Too High to Riot


Too High to Riot is the second studio album by French rapper Bas. It was released on March 4, 2016, by Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. The album sold 8,065 copies in its first week, debuting at number 49 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Background

The album includes the guest appearances from his labelmates J. Cole and Cozz, along with The Hics. The sonic foundation of the album is produced by Ron Gilmore, Ogee Handz + DikC, Cedric Brown, Cam O’bi, Sounwave, Subdaio, The Hics, and K-Quick.

Promotion

On April 15, 2016, Bas announced Too High To Riot Tour with Cozz, EarthGang, The Hics and Ron Gilmore. The tour started June 3, 2016 in Miami, Florida and ended July 17, 2016 in New York City. The tour was 26 dates. On January 30, 2017 Bas released Too High to Riot documentary on Tidal. The documentary was available exclusively to Tidal subscribers for the first few days, it was uploaded to YouTube on February 4, 2017. The documentary follows Bas on his Too High to Riot tour.

Singles

On December 4, 2015, Bas released the first single from this album, titled "Night Job" featuring J. Cole. The music video for "Night Job was released on March 3, 2016. On December 11, 2015, which is a week later, he released the second single, titled "Housewives". This track, also was included on the Dreamville's compilation album, titled Revenge of the Dreamers II. On July 15, 2016, Bas released "Housewives " featuring rapper Ab-Soul. On February 5, 2016, the album's third single was released for the song, titled "Methylone". On the same day, Bas announced the release date, track list, and cover art of the album.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Too High to Riot received acclaim from critics. Scott Glaysher of HipHopDX rated the album a 3.9 out 5 saying, "Too High to Riot is hands-down Bas’ best work to date. It’s a smooth yet potent project with few stumbles minus the rhyme variation. It mixes all of his strengths into one cohesive package and demands to be played again and again. With only four real concrete years in the game, this latest installment to his catalog is the foundation he needs to potentially become Michael Jordan himself; or at least Steph Curry." Writing for Exclaim!, Themistoklis Alexis praised the rapper for "a maturity that never preaches — something that many of his peers generally don't reach until a handful of albums in." In a positive review for The Arkansas Traveler, Brittany Williams said, "Whether Bas is too high to riot because of indulging in cannabis or because of his new found status in hip-hop is hard to determine, but the rapper’s writing skills, melodic rhyme scheme and overall relatability are hard to ignore."

Track listing

Credits adapted from ASCAP.
Notes
Sample Credits