Why Most Popular Artists Make Terrible Albums…

[@LILGHETTI]

Streaming services are favoring hot singles for playlists instead of full cohesive projects

[@assassin8636]

Not really they can both be good in their own way

[@loganleatherman7647]

Yup. The advent of streaming more or less has killed artists’ motivation to construct cohesive full-length projects. Even artists’ solo projects sound like a hodgepodge of tracks thrown onto a “insert artist’s name here” playlist (e.g. Uzi’s Pink Tape, Drake’s For All The Dogs, Thug’s Punk, Lil Baby’s It’s Only Me, etc.)

[@TheCuttyBrown]

If that's how it's being consumed, that's how they're going to keep serving it... u know how attention spans are these days

[@midnighteye2737]

That's why I always listen to artists that aren't being spoon fed to me by popularity

[@MooMoo69556]

Yea man, fight the power and the mainstream media.

[@nonoasailo9690]

Who are those exactly???

[@sigmathewhaterm]

​@@nonoasailo9690arctic monkeys????? Bru

[@otisedwards8827]

I feel like they make these type of albums is because they're afraid of tanking or being a flop. basically afraid they're music won't bring in that much, if any real sales for record labels to keep them around. I don't really listen to underground, but I know it's better than most things on the radio, yet commercially, it hardly makes a impact, or have any longevity.People are so into vibe, repetitive songs and albums, they don't really get into underground music.

[@Guythatlivesaquietlife]

Does anyone listen to the radio nowadays????

[@assassin8636]

​@@Guythatlivesaquietlifethey do

[@assassin8636]

We like vibe songs so we're not to supposed to like them anymore? Also yes we do listen to underground music

[@marothimahlake7458]

True art is and always has been a niche market. If an artist was to produce art consistently throughout its career the fanbase would marginally smaller…

[@Guythatlivesaquietlife]

@@assassin8636 like who? The only demographic that I can imagine listening to the radio are people over 40. What's the need of radio if you can have things tailor made for you in streaming services

[@destinyafehijemounu5818]

I keep saying it, underground artists are the best but the problem is when they get to the top they sing rubbish. A list artists are always dropping bad albums

[@royalty4958]

Idk the mainstream is mixed with both the worst music out and the best music out

[@romantrukhin5298]

give me couple of underground rappers that better than a mainstream ones

[@royalty4958]

@@romantrukhin5298 Aesop Rock is pretty good

[@bosher1817]

@@romantrukhin5298 denzel can be considered underground, other than ultimate back in 2015 he never got a big hit

[@ryantristani5091]

@@romantrukhin5298 redveil

[@andyd3758]

Mainstream Hip Hop is currently undergoing reviews and criticisms through the lens of underground hip hop metrics. This level of critique was not a common practice in the past, and it highlights a fundamental issue. Mainstream hip hop traditionally focused on offering a sound with easily digestible lyrics, aiming to attract the youth and new listeners to the genre. The idea was for them to develop a fondness for hip hop and gradually explore the underground scene, where they could discover the true masterminds, such as MF Doom, Inspektah, Talib, Mos, and Black Thought. This approach was never the norm in mainstream hip hop, primarily because it can be intimidating for newcomers, and the youth might not fully grasp the depth of meaning in the lyrics, as well as the fact that the sound might not be as widely popular. In elementary school you start with Cat in the Hat then gradually get to Shakespeare in high school. But now people want Shakespeare first. When looking at the "big three" in mainstream hip hop from 2010 to the present, which includes Kendrick, Drake, and J. Cole, it's crucial to not only consider their music but also their use of platforms for promoting new artists and sounds. When you compare how Drake has utilized his platform to Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole perspectives will change. Despite personal biases, it's clear that Drake has been far more active in supporting emerging talents in every avenue. Drake consistently featured opening acts, solo interludes, and collaborations on high-selling albums, surpassing Kendrick and J. Cole by a significant margin. Drake on his last tour has done more with his platform than Kendrick's has past 5-6 years. Kendrick has only done two features one in 2019 with sir and one recently with Beyonce. His current tour is the highest rap selling tour and his only opening act was Baby Keem. Which is unfortunate because Kendrick audience would love artists like Little Simz, Saba, Westside, Benny and a K Dot co sign would do wonders. Also the biggest reason, was decline of mixtapes in hip hop contributed to the genre becoming less exciting and more focused on making money instead of making art because mixtapes traditionally allowed artists to take risks and experiment with their music. They didn't have to cater to commercial expectations, record labels, or radio airplay. Without this creative outlet, artists may feel pressured to produce music that is more commercially viable, which can lead to a homogenization of sound within the genre. This shift towards making music for profit rather than artistic expression can result in a loss of the authenticity, diversity, and innovation that has been a hallmark of hip hop, potentially making it less exciting for both artists and fans. Mixtapes were like a creative playground where artists could just have fun with their music. But even then I saw Lil Wayne "Fix for the Six" mixtape being criticized and bashed, so it just leads back to Hip Hop Media outlets and critics.

