The Return of Album Relevancy

In the ever-changing music landscape one of the recent trends has been artists releasing albums that are much shorter than the standard length and are more like EPs as they clock in somewhere around 30 minutes. Whether it’s the run of G.O.O.D. Music releases, the Beyoncé and Jay-Z project, Black Thought’s solo debut or the last two projects from Freddie Gibbs, these albums have shown us that you don’t need to have 25 songs to get people to listen and, in fact, you might be better off giving fans a small serving of quality rather than an overstuffed meal that just leaves you feeling exhausted. Aside from the tightness of these releases helping lend to their critical acclaim, the idea of albums being important again may be an unintended yet much welcomed byproduct of this movement.

In the last decade or so, first with the rise of iTunes and then with the introduction of streaming services, the album has somewhat fallen into irrelevancy as listeners can just shuffle through single songs now easier than they ever could previously. iTunes let people purchase only the songs they really wanted from an artist and with streaming services you don’t even have to put up that dollar for a track so you’re even more free to just skim through an album and “favorite” the songs you want to hear again. This has resulted in people claiming to be huge “fans” of an artist without knowing anything outside of that artist’s hit singles and it’s allowed for artists to just toss records up on Soundcloud or one of the major services without having to release an actual album. Cardi B blew up off the success of singles such that people didn’t even really care if they got an album from her so long as she kept giving us heat. Meanwhile due to the way streaming numbers are calculated some artists saw a way to take advantage of the system by releasing enormous projects that mostly contained filler but since they included the hits the project still did numbers (look no further than the Migos second album which has something like 25 songs and clocks in at around 2 hours).

All of this has been brutal to witness for people who value the album format for its ability to capture a theme, tell a story, or just to represent a complete body of work from a well-respected artist. A hit single is fine, but that full length project is what used to really define an artist’s skill as it could elevate them from one-hit-wonder status to established veteran. But in the number-driven industry the album was starting to feel like a dead artform as people don’t have time for a whole project, especially with the subscription model of streaming services allowing for access to every new album it’s like everyone is competing for the same group of listeners.

Two things have come out of all of this. The first is the surprise album as there is not much of a need to promote an album for months when as long as it’s on the home screen of Tidal or Spotify then the people will know about it. The second though, at least in recent months (and last year with Gibbs’ “You Only Live 2wice”) has been these short albums. What’s especially worth noting is how in recent years you saw the discussions of artists be about their hits whether it was Cardi, the Migos (who admittedly did drop a fire album with “Culture”), Young MA, Fetty Wap (his debut album was basically just a greatest hits) and countless other artists who were known off the strength of some hit singles but who most fans couldn’t point to deep cuts on an album (if they even had one) to further solidify that artist’s talent. Now what’s happening is you’re seeing the discussion be about the full albums we’ve gotten recently from Pusha T and Jay Rock and Nas. It’s not that we wouldn’t have reviewed these albums or dissected them if they were 14 songs and 50 minutes but snap judgments would have dominated rather than attentive assessments. In some ways it really just comes down to a time thing. With everyone so busy in this fast-paced social media world you’re more likely to give an hour-long album only one listen before moving on to the next one but if it’s only 25 minutes then it’s easier to let it ride out a couple times since even that still won’t even be a full hour’s worth of time dedicated. Even just that second listen can change the way you hear a record as you might go in with certain expectations and your initial reaction might be based off those expectations whereas if you go back and listen again knowing what you have then you might just listen for what is there rather than what you might have hoped would be there.

What this has also been great for is being able to discover the hidden gems on an album as there’s nowhere to hide them on such a short release. If an album is 18 tracks deep then you might get exhausted around track 11 and just listen to the first few seconds of a song before hitting next and in doing so you might miss the overall message of the album through some necessary transitions just like if you skipped some scenes in a movie because the film was over 2 hours long. But with these more concise releases you’re now seeing every track get equal acknowledgment and while that makes bad tracks really stand out it also ensures that you won’t miss a highlight simply because it wasn’t promoted as a single and it falls 45 minutes into the album that still has 25 minutes to go.

Hopefully this trend continues as quality has always withstood the test of time moreso than quantity. People still claim Illmatic as the best rap album of all time and it’s only 39 minutes. None of this is to say that you can’t make a classic that tops the hour mark as there are plenty of classic records that are closer to 70 minutes in length (one of the best albums so far this year, Victory Lap, clocks in at 65 minutes), but if these shorter releases are what it takes to get people to care about albums again and if it forces artists to focus on making the best music they can rather than just filling up time to get their streaming numbers (the Migos reportedly only spent a few minutes on many tracks on their last album, and it shows) then we’ll continue to enjoy the amazing output that we’ve gotten thus far.

The Black Album is the Greatest Rap Album of All-Time

Hip hop is approaching a 40 year life span. What some thought would die early has gone on to get bigger and more diverse than anyone ever expected. And in those almost 40 years the general consensus among numerous rap fans has been that Illmatic is one of if not the greatest album in the genre’s history. At ten songs in 39 minutes, all practically flawless it’s an easy selection for the highest honor and anyone over the age of 25 has to remember playing it endlessly back in the days of tims and hoodies. But just because it’s always been the best album does that mean it always will be? Or has another release come along in recent years that at this point should surpass Illmatic and grab the title for best rap album of all time? The answer is yes and it’s The Black Album.

