Heart of a Champion is the fifth solo studio album by American rapper Paul Wall. It was released on July 13, 2010 through Swishahouse with distribution via Asylum Records.[1][2]
AllMusic's David Jeffries praised the album, saying "Barker's productions aren't as showy as you might expect, acting as true support with some interesting ideas, and the rest of the tracks are well handled by the returning Dirty South crew Beanz & Kornbread, giving the album a proper mix of new and old".[3] Ben Detrick of Spin found Paul Wall "cruises along with his usual simile-packed musings about wood-grained cars, fat pockets, and jewelry resembling 'snow cones'", and called him "a veteran rapper without bitterness is a treat".[6]HipHopDX editor Sean Ryon gave the album 3 out of 5, saying: "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".[4] The album received a 3 out of 5 rating from XXL.[7]
In his negative review for Slant Magazine, Jesse Cataldo found the album "feels like a misguided departure and a lazy retread".[5]
Commercial performance
In the United States, the album debuted at number 58 on the Billboard 200, number 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 7 on the Top Rap Albums charts, selling 7,600 copies in its first week.[8] In its second week, the album fell to number 124 on the Billboard 200 with total sales of 11,000 copies in the United States.[9] As of January 2011, the album has sold 27,000 copies in the United States.[10]