[@ericthawin6900]

Yaa but i aint readin allat

[@guppi3129]

had me in the first sentence then i hit show more

[@righteouslioncomedian1069]

​@@ericthawin6900 Yep. I can tell by the way you typed that reading ain't your thing. Lol.

[@WillYuchmow]

"over glorified idolization of its biggest stars" -Fantastic Hip Hop 2023 This is like what I've been trying to say for so long to people but just did not know how to word it. Legendary quote

[@ZackAngelMusic]

Consumers and Labels Consumers have a lot of power and choice since illegal downloading. The music and industry was actually better when consumers didn't have as much power. A band or artist was like a mini-culture in a sea of bands/artists creating one huge musical culture

[@Snarl616]

That was 20 years ago, before internet. When consumers didn't have much power, the labels or producers ruled and very often they gave people sub-par stuff, or music so sold out that the artists were unrecognizable or just worthless. It's not like that anymore because with internet people could go listen to the classics of their genres, and discovered they were all much better than the contemporary mainstream music.

[@yungphat596]

Youngboy can drop a good album from time to time he just need to get off house arrest and work wit more producers and artist

[@lilyVGYBT]

Youngboy my fav rapper, he dropped straight heat 2018-2020 every project was so hard but now his shit not hitting the same

[@user-x3cctjs]

He had a really good feature on a Tyler the creator album. I’ll link it here if you want

[@kingkookz]

I agree he still has flashes where it sounds like he trying and it ends up being great but I genuinely think he’s getting bored with the beats he’s being fed which leads to repetition throughout the duration of some of his projects

[@t-god2439]

Not a fan a fan of nba I did think ai youngboy 2 is fire especially that into. But knowing about his career I think he should take a break and come back when he has something to say other than sliding. Dude has more albums than e-40 which is crazy

[@8thgod769]

See I would say that too but like it’s just other artists are annoying sometimes and I’m really agreeing with u because some of dat shit I don’t wanna hear cause it’s depressing

[@Vexgee]

Despite all the things Doja is under fire for, her “Scarlet” album was a COMPLETE masterpiece. She dove into different genres and included Jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and others. She used great lyricism and had a different flow for every single song on that album. It sucks that her creativity is usually pushed to the back burner because of what goes on in her personal life and on the internet. Scarlet is definitely one of, if not, the best album of the year alongside Utopia

[@lulanokonwo6274]

Nah that shi was trash

[@sbeautiful6133]

🗑️

[@noelsdrawings1547]

@@lulanokonwo6274I mean some of it was good but the rest of that shit was a bit cheeks. It’s an okayish album at best

[@imgonnatellmom3245]

Scarlet was a 0/10, not a single good song in the album. Full skips no hits.

