Critical Praise:
“There’s something to be said about Detroit rap right now, and Allstar JR is proving to be a mainstay.” – Billboard
“…he’ll leave you making a stank face.” – The FADER
“Allstar JR continues to peel back layers and provide good music along the way, further showing Detroit is a hotbed for talent and he is a name you cannot leave out of the discussion.” – VIBE
The Announcement:
A consummate hustler in a city full of them, Allstar JR has the respect of everyone in the Detroit scene. The Eastside native teams with 6 Mile standout Icewear Vezzo for “Signed To The Bank,” the new video from JR’s album Ball Up Top. Produced by Ronnie Lucciano, the propulsive Michigan-style banger finds the Get A Bag Records CEO and the Iced Up Records CEO trading boss life bars with panache. In the video, JR brings out the city’s VIPs to celebrate their successes, as he and Vezzo luxuriate in their spot on the top of the food chain. The video for “Signed To The Bank” quickly follows last week’s album drop, which came accompanied by the music video for the album’s fiery introduction, “U Silly.”
Born out of the Eastside rapper’s “get a bag” mindset, Ball Up Top is packed with hustle-hard anthems, challenging all comers to match JR’s unparalleled work ethic. JR’s world is a world of chinchilla coats, bussdown watches, and Cartier buffs, flaunting his well-earned ends, but always hungering for more. The rapper is a master of slick turns-of-phrase, crafting punchlines filled with never-before-heard flexes that beg to be rewound. The sonic palette of Ball Up Top reflects the luxurious lyrical focus, with beats by producers like Trauma Tone, FlexOTB, Ronnie Luciano, JoseThePlug, Yung Icey, 4ThousandWatts, and ReeceBeats, favoring rubbery bass and ice cold, 80s-style keyboard tones to accompany the speaker-rattling Michigan percussion.
Ball Up Top welcomes guest appearances from some of the biggest names in Detroit’s scene. JR is more than comfortable going bar for bar with the best in his city, whether it’s his fellow Eastsiders Icewear Vezzo on “Signed To The Bank” or Peezy on recent single “I Ain’t Made It Yet,” or expert punchline artists like BabyTron on “Baby Momma Vision Board.” JR welcomes Babyface Ray and King Hendrick$ to bolster their art collections with “$30K Paintings,” and gets into the nitty-gritty of the hustle with WB Nutty and Mack Nickels on “Rapping My Indictment.” By the album closer, “Half of Me,” it is clear how hard JR worked to escape the grind and reach his current life of luxury: “I followed their footsteps, I don’t know sh*t, but the Lord got plans for me/I got booked and I coulda got cooked but the Lord kept hands on me/You was on the ‘Gram, I had grams on me,” he rhymes. With additional guest spots from GT, Rexx Life Raj, and more, Ball Up Top is out now via Get A Bag Records / EMPIRE
With Ball Up Top out now, JR looks to keep scoring. Give him the ball and clear out: there’s a new floor general in town.
Watch “Signed To The Bank” ft. Icewear Vezzo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_2ey-CJi_c
Stream Ball Up Top: https://music.empi.re/balluptop
Watch “U Silly”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahhAIjz9Hmo
Watch “I Ain’t Made It Yet” ft. Peezy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8IbWPRRh5M
Watch “Baby Momma Vision Board”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o6HJALmG1M
Ball Up Top tracklist:
The Background:
Allstar JR has been rapping since his middle school years, when he and Tee Grizzley founded the rap group All Stars Ball Hard, building a cult following around the city for their hustle-hard anthems. In 2016, after run-ins with the law derailed his hoop dreams, JR released his first mixtape, Get A Bag Or Go Home, emphasizing his unparalleled work ethic and determination to achieve independent success. Get A Bag Or Go Home became JR’s signature mixtape series, inspiring the name of his record label, Get A Bag Records. The artist and CEO scored several street hits over the ensuing decade, notably the 2017 single “Cases Pending,” which has millions of streams across platforms. In 2018, as the city of Detroit started to get national notice for its busy rap scene, JR started his second signature mixtape series, Organized Crime, home to his local hit “Million Dollar Thoughts.”
Recently, JR has become one of his city’s dot connectors, fluidly moving between the sounds and scenes that populate the 313. He has collaborated with everyone in the city–he’s equally comfortable talking shop with Icewear Vezzo on “Ice Bag,” engaging in stick talk with Babyface Ray on “3 Macs,” and swapping punchlines with BabyTron on “MMA.” “MMA” appeared on his 2023 album Organized Crime 2, JR’s first release in his partnership with EMPIRE. Last year, JR remained prolific, releasing 4 albums including his solo album Parked At The Bank, featuring appearances from CEO Trayle, Babyfxce E, and Baby Money, Casino Bag 2 with LOM Rudy, and Overlordz Get A Bag with Overlord Scooch.
Stay tuned for Ball Up Top, coming via Get A Bag Records / EMPIRE on May 28th
Photo credit: Top Line Filmz
Please contact Michelle or Annjie for more info.
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“Signed To The Bank” ft. Icewear Vezzo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_2ey-CJi_c
Ball Up Top: https://music.empi.re/balluptop
“U Silly”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahhAIjz9Hmo
“I Ain’t Made It Yet” ft. Peezy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8IbWPRRh5M
“Baby Momma Vision Board” ft. BabyTron: https://music.empi.re/babymommavisionboard / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o6HJALmG1M
“I’m The Guy”: https://youtu.be/sR-gbY3pylI / https://music.empi.re/imtheguy