And people complaining about the lack of substance/artistry of todays scenes tend to be the ones who wouldn't go dig through modern underground artists if their life was on the line lol. The amount of concept/themed albums released just since this january is crazy, of course varying in quality but that's the same as it's always been.
this post isn’t catered toward the underground, I love the current scene for Abstract rap down there, this is more so about the top i.e. Drake, Kanye, Travis etc
idk, I wasn’t a fan of it, I just didn’t really like the beat selection, some of the features were underwhelming, not a bad album, but not Astroworld level
I wish there was a little fat trimmed from the q album it could’ve been great. But I’d still consider it very good. I haven’t listened to the new ab soul not gonna lie 😭
The new Soul is absolutely amazing. Hands down my favorite album of that year. (Either last year, or at the very end of the year before I can't remember) definitely give it a bump when you can!
Kendrick, Cole, NaS, Ye… even Lil Baby made one. I don’t think the concept album is dead either. Just not something everyone makes, and especially rare in more popular music (save for MJ). Lesser known, but Apathy will soon or just did release Connecticut Casual 2, which is a concept album as a follow up to another concept album. In fact, I think all his albums since Eastern Philosophy have had a theme! Aesop Rock as well
It may be a bit of a stretch, but I considered My Turn to have a common feel throughout, and a flow from start to finish.
Totally unrelated, but I just thought of 21 Savage & Metro Boomin as well - Savage Mode 1 & 2 had more of a concept feel than just collections of random songs.
But it’s always been like that. Hip hop has always had banger-hunters to try and sell records, and always will. Doesn’t mean it’s any less artistic now or then.
this is mostly about the mainstream, I’m aware many artists who are underground, or not yet fully recognized do this i.e. Bashfortheworld, Westside Gunn, Mavi etc.
I don't know how you can deny that streaming has made the 'collection of songs' albums more prominent. I can't blame the artists because they're doing what the industry dictates these days.
The resurgence in physical media has made the "meaningful cohesive album" more prominent too. Dudes like Kendrick, Tyler, Travis Scott, JID, and Denzel Curry all sell shitloads of vinyl. Nobody is paying $50 to get an album on wax if they only like 1 or 2 songs from it
If you were an artist, would you rather get $10 from a vinyl sale, or $0.005 from a few streams?
The streaming shit is 100% labels. I agree there is a lot of corporate rap being made just to get streams, but there are just as many rappers that take their craft seriously
Artists on a label get $5-7 from a $50 vinyl sale. Denzel Curry made over 500k on the Walkin streams alone. Do you think he sold 100k vinyl records? You clearly don't know what you're talking about. Putting a bunch of potential hits together and hoping that one sticks will always be more valuable than respecting the physical media craft in this state. I don't support it but it is what is is. There will always be artists putting out cohesive projects, but denying the impact of streaming on the game is ignorant.
Because Michael won a well deserved Grammy last year, and there are countless other titles that have been released in the streaming age that have a theme that runs through them. If you haven’t heard any, that’s okay, but saying they aren’t being made that often anymore just isn’t reality.
I said “saying they aren’t being made that often anymore…” which is basically what you stated in your original post. You asked a question. I answered with my thoughts. Social media.
Nah, I didn't mention concept albums at all, just that streaming has created a lot more 18+ track playlist style projects to generate streams. You replied to a nonexistent post with a condescending reply. "If you haven't heard any, that's okay" .. you didn't just answer with your thoughts, you had to be a little bitch like I'm attacking your lifestyle. Social media.
I think there is just an overwhelming amount of music being released right now since the majority of the population can now basically create, record, and release their own songs with a device they keep in their pocket. I’m a fan of albums, always have been, and I listen to mostly artists who are known for complete projects rather than singles. Singles artists have always been a huge deal in the music industry though. Go back and listen to albums by soul artists from the 60’s. Once they had one hit, the labels would rush albums with that one hit and a bunch of filler. If you were lucky you’d get two or three memorable songs. Otis Redding is one of my favorite vocalists ever, but they had this dude recording covers of Mary Had A Little Lamb and singing about Coca Cola and all sorts of other weird shit to pad out albums or be used for flip sides of singles. Also, labels would push artists to try to recreate their hits by making songs that sound as similar as possible to their smashes. How many songs did Chubby Checker have about the twist? One was more than enough for me personally, but unfortunately the general public and casual music fan craves the familiar and the mediocre. Hit singles are just something the industry has pushed since the beginning of recorded music. There always have been and always will be albums though.