[@noelsdrawings1547]

@@imgonnatellmom3245 listen to Can’t Wait

[@keejay12]

Because the most popular are puppets of their labels and their contracts unless you're Kendrick

[@royalty4958]

Or Tyler or Cole or JID or Travis or Pusha

[@arseeoliveira6934]

Hahaha, bro said Travis

[@furret1_]

or kanye

[@R4bStraightFromItaly]

​@@arseeoliveira6934Ehm yeah,how is he "a puppet of his label" when he literally CREATED his label(Cactus Jack)

[@yanganaperera8500]

@@royalty4958 or Uzi or Carti

[@Oceanwasnttaken]

Doja ate up Scarlet

[@andresciahooten9598]

Also, the record companies are about making money. They don’t care about the creative process of making music. And they know that people are “stupid” and “gullible” to buy what is popular. Plus, I also blame some of the KZbinrs. Because they only care about and talk about who’s popular in music today. And they are always talking about the same goddamn thing that every other KZbinr talks about. And most of them only do it because they only want clicks and views. So they can make more money on KZbin

[@excelry2155]

Another great video. Keep it up bro one day u gon blow up.

[@ryantristani5091]

I really think we could be entering a much more creative era of rap. These are the artists who I believe will spearhead it: JID Teezo Touchdown Baby Keem redveil Westside Gunn (really Griselda as a whole, but Gunn is the most notorious. Personally Benny is my favorite) We haven't seen enough of Tanna Leone yet but i think he has a lot of potential, and Ray Vaughn could be way better than he has been..

[@wooderio092]

travis clears all of them

[@kingkookz]

@@wooderio092he’s been in the game since like 2013 and came up under the guidance of Ye and Cudi…comparing an already proven to superstar to a group of artists on the come up is not the flex you might think it is

[@wooderio092]

@@kingkookz didn’t ask lil bro

[@t-god2439]

I curious as to why nick grant isn’t getting more love his latest album was crazy. And as for Westside I could see him going a more Kanye route and just moving stuff behind the scenes

[@kev1619]

teezo and baby keem are trash buddy replace them wit yeat and destroy lonely then ill agree

[@FreeSmokeMac]

One of the best and most slept on album this year that actually was crafted with time and effort is Lovesickness by Don Toliver.

[@idrisslm1922]

And never enough by Daniel Caesar

[@kev1619]

horrible album shit sound like boring travis scott throwaways. glad he got outselled by yeat

[@corainshorts]

playboi carti escaped this. he wanted to be different and he made his own label and branched out with success. truly a successful story

[@OVO_HOLLOW]

YB in the title is uncalled for, made me lose interest immediately

[@israelagalaba5493]

Also, the famous musician knows that even if they dont put effort into their craft, their main fans will still buy the product, which in turns makes it seem like its pointless to make good music.

[@Snarl616]

20 years the answer was that it's because it's easier to focus on just 4 singles on Mtv and fill the rest with of the cd with half assed songs. Today the answer is more complex, but still very anti-artistic: it's about social media, little dances on tiktok etc. Majors want money and sales, they don't care about anything else.

[@n3wt]

this is so well produced and thought out

[@djflipthaboss]

The part about Dj Khaled is a great point because every time he is making all album he goes to Jamaica, makes a big showdown with Sizzla, Capleton, Bounty Killa etc in studio... but those songs ever get played anywhere, the beats are trash and I bet if it was a Jamaican producer doing those collabs those songs would buss and mash up de dance !!!

[@ilirlluka6789]

Not sure if dj Khaled falls into the "artist" or "musician" denominatives though.

[@andresciahooten9598]

The reason why some artists can make garbage albums and people are willing to buy it. It’s because some people are sheep! And some people just are willing to buy anything that’s popular. But I don’t care how popular it is. If I don’t like it, then I’m not buying it. And I buy albums, not singles

[@mariokarter13]

If you actually care about an artist's music you'll buy it. If you don't, you'll stream it until something new comes along. The people that track music sales have caught on to this fact and have replaced actual sales with "album equivalent units" which is how A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie managed to score a #1 album with only 749 copies actually sold.

