Priceless (Birdman album)

Priceless (stylized as Pricele$$^[5]) is the fourth studio album by American rapper Birdman. The album was released on November 23, 2009, by Cash Money Records and Universal Motown Records.^[6] Producers included I.N.F.O., Oddz N Endz, Timbaland, Drumma Boy, T-Minus, and Infamous. As of 2024, this remains as Birdman’s latest studio album to date.

Priceless
Studio album by Birdman
Released	November 23, 2009
Recorded	2006–09
Genre	Hip hop
Length	52:17
Label	Cash Money Universal Motown
Producer	Birdman Slim Lil Wayne (exec.) I.N.F.O. Timbaland Oddz N Endz Drumma Boy T-Minus T-Pain DJ Infamous Boi-1da Kevin Rudolf
Birdman chronology
5 ★ Stunna (2007) Priceless (2009) Just Another Gangsta (2019)
Singles from Pricele$$
"Always Strapped" Released: March 17, 2009 "Written on Her" Released: June 23, 2009 "Southside" Released: August 18, 2009 "Money to Blow" Released: September 8, 2009 "4 My Town (Play Ball)" Released: November 23, 2009

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
HipHopDX	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
The Smoking Section	[4]

Singles

The first, and second most successful single off the album was "Always Strapped" featuring Lil Wayne. The remix was used for the video, and album featuring Mack Maine. The second single was "Written on Her" featuring Jay Sean, which in December 2009 significantly also became Birdman's first release in the UK.^[7] The third, and most successful single of Birdman's career as a lead artist peaking at number twenty-six on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Money to Blow", featuring Drake, and Lil Wayne. The fourth single from the album was "4 My Town (Play Ball)", also featuring Drake, and Lil Wayne.

Chart performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number thirty-three, selling 34,000 copies in its first week. It's his lowest charting album to date. The album has currently sold over 380,000 copies as of March 4, 2010.^[8]

Critical reception

William E. Ketchum III of HipHopDX.com said that Birdman constructs a disc full of capable singles, but not because of his own skills on the mic, but his producers and his guest stars. Calling the album "an album that's much more tolerable than Birdman detractors would expect or like to admit." He talked down to Birdman's rapping saying that "unlike other materialistic rhymers, Birdman doesn't have any redeeming qualities; he doesn't have the charisma of Lil Wayne, he doesn’t have the dry wit and wordplay of Fabolous, and he lacks the larger-than-life persona of Rick Ross. He furthly states that the uninventive rhymes and the unvarying subject matter take their toll. In conclusion, he stated that Birdman may not know how to rap well, but "by leading a team of capable emcees and beatmakers around him, he knows how to make music. And in this industry, that sixth sense of knowing what goes where is, well, priceless."^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Bryan Williams Tyler Williams	T-Minus	1:48
2.	"Been About Money"	Williams, J Christopher	I.N.F.O.	4:12
3.	"Money to Blow" (featuring Drake & Lil Wayne)	Williams Aubrey Graham Dwayne Carter Christopher Gholson	Drumma Boy	4:19
4.	"Money Machine"	Williams Howard Metoyer	X-Fyle	3:21
5.	"Pricele$$" (featuring Lil Wayne)	Williams Carter Timothy Mosley	Timbaland	5:33
6.	"Bring It Back" (featuring Lil Wayne)	Williams Carter Marco Rodriguez-Diaz	Infamous	4:22
7.	"Nightclub"	Williams Metoyer	X-Fyle	4:36
8.	"4 My Town (Play Ball)" (featuring Drake & Lil Wayne)	Williams Graham Carter Matthew Samuels	Boi-1da	4:21
9.	"Hustle" (featuring Lil Wayne & Gudda Gudda)	Williams Robert Cobbs	Andrew "Drew" Correa	4:23
10.	"Shinin'" (featuring T-Pain)	Williams Faheem Najm	T-Pain	3:31
11.	"Mo Milly" (featuring Drake & Bun B)	Williams Graham Bernard Freeman	Boi-1da	4:12
12.	"I Want It All" (featuring Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne)	Williams Kevin Rudolf J. Kasher Carter	Kevin Rudolf	3:16
13.	"Always Strapped" (Remix) (featuring Lil Wayne & Mack Maine)	Williams Carter Cobbs Jermaine Preyan	Mr. Beatz	4:34

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"MP (a.k.a. Money and Power)"	The Olympicks	4:29
15.	"Ball Till Ya Fall" (featuring Gucci Mane)	Boi-1da	3:37
16.	"Grindin' Making Money" (featuring Lil' Kim & Nicki Minaj)	Mr. Beatz	3:47
17.	"Written on Her" (Remix) (featuring Jay Sean, Flo Rida & Mack Maine)	Oddz N Endz	4:10
18.	"Southside" (Remix) (featuring Lil Wayne, Mack Maine & Rick Ross)	Infamous	3:46

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2009–10) Peak position US Billboard 200[10] 33 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[11] 6 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[12] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2010) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[13] 43 US Top Rap Albums[14] 19

References

1. "Priceless Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
2. "Priceless Review". HipHopDX. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
3. "Priceless Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 19, 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
4. "Priceless Review". DJBooth.net. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
5. "Pricele$$: Birdman: Music". Amazon. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
6. Overstock.com (2009-11-24). "BirdMan - Priceless [PA] [11/23] *". Overstock.com. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
7. Birdman interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' December 2009
8. Kaufman, Gil (2009-12-02). "Susan Boyle Beats Adam Lambert, Rihanna For Billboard #1 - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
9. Ketchum, William E. (2009-11-27). "Birdman - Pricele$$ | Read Hip Hop Reviews, Rap Reviews & Hip Hop Album Reviews". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
10. "Birdman Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
11. "Birdman Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
12. "Birdman Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
13. "2010 Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
14. "2010 Year-End Charts: Rap Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.