Being a music lover is very difficult. But being an artist is probably a harder burden to carry… You have no idea what the fans want. Do they want you to stay the same or to grow and dabble with different parts of the art form? Evolving too much can make you lose your core following. Not changing at all can make your career static and you end up not getting the recognition you deserve... so basically, you're fucked either way.
“I miss the old Kanye”. This is a saying we all know (and overuse if we’re being honest). Here is a man who journeyed into music and made 3 classics in a row (this is not debatable). He then dropped 808’s and heartbreak and was killed for it (at the time). But this was an actual moment in music. It influenced a whole generation. But you know he lost a few of the fans he started off with, with this album. He then released My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (another classic, if you disagree go jump off a bridge). He was again back in the good books with fans.... and then he goes and releases Yeezus. I grew to appreciate it, but majority thought he'd lost his mind (and most reckon he hasn’t gotten it back) ... And after that was The Life of Pablo which was either loved, or extremely hated. A lot of the fans who had stuck with him at the beginning were already gone at this point though. Ye really didn’t help this. What’s weird though is that with this growth/or change, he gained a whole new following.
This is like the biggest example, I think, of how fickle we can be as fans. I understand if a person's music starts deteriorating (cough cough slim shady stand up) but if the quality is still the same (or at a similar standard) and they change their style, you should at least try support them, shouldn’t you? Then do we not want our artist to change?
On the other side we have Mick Jenkins. He has been releasing quality music without much change in style for many years now... always talking about water and such, but his career has been quite static. He hasn't gotten to a bigger audience. He's good but we haven't seen much growth from him in a long time. His core following still love him and still preach him being underrated... not considering the fact he hasn't grown as much. Which is why I think when his career is done, he will just be a blimp in the story of rap music.
Change doesn't lose you fans all the time though. My favourite Rap group OUTKAST has changed with every album. I'm not kidding. From how each album sounds to how they dress to what they speak about, you're in for a surprise with each listen. Every album has been different, and they have gotten better each time. But I'm sure fans of Southernplayalisticadillacmusik probably didn't expect to get all the way to Stankonia or The Love Below levels. But they stuck with them and got to enjoy one of the best discographies in rap.
So, what is the answer to this as an artist. Do you stay the same? MF DOOM hasn't changed much in his career and has stayed “underground" his entire career despite giving us some of the best albums you'll ever hear. Logic has changed but also lost people who loved him at the beginning of his career. Eminem changed his style and started talking about politics and got panned by the industry. Jay Z went from being a drug dealer talking about pushing dope and fucking women to talking about financial management and art. He kept a core following and actually, gained new fans with this growth. I could give you hundreds of examples really. From Childish to Mac Miller. Different recipes worked for different people. So, as an artist, what do you do?
I really don't have the answer to this. Personally, I want change in my artists. I don't want to be listening to the same album every two years with just a few different words every time. Growth in an artist is beautiful, and the rest of the world recognizing this growth is borderline orgasmic. I think that growth is the difference between a great artist and well, a Big Sean. Also understanding that an artist is growing is important and can be growing in a direction not for you is important...so you can let them go and just enjoy their older stuff. Its cool.... but if the quality is shit fuck them.