The Classic Album Qualification
The life of a rap critic is one filled with hours of hard work and mine is no exception. A full-time student with a part-time job, coupled with the things that I already do with Yonge Entertainment makes time a very precious thing. Money is synonymous with time and she is best friends with stress. Therefore, I thank the creation of portable music players, from the old-school Walkman to the newest cell phone because no one has the time to sit down and listen to music properly. I listen to entire hip-hop albums during my commute and start jotting down notes on what I'm going to write here so I don't forget any idea or question. Listening to 4 Your Eyez Only by J. Cole while I was on the TTC brought me to a question that I couldn't answer for a while though: what makes a classic hip-hop album? If I'm going to analyze and give you all reviews on these better-than-average records, shouldn't there be a definitive description of a classic album?
The answer is no. Rap is poetry, therefore it's an art form and by proxy, it's a very subjective thing. When one looks at Starry Night by Van Gogh or The Scream by Edvard Munch, they will most likely feel differently than the next person who's going to see the paintings in question. What's different about rap is that it's easily accessible, unlike a famous artwork or even a movie. We are constantly listening to music and with rap being as popular as ever, it is basically everything one hears on the major pop radio stations. It's with us during some of the best and worst times of our lives. So that drastically changes what we see as a classic. Personally, let me give you my indicators of a classic album that are "easily" discernible:
Impact
Let's begin with the most vague - and least calculable - of the classic qualification list. While most of us would take this as an opportunity to point out its impact on us personally, let's refrain from doing that. I really liked Dark Sky Paradise by Big Sean due to it coming out when I was starting to really rap and just got out of a relationship (IDFWY is a hit single if I've ever heard one), but I can't let it overshadow its impact on the culture and other rappers with albums like Ready to Die or even Take Care. The debate about how we should be able to listen to it years later and still like it goes into this; it's proof of its impact.
Innovation
When rappers end their careers, if that's something that will ever happen with guys like Eminem and Jay Z still kicking, most hip-hop heads ask what did their greatest album innovate? How was it different from the rest? Eminem could say that both the Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP created the modern rap horror sub genre. Jay Z can say that he taught hip-hop artists how to get rich and stay rich on and off the wax. Wasn't that The Blueprint he was talking about? They used their albums to innovate and create for the genre and the Culture.
Hits
Singles are very important. Artists are now banking their albums on the power of a single track more than the older generation did. That means having a consistent album with hits on it is becoming a rarity. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City by Kendrick Lamar and Dr Dre's The Chronic are the proof of having an abundance of good music on an entire project so that the listener is brought in with the singles and stays to listen to the artists entire project for years to come.
Critical Acclaim
May that be through the ratings from critics such as myself, other artists in the game or from the general public, critical acclaim is important. You can see it in the charts, feel it in your wallet and hear it on the radio: songs that people like can help propel their album into the classic category. By far the fastest - yet hardest - way to make it, so many of the few true classic albums fall into this category, such Get Rich or Die Trying or Tha Carter III.
Albums that are considered as classics by fans tend to have one or many of these qualities. The older generations are going to say that the music being put out today can't be considered classics when compared to what they listen to. Some will even argue and say there is no such thing as a classic album or that it has to wait marinate so that we can see if it can stand the test of time. I agree with some of those points. What we all personally like and the stages of our lives do come in play in these types of decisions, but do we need to wait a certain amount of time to consider something a classic? Yeah. I suggest the 1-3-5 concept: if you can listen to an album 1 year, 3 years and again 5 years after the release and still feel the same feeling about an album, than chances are that they do follow the qualifications I put down and that it is a classic.
Classic things are timeless right?