We’re living in a time where creating and distributing music has become easily accessible to anyone. This has increased the sheer volume of music being released on a daily basis and the number of hits (in the traditional top 40 sense as well as viral sensations online) has increased too. Every so often we hear a song from an unknown artist which grabs our attention and sweeps through the masses in a frenzy. However, the vast majority of these artists disappear never to be heard from again. Few actually manage to grab the audience’s attention and sustain that momentum to turn a single song, mixtape or single album into a successful and sustainable career.
The degree to which these artists grab our attention varies. There are those who release a catchy track which isn’t really about anything deep and we are ultimately not invested in hearing more from them later. There are those who create a buzz within a particular audience, for instance people who just love crunk may be drawn to one particular artist but that artist doesn’t appeal to any other demographic. Finally there are those who create such a huge buzz that the entire industry, or at the very least an entire genre, is invested and paying attention to this man/woman. In this article we take a look at two artists who generated a hug buzz within rap but ultimately haven’t lived up to it.
Papoose
Papoose is a great example of a rapper’s rapper. When he first started to get recognition he was known for his incredible lyricism and vocal delivery. He created a buzz through the use of mixtapes and freestyles. He showed that he’s a thinking man’s rapper by rapping about topics such as the law, politics, self-reflection songs, as well as dropping a crazy “A to Z and Z to A” track. It was evident that Pap had all the talent, skill and drive required to succeed. He had the co-sign of Busta Rhymes and the rap world at large was excited. He dropped a fire verse on the remix to Busta’s hit single “Touch It” and appeared as a featured artist on Joe’s single “Where You At?” He started to appear in music videos, interviews and was the talk of the rap world for a while. In our minds the features were all building up to an album release.
Unfortunately, though he did not strike while the iron was hot. Hip hop heads anxiously waited and waited for an official solo album to drop but none came at the expected time. He no longer featured in notable releases, the solo album was further delayed and he was ultimately forgotten, until he married Remy Ma, became her manager and came back to the public eye for a bit. In between he released some projects that were not recognized by the public at large.
Of course it has to be mentioned that his journey was stifled largely by label politics and other non-music related issues. So we can’t blame it on him not being on top of his game. To be fair he has released so much material that fans can’t complain about lack of content. I guess his was just an unfortunate example of how the industry can stifle an immensely talented rapper’s progress.
Jay Electronica
Jay Electronica is unlike Papoose in that he has been his own worst enemy. He gained notoriety in the late 2000s and started to build a buzz that permeated the hip hop world. He was probably at the peak of his popularity around 2010 when casual fans, hardcore hip hop heads and his fellow emcees were all anticipating a solo project from him. This is now 2017 and 8 years later he has yet to drop a full length solo project. The album has supposedly been in the works for years. If he’s a perfectionist then his only rival might be Dr. Dre who announced that the long-awaited “Detox” album would not happen. Jay releases a single every year or two and made several guest appearances, most notably on Big Sean’s “Control” in 2013, “To Me, To You, on PRhyme’s self-titled debut album and “How Great” on Chance the Rapper’s Grammy Award winning mixtape “Coloring Book”.
Needless to say majority of people have moved on and given up on the artist, who doesn’t seem to be very concerned with feeding his fans the music they so desire to hear. What makes it worse is the fact that the album was supposedly completed in 2011; 6 years ago, which makes very frustrating for fans who are really anxious for the music.
I think one of the worst things about the entire situation is how there’s no real explanation for why the project hasn’t been released yet. Lil Wayne’s “Carter V” album has been entangled in legal and label politics, so fans can appreciate that it’s not Wayne’s fault that the album has not been released. This was the same thing in Papoose’s case where the powers-that-be were the culprits that fumbled with the situation. But in the case of Jay Electronica we are left in the dark.
If and when he does finally release the album I have great doubt that it will be as successful as it might’ve been had it been released a few years ago. Fans are fickle and if you neglect them they will eventually neglect you too. Artists mustn’t forget that an artist-to-fan relationship is exactly that, a relationship. A relationship needs to be fed and there needs to be communication between the two parties otherwise it dies a natural death. It’s such a shame because the few Jay Electronica songs that have been released have demonstrated what a top quality artist he is. Personally I do hope that he will release his music because I feel he has too much talent and such a powerful voice that can influence people positively. However, I’m not holding my breath for it. I’m a fan and I too am fickle.