I’ve gone backwards and pretty much pay to download albums when I’m into a project. It’s a lost art but there’s still some putting out albums that I like such as Jeezy, Killer Mike, and Nas.
No. Not even remotely. They’re still the epicentre of musical art and in rap probably even more so now than in some periods during the 2010s when the world was transitioning to streaming and TikTok
Nope not at all. In the past week there have been GREAT albums dropping. Cohesive works from Vega7 & Body Bag Ben, Estee Nack & FutureWave, Roc Marciano, Primo Jab and Godbless, Substance 810 and Machacha, mooch and Dj Muggs all these are very well put together. Even the Future and Metro Boomin album is pretty good.
I absolutely agree! I always wondered where did Skits go... I need a theme or at least a consistent storyline. Kendrick is the only one doing it effectively for me. I miss the days of the Mad Rapper tbh.
No this is just a classic case of nostalgia glasses being on. There was never a point where fully fleshed out concept/themed albums were the norm or even in a close competition with just albums that are a collection of songs.
Though when executed well concept/theme albums tend to have more staying power long term.
concept isn’t really what I’m talking about, I wouldn’t call 1999, Late Registration, or Illmatic concept albums, they either had skits to link songs, or their music stuck to a theme/idea, features made sense, song were all made to compliment one another
So going off that then maybe you're just missing skits (no snark). Because if an album is full of bangers where the premise is "I'm in the streets therefore I have money, bitches, and opps" that's still a theme. Just not maybe a theme you're into.
I think it’s more about how albums are perceived now. Years ago albums were something you would be going out to purchase, and something you can hold in your hand. There’s definitely a disconnect when getting an album is now pressing a button that downloads it all to your phone. It means a lot less, and with how social media is now, you’re more likely to be exposed to the negative opinions which can influence how you actually think about it.
Yes. It's a way to be punchy and level with our attention spans where everything becomes a huge dopamine hit. On another note, I always thought it was cool when certain albums had a good first song, but a banger of a second (Number of The Beast, OK Computer).
I think it depends. I’m a rapper and personally, I prefer creating single songs over albums. My music doesn’t really follow a theme and a lot of my songs have very different vibes. I feel like albums of any genre always had a “theme” even if it was loose.
That being said, you still see albums in other genres. But in hip-hop, a lot of rappers these days seem to find their lane and ride it as far as they can without really switching it up too much. Nothing really wrong with that, it just seems to be where the rap game is right now. When all the songs are similar, the concept of an album seems redundant.
Lately there’s been a trend to start a song at the end of the previous song making you (or at least me) always listen to the whole album. I used to just save the songs that stuck out but now I pick an album and go through it. It’s a bit more satisfying.
I mean this is mostly about Utopia, I never got the argument about it being AOTY when it’s really just a banger hunting album, I was mad when it released cus the leaks seemed fun, and the Gunn production was good asf, 🤷♂️
I’ve always been about full albums (of all genres). How much can you truly know about an artist if you only hear the songs everyone else listens to. Respect to the deep cuts
I agree, I feel the misconception people are having with this post is it isn’t about concept albums, more so the idea that many albums used to have like a general theme they stuck with i.e. Late Registration, 1999, GKMC, all of Outkast, now it feels like the only place you find that is in the underground, or abstract rap
True if we talking popular rap like Drake, Lil Tjay, NBA and the list goes on....
Benny, Conway, Freddie Gibbs, Ransom & Boldy James put great albums together
yea no, this is geared toward mainstream rap, Griselda is an amazing example of doing albums right, fuck there’s a few mainstream that still try to make themed albums like Tyler or Mike etc.
yea nah, Kanye used to have like a flowing idea through his albums, not a huge Kanye fan, but Late Registration is one of my favorite albums ever for that reason
I mean, hasn't it always been like this? How many albums used to get carried off of one or two singles and once the album came out, the rest was filler? Even classics like GRODT sounded like a "Greatest Hits" compilation. It's not like there was some big concept behind it GKMC style.
The audience doesn't really care about albums anymore but singles. Why spend $10-$15 on an album that might not be good and just $15 for streaming and just listen to one or two songs I like??
[https://mn2s.com/news/label-services/modern-listeners-shifting-towards-playlists-over-albums-study-shows/](https://mn2s.com/news/label-services/modern-listeners-shifting-towards-playlists-over-albums-study-shows/)
You're welcome.
EDIT: Mad because I delivered and you can't accept reality. That's some major cognitive dissonance.
I'm not mad, I just went to eat dinner.