[@Leffblicc]

Respect your work brother!

[@kaigibson2192]

Great vid fr , you had me till you put the only clip of playboi carti in it😭 all cartis albums are actually really good even the leaks and he’s always pushing music forward every release

[@austintgod9621]

Until this video,i didn't realize till now how much drake gets away with making trash music. Maybe his other works covers up his bad ones but he has a pretty large number of below average,lifeless tracks for an A lister.

[@Jsbtn_]

true, i mean i let it pass tbh since hes been in the game for like 18 years and shit so i dont have much expectations for drake anymore dude already did what he had to do

[@austintgod9621]

@@Jsbtn_ it feels like he's jz chasing trends now...his creative mindset has been squeezed out.

[@Jsbtn_]

@@austintgod9621 true.

[@prologueofzinachia7123]

How can that BE?!!!

[@NIGHT-GAURD]

In young boys defense his projects are fun

[@noelsdrawings1547]

I think Doja Cats new album is okayish at best like a 6.5-7/10 cause some of the songs like Can’t Wait and Skull And Bones are really good. I don’t support her marketing technique though like it still would’ve garnered attention without the whole demonic music videos but it is what it is 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@steveremo474]

We're just kinda at the end of the music label era... Soundcloud rap was the death bell tolling back in 2017

[@t-god2439]

I also think music has be infiltrated more now than it has ever been. it’s sad the labels are literally just making people famous who haven’t put in any work

[@jaredhicks1370]

Couldn't add anything as to why mainstream artists aren't putting out good albums. I don't listen to mainstream hip-hop often. I will say, Indie/underground rap hasn't been letting me down. Drumwork (Conway's thing that isn't Griselda, but them too), strange music and or Below System (Chuuwee and Trizz tbh) has released nothing but 🔥🔥🔥 this year

[@guppi3129]

chuuwee fye

[@jaredhicks1370]

@@guppi3129 Dio don't miss. No More Rappers 1 & 2 get played back to back. I haven't heard a project I wasn't feeling yet from him.

[@txwtw]

Does anyone have any tips on how to be an original musical artist?

[@SkyGlizzyRecords]

Dababy has no flow and is off beat bcuz he wrote all his garbage and everyone loved him even tho he a big part why people dont listen to rap anymore.

[@djayshoe]

I can’t wait til I drop a album the world gonna hear my story

[@jordanlopez1438]

Fantastic Hip Hop I got a question what's THE worst album you've ever heard.

[@jonlux]

Those at the top can't innovate enough with the changing music ecosystem

[@iDewThis4Yu]

Why is Doja invoked in this convo? Y’all just hating she is the only mainstream woman that actually put out a dope album in awhile..because she can actually rap.

[@crystalcastillo7575]

Girl bye, Doja’s album was filled with filler that was clearly “made to chart” , if she had stuck to being purely creative we wouldn’t have gotten such mid songs like Gun, Demons, Paint the Town Red etc. all clearly made for radio , when her deep cuts are better. So yes she’s a cloutchaser & a radio feen

[@TheReelDeel]

Crystal you right

[@iDewThis4Yu]

@@TheReelDeel no she’s not😂. This B just put a long negative connotation on having a couple singles on an album😂. Y’all just sound stupid. And demons? Those verses where creative tf y’all talking about? And paint the town red was cool. I swear that’s why women rappers don’t stay long y’all women/gay fans just petty

[@kneo2476]

@@crystalcastillo7575 none of those songs are mainstream or radio friendly ☠ closest she got to radio hits was planet her bc of the bubblegum pop. other than like 2-4 songs off of scarlet, theyre all non average radio hit sounding. u dont have to like her but dont be bias

