The limited shelf life of most rap groups is a an unfortunate reality. For some MC’s, the window of opportunity is so small that getting stuck in record label limbo for two or three years can spell career ruin, while even some of the genre’s greatest groups such as Run-DMC and Public Enemy suffered album release delays which saw them slip from cutting-edge to being eclipsed by the new kids on the block (with the exception of Donny Walberg’s ‘posse’).
The example of the trio from Hollis was a textbook example of bad judgement. Having just come off the enormous success of their all-conquering Raising Hell LP, legend has it that Russell Simmon‘s attempted to bluff their label, Profile Records, into selling their contract to Def Jam by deliberately turning in sub-par material for the next album in order to fool Corey Robbins that his golden geese had laid their last eggs. Unfortunately, he didn’t buy it, and by the time they released Tougher Than Leather in 1988, the rap world had moved on to new heroes in the Juice Crew, Rakim and Public Enemy. DJ Run and Darryl Mac, having spent the extra year busy touring and letting their egos get out of control, delivered an fourth album that would have been amazing in 1987, but in ’88 sounded a little dated, despite the quality of ‘Beats To The Rhyme’ and ‘Run’s House.’
Meanwhile, the new reigning Kings of Rock, Public Enemy, blew away the competition with It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back, which made their delayed debut seem positively primitive by comparison. Once again, following Professor Griff’s dismissal from the group after upsetting a number of journalists, their much anticipated follow-up album was delayed around six months. Thanks to the popularity of ‘Fight The Power’ and an incredible Spike Lee video, the hold-up didn’t cause too much damage, but one can’t help but wonder how much more impact Fear of A Black Planet may have had if it had dropped in 1989. By the time Apocalypse ’91 hit, the diminishing power of PE’s production (as the Bomb Squad became less involved) meant that it was up to Pete Rock to deliver what many consider to be the greatest remix of all-time to keep the crew `at the forefront of a rapidly evolving sonic landscape. By now, Cypress Hill had hit the scene and delivered a new kind of noise that made Chuck and co sound a little pedestrian in comparison.
EPMD, who deliver four powerful albums, were knocked off course by their own internal tensions at the height of their powers, braking-up in 1993 and subjected fans to underwhelming solo albums for four years until they reunited for the largely forgettable Back In Business LP, while M.O.P. were railroaded by some frustrating delays as a result of fruitless deals with Roc-A-Fella and G-Unit which saw them reduced to basically bootlegging their own albums after their surprising break-out hit single ‘Cold As Ice.’ KRS-One dealt with the fall-out over PM Dawn gate by ditching his crew and recruiting DJ Premier and the D.I.T.C. for his first couple of solo albums, but that only delayed him inevitably succumbing to his own hubris.
Is there any way to avoid the dreaded time limit of rap relevance? Or is it simply a product of fickle fans limited attention spans and unreasonable expectations? More importantly, Would the world have been a better place if Ultramgnetic MC’s had releases their second album in late 1989?
No, because Ultra’s second album was horrible, regardless of when it came out. The best song by far (Poppa Large Remix) wasn’t even on the album.
I think Epmds reunion get unfairly hated on but I didn’t really like that album they put out a few years ago. KRS would have been fine if he hadn’t gone bat shit crazy with all that hip hop religion bullshit.
I would argue the time limit argument is true across all genres. Very few artist are relevant for more than five or ten years.
in the late 80’s they were classic lps being released every fortnight, I remember getting eric b and rakim – “let the rhythm hit’em” Lp and PE “fear of a black planet” and being massively disappointed, probably because it didn’t sound like Brand Nubian or whoever the flavour of the week was. I think hip hop artists at the time did have a 3 year life cycle at best.
@Melquan: But it would have been a completely different album if it had been made earlier.
In that era once a group puts out “that” album, it’s nearly impossible to capture that moment again. PE, BDP, NWA, RUNDMC, X Clan, it doesn’t matter. The next crew pushing the envelope was gonna take all the shine. Nobody is immune. It’s sad but true. I do feel that EPMD had a few great albums to go before their fall. They are the most disappointing of all. Robbie, I know you’re an Ultra fan but what they did on Critical Beatdown was lightning in a bottle my friend.
What yall are fogetting about Ultra’s sophomore joint is that they made the ill-advised decision to ditch Next Plateau for Mercury Records, who then proceeded to bring in some European crew to remix the entire album. Just think, they dropped A Chorus Line in ’89, imagine if they would have stayed on Next Plateau and did an album in that vein. As far as Hip-Hop’s window, it’s the very nature of Hip-Hop to seek out that next shit so you gotta adapt and keep it fresh or find yourself on a milk carton. There are a few who managed to go on an extended run like LL (with a few bumps in the road), Hov, and Nas. At least back then, you could get a couple of yeas. These days, you could check into a hotel as “that dude” and by check out time the next day, you’re “who’s that?”
BTW, I never understood why Special Ed disappeared for 5 years at the peak of his run…
Anyone hear about new Fu-Schickens album? Das Efx? Jungle Brothers? De La? (Who’ve made more records than they deserved, really.) Blahzay Blahzay? OGC? Group Home! (Premo’s masterpiece.) Screwball.
EPMD left us wondering what if cuz they were the first group to break up while on top of the world. Erick sermon’s first solo had the production bang but without the vocal chemistry it couldn’t be the same. Eventually, with the west coast commercially taking over they would have had to fall back like the rest of the class of 88. krs-one added a couple years of relevancy to his career by removing the bdp logo from his albums. i never understood why black sheep and fu schnickens took so long with their second albums but those groups had “1 hit wonder” written all over them from the start.