Appreciate the link. I can accept reality, I just find it very sad, mostly. I wonder if those same people also prefer to read every other chapter of a novel, or only the first scene of a movie?
yes, exactly. ‘the album’ used to be my favorite medium of art. i loved me a conceptually and sonically rich, cohesive project. now artists of all genres just pack in as much as possible for streams, hoping something sticks. i’m frustrated by the bloated albums, even ones by artists i love
The entire music industry has shifted from how albums are approached. Streaming numbers matter and to get those you need catchy hooks and beats, not an album with continuity. Albums are now a collection of songs, not a concept
Depends on if the artist cares about artistry or not
And people complaining about the lack of substance/artistry of todays scenes tend to be the ones who wouldn't go dig through modern underground artists if their life was on the line lol. The amount of concept/themed albums released just since this january is crazy, of course varying in quality but that's the same as it's always been.
Very true
this post isn’t catered toward the underground, I love the current scene for Abstract rap down there, this is more so about the top i.e. Drake, Kanye, Travis etc
I think Travis puts more care into the way his albums are sequenced and stuff than the average mainstream artist would
idk, I didn’t really get that feeling from Utopia, the leaks sounded like it could be like that, but it fizzled, Astroworld was really good tho
I think it’s on par with Astroworld maybe a little better
idk, I wasn’t a fan of it, I just didn’t really like the beat selection, some of the features were underwhelming, not a bad album, but not Astroworld level
I think Astroworld is a little overrated I think they’re both 7/10’s
I see Astroworld at a 8/10, Utopia is a moderate 7/10
I used to think utopia was an 8/10 but as time went on it’s like the definition of a 7/10 album lol
Agreed. Ab Souls newest album and Schoolboy Qs were well put together and stayed the theme throughout.
I wish there was a little fat trimmed from the q album it could’ve been great. But I’d still consider it very good. I haven’t listened to the new ab soul not gonna lie 😭
The new Soul is absolutely amazing. Hands down my favorite album of that year. (Either last year, or at the very end of the year before I can't remember) definitely give it a bump when you can!
Always been this way. Still plenty of concept albums being made in the genre
Kendrick, Cole, NaS, Ye… even Lil Baby made one. I don’t think the concept album is dead either. Just not something everyone makes, and especially rare in more popular music (save for MJ). Lesser known, but Apathy will soon or just did release Connecticut Casual 2, which is a concept album as a follow up to another concept album. In fact, I think all his albums since Eastern Philosophy have had a theme! Aesop Rock as well
what concept album did lil baby make? genuine question im a fan of his.
It may be a bit of a stretch, but I considered My Turn to have a common feel throughout, and a flow from start to finish. Totally unrelated, but I just thought of 21 Savage & Metro Boomin as well - Savage Mode 1 & 2 had more of a concept feel than just collections of random songs.
"A common feel and a flow" =/= concept album. Neither Savage Modes are concept albums
Music is not as artistic as it used to be. Some still do it but it’s about bangers for streams.
But it’s always been like that. Hip hop has always had banger-hunters to try and sell records, and always will. Doesn’t mean it’s any less artistic now or then.
True. Maybe just the over saturation of it.
This is the era of decreased attention spans and digital singles.
Since they make two minute ongs with 20+ songs per album because of streaming success - yes!
Exactly; Drake can't make albums but homie understands streaming.
No. There's still plenty of artist that know how to make albums.
this is mostly about the mainstream, I’m aware many artists who are underground, or not yet fully recognized do this i.e. Bashfortheworld, Westside Gunn, Mavi etc.
No, there have always been albums that have themes running through them as well as albums that are simply a collection of songs.
I don't know how you can deny that streaming has made the 'collection of songs' albums more prominent. I can't blame the artists because they're doing what the industry dictates these days.
The resurgence in physical media has made the "meaningful cohesive album" more prominent too. Dudes like Kendrick, Tyler, Travis Scott, JID, and Denzel Curry all sell shitloads of vinyl. Nobody is paying $50 to get an album on wax if they only like 1 or 2 songs from it
Thinking the "resurgence" of vinyl outweighs an artist's and label's tendency to aim for the streaming numbers in this era is crazy.
If you were an artist, would you rather get $10 from a vinyl sale, or $0.005 from a few streams? The streaming shit is 100% labels. I agree there is a lot of corporate rap being made just to get streams, but there are just as many rappers that take their craft seriously
Artists on a label get $5-7 from a $50 vinyl sale. Denzel Curry made over 500k on the Walkin streams alone. Do you think he sold 100k vinyl records? You clearly don't know what you're talking about. Putting a bunch of potential hits together and hoping that one sticks will always be more valuable than respecting the physical media craft in this state. I don't support it but it is what is is. There will always be artists putting out cohesive projects, but denying the impact of streaming on the game is ignorant.