Back in 2003 one of the most well known and perhaps the best MC we’ll ever see in our lifetime announced his retirement. His swan song was an album with no guest features but with a powerhouse production team and the perfect sequencing of tracks. Lyrically Jay had never been better and his confidence in releasing the best material possible before retiring made the record only that much better. From the opening song about his childhood to the shoutouts at the end of “My First Song” (a joint which saw him return to his fast flow roots) every minute of the album was on point. It had its highlights, like “Encore”, “What More Can I Say” and the Timbaland banger “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” but every single song was solid, a rare feat especially in today’s rap world. 

Perception and timing is everything, which is why Illmatic was so monumental as it was released at a time when the West Coast was still dominating the charts. It made New York rap relevant again (Wu-Tang might have a little more responsibility for that but whatever) and it fully encompassed the time in which it was released. The Black Album was a retirement record, and so part of the greatness of it was the knowledge that this would be the last time we would ever hear a Jay-Z album and what we got was perfection. It was sad and epic at the same time.

So why is The Black Album better? Well for starters it better reflects hip hop as a whole than Illmatic. When Nas dropped his debut the genre was still in its infancy and was trying to find its identity. Nas truly represented rap on that album in the rawest form possible with street tales and observations along with just flat out rap skills. But The Black Album was more diverse in its topics, in its production, in its representation of what hip hop has come to be over the years. You had the Rick Rubin rock-influenced song, a tribute to the old days of Def Jam. You had the song for females which has become a staple in every rapper’s repertoire. You had the club banger from Timbo, the pure skills raps of “What More Can I Say” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and especially “Public Service Announcement”. But you also had the reflective tracks like “Lucifer” and “Moment of Clarity”. And in all of its diverseness The Black Album was still very cohesive and flowed together flawlessly. Again, a perfectly sequenced album.

Not to take anything away from Illmatic but we can’t keep hanging on to the same perception that the almost 20 year old album from Nas is still the best thing rap has ever blessed our ears with. Sure it’s a great record but by today’s standards it’s really one-dimensional whereas The Black Album offers a wide variety of music, all put together properly with lyrical gems sprinkled all over. Putting a track like “Encore” at the beginning of a retirement album might seem wrong but for some reason it worked brilliantly, again attesting to the masterful sequencing on what is now most definitely the greatest rap album of all time.

Dave East's Debut Album is Pure Harlem Greatness

The distinct confidence of Harlem MCs is fully embodied by Dave East who effortlessly flies through tracks commanding every word be heard and every boast believed without the need for flash or supposed swagger. It's just pure talent with the knowledge of how to spit those street raps so you can feel the smoke in the air and the pain of the hustle. He raps like every day is his last and that hunger and energy makes him one of the best rappers out right now as far as bars and flow and just straight up raw hip hop and his first true album, Kairi Chanel, is proof that his output matches his potential.

Dave East has grown so much in a few short years as Black Rose was a standout mixtape followed by the strong Hate Me Now. Seemingly weekly for around a year he's been blessing us with a track or two or at least a verse and now he's shown that he can make that transition to crafting a complete album. In the age where hits are more plentiful than projects and lyrics have become a slanderous term East gives you that real shit in a format that's listenable for the long term with lessons and diversity spread throughout such that old heads can appreciate his knowledge and wisdom while young fans have someone to look up to for insight and influence.

The first track on Kairi Chanel, named after what is arguably Nas' best album, is an immediate example of Dave East's pure rap talent as he delivers a pair of fire verses. Following that up he showcases his skills as a hook-writer on "Type of Time" and "Again", two tracks that are filled with raw hungry bars which further prove his abilities as a spitter but that also have such catchy hooks that you'll be repeating them for days.

In order to graduate from mixtape rapper to album artist you gotta deliver more than just a bunch of random tracks of dope verses and so songs like "Keisha" and "From the Heart" along with the closer "Don't Shoot" deliver on the narrative front, especially in the case of "Keisha" which is a compelling story and East's ability to keep you focused on every line makes repeat listens just as enjoyable while "Don't Shoot" provides an autobiographical story ending tragically the same way that too many do. Elsewhere on "Slow Down" East shows that even as a young star on the rise he's still wise beyond his years as he takes time to drop some jewels for the youth. It's songs like this that further establish Dave East as a versatile MC capable of delivering a complete and diverse project that keeps you intrigued throughout rather than just giving you an hour of metaphors or brag raps that undoubtedly get tired and forgettable rather quickly.

The guest list on this project is filled with all-stars but it doesn't feel padded with features likely because East is able to easily hang with the vets so it never feels like the guests are carrying this album even with such legends as Beanie Sigel, Cam and 2 Chainz making appearances along with admittedly the only track that I skip (but that is slowly growing on me), "Eyes on You", probably because it has female friendly Fabolous as opposed to the Loso I was expecting to rip apart a street anthem. Nevertheless the name drops on Kairi Chanel only complement this record instead of being the sole reason to check out the project.

It's been a long time since a tape has kept me going back over and over and even longer since anything has made me wanna write but this album has been on repeat ever since it dropped and I couldn't let this pass without promoting how gripping it is and how much it feels like a breath of fresh air to the game. Street rap is alive and well and Dave East is definitely the voice of the next generation of rappers with heart, energy, bars and greatness.

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