Written by Bijan in Music | 2nd July 2018
This year, so far has succeeded in providing us with impressive music in the Hip-Hop and R&B scene. Not only has there been a clear emergence of talent, but the quality and innovation put into albums is evolving.
In a world where the expected – and certainly repetitiveness – is frowned upon by the sophisticated listener, artists and producers are becoming more obliged to incorporate a degree of distinctiveness amidst their projects. Hence, you may recall a rise in double-albums, shorter projects and even a sequence of planned releases over time.
One of the most anticipated albums of 2018, Drake’s double-sided project, Scorpion has proven to hold its own style of innovation. With ‘A Side’ dedicated to Drizzy’s Rap abilities, and ‘B side’ focusing on R&B, the Toronto artist is indeed killing two birds with one stone (pun slightly intended). Scorpion managed to shatter Spotify’s one-day global record with a whopping 132,450,203 streams; while it smashed Apple Music’s single-day record with 170 million streams. These are huge numbers, and to put them in perspective, Drizzy’s More Life album received 89.9 million streams on its first day in the Apple Music database. Could this be a sign that innovative albums win? Perhaps.
Innovation isn’t the sole ingredient
Interestingly, innovation can take different shapes, sizes and angles when it comes to albums; as young New York rapper, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie evidences in his latest project. International Artist, just like its name, incorporates a global element to its track-list and features. This seemed like an excellent idea; especially as the FIFA World Cup had just commenced. However, the album sadly received negative reviews and opinions from A Boogies fans. Though, the reason for its disappointment was tilting towards the quality and flow of his work. This could suggest that innovation isn’t the sole ingredient to a successful album release; but an important, if not crucial component to attracting listeners.
Examples of Innovative Albums
There have been several unique releases this year:
- My Dear Melancholy, – The Weeknd
- SremmLife3 – Rae Sremmurd
- Kanye West produced:
- Ye – Kanye West
- Daytona – Pusha T
- Kids See Ghosts – Kanye West & Kid Cudi
- NASIR – Nas
We expect future releases to carry on this trend of innovation, and it will be exciting to see where artists take their ideas. Here at Vibestyle blog, we are all about new ideas and innovation; so keep your eyes peeled for new posts on similar topics.
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