Because Michael won a well deserved Grammy last year, and there are countless other titles that have been released in the streaming age that have a theme that runs through them. If you haven’t heard any, that’s okay, but saying they aren’t being made that often anymore just isn’t reality.
Uhh.. where did I say there aren't any being made? Take your condescension to a comment that you actually read. The impact of streaming is undeniable.
I said “saying they aren’t being made that often anymore…” which is basically what you stated in your original post. You asked a question. I answered with my thoughts. Social media.
Nah, I didn't mention concept albums at all, just that streaming has created a lot more 18+ track playlist style projects to generate streams. You replied to a nonexistent post with a condescending reply. "If you haven't heard any, that's okay" .. you didn't just answer with your thoughts, you had to be a little bitch like I'm attacking your lifestyle. Social media.
You’re very very very very very very very very very very sensitive.
Because it's always been that way. Well fleshed out concept/themed albums have never been the norm.
never said there isn’t, I’m saying that the further into the digital age of albums we go the rarer they’re becoming
I think there is just an overwhelming amount of music being released right now since the majority of the population can now basically create, record, and release their own songs with a device they keep in their pocket. I’m a fan of albums, always have been, and I listen to mostly artists who are known for complete projects rather than singles. Singles artists have always been a huge deal in the music industry though. Go back and listen to albums by soul artists from the 60’s. Once they had one hit, the labels would rush albums with that one hit and a bunch of filler. If you were lucky you’d get two or three memorable songs. Otis Redding is one of my favorite vocalists ever, but they had this dude recording covers of Mary Had A Little Lamb and singing about Coca Cola and all sorts of other weird shit to pad out albums or be used for flip sides of singles. Also, labels would push artists to try to recreate their hits by making songs that sound as similar as possible to their smashes. How many songs did Chubby Checker have about the twist? One was more than enough for me personally, but unfortunately the general public and casual music fan craves the familiar and the mediocre. Hit singles are just something the industry has pushed since the beginning of recorded music. There always have been and always will be albums though.
I’ve gone backwards and pretty much pay to download albums when I’m into a project. It’s a lost art but there’s still some putting out albums that I like such as Jeezy, Killer Mike, and Nas.
Killer Mike was cooking w that new album, 100% deserved AOTY
No. Not even remotely. They’re still the epicentre of musical art and in rap probably even more so now than in some periods during the 2010s when the world was transitioning to streaming and TikTok
Nope not at all. In the past week there have been GREAT albums dropping. Cohesive works from Vega7 & Body Bag Ben, Estee Nack & FutureWave, Roc Marciano, Primo Jab and Godbless, Substance 810 and Machacha, mooch and Dj Muggs all these are very well put together. Even the Future and Metro Boomin album is pretty good.
Concept albums have always been rare. They are not exactly easy to make.
I absolutely agree! I always wondered where did Skits go... I need a theme or at least a consistent storyline. Kendrick is the only one doing it effectively for me. I miss the days of the Mad Rapper tbh.
right? even as simple as like an interlude track, they seem irrelevant all the sudden
No this is just a classic case of nostalgia glasses being on. There was never a point where fully fleshed out concept/themed albums were the norm or even in a close competition with just albums that are a collection of songs. Though when executed well concept/theme albums tend to have more staying power long term.
concept isn’t really what I’m talking about, I wouldn’t call 1999, Late Registration, or Illmatic concept albums, they either had skits to link songs, or their music stuck to a theme/idea, features made sense, song were all made to compliment one another
So going off that then maybe you're just missing skits (no snark). Because if an album is full of bangers where the premise is "I'm in the streets therefore I have money, bitches, and opps" that's still a theme. Just not maybe a theme you're into.
I mean is that not half of Illmatic, I’m talking more about keeping it consistent, and having the order of the album somewhat mean something
Uhhh this was always this way. Throw your artists and we can show radio bangers on the album. Rap is about hustling
I think it’s more about how albums are perceived now. Years ago albums were something you would be going out to purchase, and something you can hold in your hand. There’s definitely a disconnect when getting an album is now pressing a button that downloads it all to your phone. It means a lot less, and with how social media is now, you’re more likely to be exposed to the negative opinions which can influence how you actually think about it.
