It Comes Down to December...

Album sales are down all across the board. Aside from Kanye West's Graduation which sold 957,000 copies its first week, has there been any other albums released this year that can be considered necessary purchases? Pharoahe Monch's Desire might have been the second best album behind Graduation but apparently sold little over 17,000 copies its first week. Detox and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II never dropped (unsurprisingly), while both T.I's T.I. VS. TIP and 50's Curtis did and were either real mediocre (somewhat surprisingly) or downright crappy (duh, CURTIS). Not too long ago, Nas released his album Hip Hop Is Dead to controversy on a number of fronts; I myself found the statement over-the-top and rather douchebaggy, but today I can't help but wonder if Nas was on to something. Hip-Hop might not be dead, but it certainly appears to be either hibernating or on its last legs. Which is why the month of December may be what makes or breaks the future of the rap industry.

I've been forced to listen to the radio on a number of drives for soccer this year, and have been appalled with the amount of plays songs like Crank That receive. I always knew it existed, but back home I never listened to the radio at all so I remained blissfully ignorant to the overall state of mainstream rap music. But now that I have realized how ugly it can be, hope appears to be on the horizon. For in the month of December, potentially 5 "must-purchase" albums may be released. Now release dates in the rap game like a Larry David promise, and I got the dates from the oh-so reliable wikipedia, but nonetheless, I'll continue on the assumption that all the albums will release on the day the are supposed to. On December 4th, Wu-Tang Clan's 8 Diagrams, Ghosface Killah's Big Dough Rehab, and Scarface's MADE will all drop, while on December 11, Beanie Sigel's The Solution will be released, and on December 18th, Tha Carter III will come out as well.

8 Diagrams and Big Dough Rehab are the best hope for the underground, less mainstream rap fans. Ghostface's last two albums have been real hot and everything I have heard from the new Wu-Tang album I have liked. However, the underground scene has had a rough year. Talib Kweli's new album did not have a large effect on the rap game, and Common's new album was hated on by pretty much everyone. The hopes then fall on the shoulders of the Wu-Tang Clan and one of its members. Will this new album bring them back to the label of 36 Chambers or will it less successful, like The W or Iron Flag?

The last two, The Solution and Tha Carter III have the hopes of entire regions riding on them. The East Coast has been dead for some time in rap- I mean Busta Rhymes was crowned "King of New York"- and despite Jay-Z's comeback and new album, it still needs resuscitation. What it comes down to is that the East Coast needs quality rap, and the rap industry needs the East Coast markets. Beanie Sigel has been released from jail, started up some shit with Kanye questioning his sexuality (nothing like a little beef, it leads to better music) and recorded an album that originally had the title of Return of the Bad Guy. That sounds like something rap needs. Weezy's Carter III on the other hand is a huge album for a couple reasons. First off, the South has been rather dominant in the rap game for a little while now, but this year has had sort of a down year, considering Jeezy's and TI's mediocre releases. Wayne needs to basically put the whole region on his back. He also has to prove on a studio album that he is "The Best Rapper Alive". Both of the Carter's have been hot, but haven't cemented his status as a king in the game yet. The Carter III must do that. Plus with all the bloggers and backpack rap fans, and mixtape heads dick-riding him so hard right now (me and the rest of the contributors included) he's got to to prove he's worth all the attention.

However the most interesting and possibly most powerful album of the 5 could be Scarface's MADE. Now sophomore year I think was the year I was in my Scarface phase (along with Freshman year maybe) and after G Code I slept on him for a while. But he's got a new album coming out, and considering his last real solo album was The Fix, a fucking classic, this new album could be the best Gangster/Hardcore rap album for a long time. Scarface raps real hard, maybe the hardest in the game, and its time to see whether or not that holds clout in the rap industry any more.

If these 5 albums all drop to critical acclaim and at least modest album sales, rap can consider itself in ok shape. If they flop though, then you have possibly the best group of all time, possibly the best gangster rapper, probably the best young rapper, possibly the best slept on rapper, and probably the hungriest rapper all failing, and rap music may not be able to survive all that in the span of one month.

(I hope you enjoy my 5 paragraph critical essay right there and that's not even for a class)