Golden Ticket is the debut studio album by Golden Rules, a collaborative project between American rapper Eric Biddines and English record producer Paul White. It was released on August 7, 2015, through Lex Records. It peaked at number 22 on the UK Official Record Store Chart. It received universal acclaim from critics.
Background Eric Biddines is an American rapper from Florida, and Paul White is an English record producer from Lewisham. After hearing Biddines' music, White sent Biddines some of his own beats. The two then began collaborating as Golden Rules.
Golden Ticket is Golden Rules' debut studio album. It includes contributions from multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee. The album's song "Never Die" features a guest appearance from rapper Yasiin Bey. The album's artwork is designed by ESPO.
Music videos were released for the songs "It's Over" and "The Let Down".
In 2015, Paul White released his remix of "Never Die" featuring Freddie Gibbs and Yasiin Bey. In 2021, Prefuse 73 released his remix of "Never Die" featuring Freddie Gibbs and Yasiin Bey.
Critical reception
Andy Gill of The Independent stated, "With copious assistance from multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee, White creates slinky, rolling grooves incorporating everything from fretless bass to marimba and kalimba, over which Biddines delivers street sketches and epigrammatic non-sequiturs in a pithy, laid-back, dirty-South inflection." Jonathan Frahm of PopMatters commented that "Golden Rules might be able to make a record that's a little tighter and a little more in-your-face on their next go-around, but the fact that they have embraced an actual ability to relay important memories and lessons to the listener through their music is something that many of those in the current mainstream rap game can take a cue from."
Accolades + Year-end lists for Golden Ticket Publication List Rank The Vinyl Factory The 50 Best LPs of 2015
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes.
Eric Biddines – vocals Paul White – instruments, production Shawn Lee – vocals (1, 2, 4, 6–8), bass guitar (1, 2, 4, 7, 8), nylon string guitar (1), percussion (1), guitar (2, 4, 6), Wurlitzer (2, 4, 7), additional drums (2, 6), glockenspiel (2), synthesizer (3, 4), marimba (3), kalimba (3), shells (3), piano (4, 6), drums (4, 7), electric guitar (8, 11), Hohner D6 Clavinet (8), Mellotron (8), finger clicks (8), tom drum (8), Fender Rhodes (11), mixing (1–4, 6–8, 11) Yasiin Bey – vocals (7) Jamie Woon – additional vocals (7) Ben Greenslade Stanton – trumpet (7), trombone (7) Nancy Elizabeth – additional vocals (8) Tenderlonious – saxophone (9) Mara Carlyle – vocals (11), saw (11) Pierre Duplan – engineering (1–4, 6–8, 11), mixing (1–4, 6–8, 11) Carim Clasmann – additional engineering (1–4, 6–8, 11) Nathan Boddy – mixing Noel Summerville – mastering ESPO – artwork DLT – layout
Charts + Chart performance for Golden Ticket Chart (2015) Peakposition UK Official Record Store (OCC) 22
References
External links