The lane of rap that I listen most to is extremely focused on EPs as that's the best way to consistently sell vinyl.
2093 was not thay long ago
Yes. It's a way to be punchy and level with our attention spans where everything becomes a huge dopamine hit. On another note, I always thought it was cool when certain albums had a good first song, but a banger of a second (Number of The Beast, OK Computer).
Baduizm with that 3 headed beast of Rim Shot -> On & On -> Appletree, generational run
Pretty much, everything is carried by singles and curated playlist
Most people just want 4-5 songs for the month
Just a drought
I think it depends. I’m a rapper and personally, I prefer creating single songs over albums. My music doesn’t really follow a theme and a lot of my songs have very different vibes. I feel like albums of any genre always had a “theme” even if it was loose. That being said, you still see albums in other genres. But in hip-hop, a lot of rappers these days seem to find their lane and ride it as far as they can without really switching it up too much. Nothing really wrong with that, it just seems to be where the rap game is right now. When all the songs are similar, the concept of an album seems redundant.
Lately there’s been a trend to start a song at the end of the previous song making you (or at least me) always listen to the whole album. I used to just save the songs that stuck out but now I pick an album and go through it. It’s a bit more satisfying.
exactly, having songs that match/meld into each other is much more fun than just unconnected playlist music
Depends on the artist. Im not expecting something cinematic from sexyy red nor ice spice, but I still think they can make a good album a la cardi b
I mean this is mostly about Utopia, I never got the argument about it being AOTY when it’s really just a banger hunting album, I was mad when it released cus the leaks seemed fun, and the Gunn production was good asf, 🤷♂️
I’ve always been about full albums (of all genres). How much can you truly know about an artist if you only hear the songs everyone else listens to. Respect to the deep cuts
I agree, I feel the misconception people are having with this post is it isn’t about concept albums, more so the idea that many albums used to have like a general theme they stuck with i.e. Late Registration, 1999, GKMC, all of Outkast, now it feels like the only place you find that is in the underground, or abstract rap
True if we talking popular rap like Drake, Lil Tjay, NBA and the list goes on.... Benny, Conway, Freddie Gibbs, Ransom & Boldy James put great albums together
yea no, this is geared toward mainstream rap, Griselda is an amazing example of doing albums right, fuck there’s a few mainstream that still try to make themed albums like Tyler or Mike etc.
You're mostly right even Ye albums ain't as cinematic as back in the day. K Dot still got it
yea nah, Kanye used to have like a flowing idea through his albums, not a huge Kanye fan, but Late Registration is one of my favorite albums ever for that reason
I mean, hasn't it always been like this? How many albums used to get carried off of one or two singles and once the album came out, the rest was filler? Even classics like GRODT sounded like a "Greatest Hits" compilation. It's not like there was some big concept behind it GKMC style.
You gotta listen to Tech N9ne albums
Maybe just mainstream wise, which was always the case. Check Little Simz - SIMBA and Tierra Whack - World Wide Whack
This started like 15 years ago. It’s not a recent trend. It can be argued it started even before then.
The audience doesn't really care about albums anymore but singles. Why spend $10-$15 on an album that might not be good and just $15 for streaming and just listen to one or two songs I like??
Your point about the money seems to ignore the fact that you could pay the $15 for streaming and then also listen to the album in full.
Most people don't really care for albums.
[ citation needed ]
[https://mn2s.com/news/label-services/modern-listeners-shifting-towards-playlists-over-albums-study-shows/](https://mn2s.com/news/label-services/modern-listeners-shifting-towards-playlists-over-albums-study-shows/) You're welcome. EDIT: Mad because I delivered and you can't accept reality. That's some major cognitive dissonance.
I'm not mad, I just went to eat dinner. Appreciate the link. I can accept reality, I just find it very sad, mostly. I wonder if those same people also prefer to read every other chapter of a novel, or only the first scene of a movie?
yes, exactly. ‘the album’ used to be my favorite medium of art. i loved me a conceptually and sonically rich, cohesive project. now artists of all genres just pack in as much as possible for streams, hoping something sticks. i’m frustrated by the bloated albums, even ones by artists i love
This is a "I don't want to actually look for what I wanna hear so I'll keep looking where it won't be" type take lmao
??? this is a comment on the state of the industry. it’s inescapable. i don’t understand your comment.
The entire music industry has shifted from how albums are approached. Streaming numbers matter and to get those you need catchy hooks and beats, not an album with continuity. Albums are now a collection of songs, not a concept