Do Rap Albums Still Even Matter?

In modern music, it feels like there’s a new single taking off every few weeks, especially from younger artists who came up in the streaming era. Hit singles during the advent of streaming, YouTube and social media have been mischaracterized as “easy,” depending upon the song’s content or people's personal feelings about the artist. It’s not simple at all to have a song catch on, but even in their success, artists have been (often pejoratively) referred to as “singles” artists, while online chatter has suggested that “albums don’t matter anymore.” The reality, as per usual, is closer to the middle.

BossMan Dlow - Get In With Me (Official Video)www.youtube.com

The most popular young rappers of this current time, have huge singles. GloRilla, Sexyy Red, Ice Spice, Central Cee, BigXTha Plug, and even the R&B singer 4batz fit this bill. The thing about the huge splashes they made to break through to the mainstream, doesn’t diminish their ability to make complete albums. As always, having a single that people like not only gains you fans, but time. The difference now is if you have a viral single and an OK debut album, it evens out and can lift you to stardom. There is more patience for the artist who already has a hit, in the commercial marketplace, than the one who has never made one. A single being everywhere does not directly correlate to an artist lacking the touch and skill to put an album together, either. This also isn’t very different from the earlier days of rap; your single always had to perform well to set up your album’s release.

BossMan Dlow - Get In With Me (Official Video)www.youtube.com

Albums in rap are still relevant, especially from newer acts; the biggest difference is the amount of competition in the market. There are more rappers than ever in the public space, and they are all fighting for the same ears. It cuts both ways; rappers have to make each album a “moment,” capturing the attention of their target audience and also have to put out enough music to stay in the mix. That opens the door to multiple strategies, such as multiple albums in one year, or one project with a long and sustained build-up.

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Both sides have their pros and cons, but they exist in a world where there are a ton of rap albums dropping every month, with some getting lost in the shuffle. All of that is due to the increased pace of music due to streaming, a lower barrier of entry (no one has to go to a studio anymore), and the attention social media brings. It’s hard to pay attention to every album that drops, which makes it also hard to get your album to cut through the noise.

What’s most unfair about the whole discussion of rap just being singles and nothing else, is that singles were vital from the very beginning of the genre. A single has always needed to work in some sense, to lead to an album. Some of the most believed singles in hip-hop didn’t turn into much past that, let alone an album (or a classic album). There is nothing wrong with having a successful single; it’s just the conversation immediately turning to, “They can’t make an album!” is ridiculous, and doesn’t allow room for acts to develop. Everything takes time, and good rap albums receive love when it’s time for it to happen. There is still an art to making albums, and there is nuance to be had in both how often they are released and received.