[@808sirenz9]

She better making pop hits than doing the satanic angle and I dig her rapping but people don't want to hear that from her. "Can't Wait" and "Paint The Town Red" are bangers tho

[@D33pEndR3cords]

I agree I think something big is on the cusp… something god for once

[@kiki-jp9eb]

this is why i’m waiting for rocky album

[@k-dawgwestmore4643]

This is why Griselda and Reach Records artists sweep the mainstream

[@Sakima205]

I don't think they are fr. I think bc it's shoved in so many peoples face that the music gets plays... they count plays as buys now ... even if the listener turned it off halfway and laughed at it.... that stream counts as numbers.

[@bosher1817]

a stream is not a play, a stream usually isnt counted if you turn it off or skip almost instantly

[@leodeacprod]

This guy has a Fortnite voice

[@gastgadtje8753]

Wait why is MGK on the thumbnail? His last three albums have been decent to good?

[@VARVARYT]

These industry niggas been played out

[@televszn]

Patience I Have

[@EddieLove]

MGK has made amazing projects. Drake’s FATD (yes I see what I did there) is the best work he’s released since 2020.

[@Zoomydoomy]

Which isn't saying much

[@hrodrigo3094]

"Drake's FATD is the best work he's released since 2020." FATD is not better than DLDT or Her Loss imo

[@kmboss1606]

Bro if Chloe Bailey doesn't keep up with her popularity music is dead

[@mcmaccool6783]

Because they don't know MC Mac Cool - Weird Dream 😊

[@iDewThis4Yu]

I don’t even think new drake albums are bad….to be fair I never liked any of his older ish so maybe it makes sense why I like the “new drake”. But idk I just feel like when you reach a certain level of mainstream people just B and complain…like your look as less of an artist and more of a product..people want one thing from you and if you don’t give them that then your “falling off”. Or worse..narratives just get stuck to you. Take Kendrick for example. Dude dropped last year…last year.. and people are still saying “Kendrick hasn’t been around drop the album” like dude just came from the dead and dropped and Grammy winning album that was the second highest selling rap album that year and people still just stick with the narrative of “he hasn’t dropped in forever “😂.

[@8thgod769]

In young boys defense sun of his singles in the albums be good Asf 👋🏽and the features do go crazy most of the time but I had to catch a body to really feel most of that nigga music and now them sad depressing songs don’t hit no more

[@peterhughes1037]

Drake is such a cornball

[@Allious131]

And he's trash to

[@angelicaaah1264]

Recommend me some good underground artists you love?

[@jaredhicks1370]

Too easy. Jarren Benton, Chuuwee, King Iso, 7xvethegenius, Trizz, 38 Spesh. All cold, lot of their music is bar heavy and boom bapitty, but not afraid of a trap beat. Especially Jarren Benton

[@kiki-jp9eb]

spaceghostpurrp

[@jaredhicks1370]

@@kiki-jp9eb 💯 exactly

[@misterx44]

Cannot agree with it. What if that was Dojas and Drakes vision that they had for years, labels wasnt pushing em. As a beatmaker I can say its crazy to impress a listener with absolutely new sound on a album of artist and what most harder, is to keep attention and interest of the listening. A loooot of reasons why hip hop is stucked, from sonically side just from plugins and samples from sound engineers ( who think how to make more samples in mainstreem sound) to just "industry producers", who sometimes even aint passion about the music, just doin a job for the label to make the next tik tok track. I aint even taking artists reasons when consiquences from the side that rap music became a pop genre where everybody is trying to hop up on it and not even trying to figure out what they purpose and individual vision of their rap.

[@chandreshtripathi3443]

Nicki is also making art, make a video on her❤❤

[@yoursnatchedweave641]

she is also a terrible person so

[@gaara4667]

Sneak MGK in the thumbnail like we wouldn’t notice.

[@josher0658]

Mgk mid though

[@joshuagregoire9504]

You joking ...

