18. Blake, David (June 29, 2021). "Polo G Paints a Tragic Picture of Success on 'Hall of Fame' Album". HipHopDX.
19. Hoffman, Tim (Jun 11, 2021). "Album Review: Polo G is grinning through the pain on 'Hall of Fame'". Riff Magazine.
20. Thomas, Fred. "Hall of Fame Review by Fred Thomas". Allmusic. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
21. Caulfield, Keith (June 20, 2021). "Polo G Lands First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Hall of Fame'". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
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29. "Albumit 24/2021" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
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31. "Offiziellecharts.de – Polo G – Hall of Fame" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
32. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
33. "Italiancharts.com – Polo G – Hall of Fame". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
34. "2021 24-os SAVAITĖS (birželio 11-17 d.) ALBUMŲ TOP100" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. June 18, 2021. from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
35. "Charts.nz – Polo G – Hall of Fame". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
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39. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
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43. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
44. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
45. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
46. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
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48. "British album certifications – Polo G – Hall of Fame". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
49. "American album certifications – Polo G – Hall of Fame". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 10, 2023.