Every day I try to listen to an album from the 87-96 era in my car. Surprisingly, half of these albums sound like shit. Today I played Big Daddy Kane It’s A Big Daddy Thing. A fun album in it’s time, but in 2015, musically sounds like muddled garbage with dated rhymes.
What I find interesting is how some albums still sound fresh today. Redman Dare Iz A Darkside is a perfect example. Other than 90’s references, it sounds like it could’ve been made in the last 5 years.
@Caesar: The second Kane album gets patchy after the first three songs.
Anybody see OC lately? Jeru the Damaja? Let’s not even talk about how much filler is on those first two Eric B & Rakim albums… though of course the non-filler is unassailably GOAT.
I heard Special Ed say in an interview that there was someone at Profile who didn’t like him for some reason. Probably for asking to get paid. Anyway he said when they left the label he was able to release albums again. By that time he had evolved into that wack 1995 Special Ed with that garbage Revelations album.
Mercury really fucked up Ultra’s 2nd album. Because the shit I got the hear (OG versions of Message From The Boss, MC Champion, You’re Not That Large) were all crazy!!! Then the release painted a totally different picture. Fuckin labels…
Didn’t Special Ed set up a studio or something during his sabbatical?
A long time ago rappers were in their late twenties or thirties when they started becoming known. Then it seemed to become a younger artist thing and got progressively more ignorant and disposable. Now it has no shelf life, it seems.
@Caesar Dare Iz A Darkside is a PERFECT example ….and ” I Got It Made” will take a long shit on ANY era to this day, throw that Muhfucka on right now!
@ Oska….Special Ed is like a lost promise; he is the muse of all our High School years ….it’s not like you’ll never be Fresh/Fly again ….its that you’ll never capture THAT specific combo of Fresh/Fly ever again.
Use Cascade Homies….Use Cascade.
@bboy
The thing about Ed is, to me, he got better from Youngest In Charge to Legal. I would have liked to see him get one or two more in before that ’94 wave when Nas, the Wu, Biggie, etc. upped the ante lyrically. By the time Ed came back in ’95, his flow was a little outdated.
@Caesar
It takes a special breed of cat to really appreciate Dare Iz A Darkside…
@oskamadison real talk I feel like Dare Iz A Darkside is less accessible then Reds other albums so a lot of people cant get into it but that LPs on some next level shit
@Jackie
OC and apollo brown – trophies (2012)
Jeru just came out with an EP last july. The single “solar flares” was suprisingly dope. I haven’t heard the rest of it.
@Ben I don’t know what’s not accessible about that album. He raps like he’s possessed and every beat hits hard. Not to mention all the nuances. The record can be played from start to finish. A perfect album IMO.
@Caesar I agree it’s a banger front to back but a lot of people around my age in there early and mid twenties don’t like it cause they only know the goofy Redman from the How High movies cause I always felt like his style changed for the worse after that movie
Dare Iz A Darkside is a litmus test to see who the true Red fan is. Red said he made that album on weed and acid. Hl of a combo…
*Hell of…
I think what’s been overlooked isn’t necessarily the time frame of CLASSIC releases…BUT…the CHANGES in how HIPHOP and RAP artist could create records.Sampling laws ‘taking a major hit’ courtesy of the BIZ MARK ‘fiasco’effectively eliminated those signature sounds that made producers like PETE ROCK, LARGE PROF and DJ PREMIER ‘must have’album craftsmen.The late GURU of Gangstarr would comment on writing and creating many of THEIR CLASSICS, based on a beat or mix he would hear on discs PREEMO just had laying around the studio.
@Ben that’s sad that the ppl you mention sleep on that 2nd Redman. Like oskamadison say that’s how you tell who’s who when It comes to Reggie Noble the father of many dope MCs.
I’m surprised nobody mentioned A tribe Called Quest. their first 3 albums were the bomb, but they waited too long between the 3rd and 4th and 4th and 5th albums.
Beats Rhymes and Life was ok but could have been better.
The Love Movement was forgettable with the exception of the lead single Find A Way.
The way artists pump out mixtapes nowadays makes me wonder why they didn’t follow up Midnight Marauders the following year. Must have been label politics or internal beef. By the time that last album came out I’d lost interest and I was a huge Tribe fan in the early 90s.
Yeah… ATCQ chilled for too long… almost 3 years, and their brand of music as a whole was being moved to the side. Summer ’96 was post-OB4CL, with Bad Boy’s sound beginning to dominate, and the West Coast heading toward the end of their glory… and then you have ATCQ delivering an album that was good,but not great.
I don’t think finite shelf lives are unique to rappers/rap music. I think all pop music (Rock/Soul/Rap/House/Techno/etc) has a 3 LP/5 year lifespan. I know many acts (e.g. Gang Starr, De la soul, Ice Cube, Wu, KRS, Ice-t etc, etc) have dropped many more than 3 albums but even the best rappers’ prime can be narrowed down to 2-3 albums and the rest is either reworking of the same ideas or desperate trend-chasing.
As for acts who missed their window of opportunity or who were actively left to wither
on the vine? C-Rayz Walz, Ayentee, Cannibal Ox, Paris, X-Clan, Ras Kass, Apathy, Onyx,…..anybody who describes themselves as “that real hip hop.”