Plata O Plomo
| Company type | Studio album |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | February 17, 2017 |
| Founder | Fat Joe, Remy Ma |
| Products | Hip hop music album |
Plata O Plomo represents a joint studio album effort by American hip-hop artists Fat Joe and Remy Ma, officially released on February 17, 2017, through RNG (Rap's New Generation) in partnership with Empire.
Background
The phrase "plata o plomo," originating from Spanish, means "silver or lead," which figuratively stands for "money or bullets." This expression gained notoriety through Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, who used it as an ultimatum involving either bribery or intimidation. Fat Joe described the album’s title as embodying the choice between financial reward and violence: "the name of the album is called Plata o Plomo... money or bullets. You know what I'm saying? However you want it."
Critical response
Neil Yeung of AllMusic awarded the project a 3.5 out of 5, emphasizing its fusion of classic hip-hop elements with contemporary, radio-oriented beats, characterizing it as "a mixtape (or playlist) with club-friendly hip-hop that tugs on '90s nostalgia while updating their sound for 2017." The publication XXL rated it 4 out of 5 stars, praising it as "a triumphant return for Fat Joe and Remy Ma." Scott Glaysher from HipHopDX gave a score of 3.2/5, acknowledging strong lyrical performances and intent but identifying “All the Way Up” as the album’s highlight amid an otherwise conventional approach.
On the other hand, Evan Rytlewski of Pitchfork assigned a 5.3 out of 10 rating, critiquing the similar artistic styles of both rappers for limiting the album’s overall dynamism.
Commercial performance
Plata O Plomo entered the Billboard 200 chart at position number 44, moving 11,158 album-equivalent units during its initial week. Additionally, it peaked at number 19 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and reached number three on the US Independent Albums chart, demonstrating moderate success across significant music industry segments.
Charts
Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
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