[@younggod3906]

Rigged System

[@timmy5876]

tbh as much as i’d love a whole album that’s all on one theme or one song leads to another, overall i just want single songs that i can put in my playlist. In a playlist it’s always on shuffle so if 2 songs need to be played after eachother and i shuffle my playlist then start driving it’s frustrating. Also there’s nothing worse than a song having a clip of a girl speaking or just in general a bad part, for example the drake and 21 savage song on for all the dogs, i love 21 savages bit but there’s over a minute of just a girl talking in the middle which i don’t wanna hear. I’m not saying that part was a great experience for the album but things like that i dont like, can’t think of another example rn

[@XXXTENTACIONTHEGOAT]

If a album goes platinum & gets millions of sales then the album is clearly good enough for people to enioy. If ur just 1 person talking shit against the thousands who loved the albums then nobody takes ur opinions serious.

[@K-rock212]

One day

[@KeevinPerry-r7l]

The Hottest Rappers Are bound 2Fall off,They use The Same Formula 2 Fineness Records Sales just of Their Super Star Status Like How Drake, Wayne , Nicky & Dj Khaled Did BK wen It's was YMCMB!!..😏✅

[@Steve-390]

The Ye portion was misleading because people who were actually there said that they liked the song once he played it, then he kept coming in everyday singing the day same time song everyday you would be sick of it too

[@AsherneZ]

Kanye is a mega star but makes masterpieces

[@aizenzae4510]

I see Doja on the thumbnail and I must say…Scarlet is actually her best album. Her marketing ploy with this devil worshipping and dissing her fans was the reason she flopped. Can’t do that weird shit and think you gonna make money off of us.

[@joshpowers4795]

Capitalism

[@okaydmuzikkk6771]

Ngl Quavo Album , Travis scotts utopia , Offset album waa the only 3 GOOD Dope mainstream hiphop albums this year with Honorable mentions Doja cat new album aswell... um where not even gonna talk about Drake....😂😂😂 yea um...

[@yanganaperera8500]

pink tape is great, i loved the album ngl

[@PY2Active]

Saw yb in the title and immediately disliked the vid and reported your channel 🙏🏾

[@PrinceVuyoMaphosa-rq3bo]

I think the artist that r left in the indusrty are not creative imagine if the reppers that we lost where here they would hv hepled changed the game such as xxtentacion .juice.pop smoke .mac miller those guys knew their identity nd the best reppers r yet to be discovered there is a lot of talent out there in the world

[@LorenaPassosYook]

Chris Brown makes great albums 😊

[@nonoasailo9690]

Dj Khaled an artist 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣he is a hype man.

[@kiki-jp9eb]

business man

[@NIGHT-GAURD]

Mgks albumz are ok

[@Jac735]

I'll hype no substance simple is that l o l

[@TheOnlyCentaurus]

Only trash album MGK got is binge and that was like 2018 he shouldn’t be on that thumbnail. Ever since then he been evolving, excited for the new rap release next year.

[@oservoasafe]

great vid

[@soulking_na]

Pls take mgk out this thumbnail 😭😭😭

[@maadkid]

He went from one of the worst rappers of his generation to one of the worst pop punker oat he Def got a spot

[@soulking_na]

Have you actually listened to MGK or you just talking out your a*s

[@biggablayez456]

🤲🏽⚖️🦂

[@franckateba2970]

💯 facts

[@jamaragon2424]

Artists like uzi and travis and j cole never get boring

[@jamaragon2424]

@@mrlofi333 lol

[@Idk-ik4dg]

Zip up his pants when ur done lil bro

[@idrisslm1922]

@@mrlofi333 he didn’t say j Cole is the same level as travis and uzi why are you offended ? he just said they never get boring

[@qb335]

And Chris brown

[@jamaragon2424]

@@Idk-ik4dg didn't know being a fan was a, bad thing