This week we decided to invite a friend of ours to hear a thing or two or three from him on a subject matter that triggers his interests. A filmmaker in profession so he duly decided to discuss … music. We welcome A Film Maker Named Qiniso (@AFNQiniso on Twitter) to Fluid Thoughts, hopefully this a first of many of his thoughts on the blog.
___________________________________________________
Vol. 2...Hard Knock Life, Aquemini, Graduation, Nothing Was The Same, Dark Sky Paradise, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, Everybody, Thuto, Touch My Blood and Astroworld. What do these albums have in common? Well besides being from the same genre. These were the artists’ third studio effort.
Which brings us to this, The Three Album theory.
Disclaimer: This could all be just a coincidence or not, Life.
This is a theory that can be worded in various ways i.e. "the most successful artists with the biggest influence in the genre drop at least one classic album from their first three". Or "an influential artist who will leave a legacy in the genre usually drops a third album that moves them from "new prospect" to "established artist". I'll be dealing more with the second hypothesis.
What's an influential artist? For the sake of this argument let’s look at the biggest hip hop artists of the last 10 years. Sales will be used as a barometer because it’s something tangible (2009 - 2019). It’s hard to find a definitive list but the same names show up. Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Eminem, Big Sean, Kanye West, Logic and Post Malone. We have a part of the criteria now let’s also define the term "classic". Classics come in many forms, there are unknown classics such as Blu & Exile's "Below The Heavens" (2007) that is highly revered amongst their fans but unknown to most hip hop fans.
Then you have cult classics such as "Take Care" (2011) and "2014 Forest Hills Drive" (2014) where if the classic status of the album is questioned the respective fans are prepared to fight you, shirtless in front of a church during "isonto el'khulu" as the pastor proclaims that the youth must, "stop following each other but follow Jesus and disconnect from social networks and join the Holy network". You also have confirmed classics that unite the different sides of hip hop. These are albums that have stood the test of rhyme and see the pink Polo wearing backpacker agree with the Timberland wearing New Yorker who agrees with your friendly neighbourhood dealer who agrees with South Africa's next top YouTuber that "College Dropout" (2004) is a classic.
Now we have definitions for an influential artist and a classic, now let’s check if the hypothesis holds.
Jay Z's first three albums are: “Reasonable Doubt”, “In My Lifetime Vol 1” and “Hard Knock Life”. “Reasonable Doubt” is a classic and is considered by some to be one of the greatest debuts of all time, a category that houses other classics like “Illmatic”, “Doggystyle” and “The Chronic” etc. However Jay Z was not yet a household name. The gap that was left by Tupac and Biggie allowed for him an opportunity to stake his claim as the new king of New York which he did by dropping Vol 2, his highest selling album to date. It also contains one of his biggest singles that saw him graduate (foreshadowing) from the underground to the mainstream with "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)".
Kanye's first three albums are "College Dropout" (2004), "Late Registration" (2005) and "Graduation" (2007). A hattrick of classics (in my opinion). Try find a better first three album run, actually try find a first three album run that's at least in the same league. Good luck. Anyways Kanye had already built a name for himself as a producer but he had to prove he could rap too (please refer to Last Call). Anyways by the time “Graduation” drops there isn't a question about Kanye being underground but he does move into a new echelon and with that opens up the industry in a way. Labels create a feud between Graduation and Curtis to see who sells more, Kanye wins (well actually the labels really won ‘cause either way they couldn't lose but anyways). It’s a shift for Kanye as he drops a critically acclaimed project that houses some of his biggest singles but also allows him the room for creativity to produce an "808s and Heartbreak" (2008). Kanye's win also opens up the industry, it shows that rappers don't have to be typecasted as the gangbanger or dealer. This victory probably makes the Coles and Drakes of this world’s job easier on a major label.
If one decides to interrogate the aforementioned list they will find that for each artist, the third album truly cemented them in their place in modern hip hop. From 2014 Forest Hills Drive that showed that an album rollout can be less than two weeks if the music is dope or an Astroworld that saw Travis Scott cement his position at the forefront of modern hip hop amongst Drake and the Migos.
To bring it home Thuto is considered Cassper's best body of work (as an album). It doesn't contain a Doc Shebeleza but it’s a more mature album and his most acclaimed project that isn't Kwaito. Touch My Blood, even though it divides opinion, is definitely a defining moment in AKA's career, it houses what might be his biggest single and saw him grow as a force on the African stage.
The Eminem and Kendrick fans have either stopped reading because they didn't see these names or have been cursing me out the whole time, chill. The reason I left these two till now is because they are in a unique positions which I guess is fitting for artists who are unicorns (they are not the only unicorns but the list is short. 3 Stacks, Hov, Kanye. Not much more to add). Infinite is Eminem's debut album. Some say it sold about 100 copies others say about 1000 either way it’s not a lot. If you count this album then his third one would be "The Marshall Mather LP" (2000) which is now certified diamond by the RIAA. MMLP sold over a million copies in its first week which was a record and has the now iconic song, "Stan" which led to the word being included in the dictionary. It cemented his positon (I sure use cement a lot) as a force. If you don't count Infinite and want to count from when he releases his first major label studio then his third album would be "The Eminem Show" (2002) which has also been certified diamond. It was a critically acclaimed follow up that saw him move 284, 000 units (during a decreased week due to premature release) and during its second week (first full week) it moved 1 322 000. It was a commercial and critical success.
Kendrick Lamar has a similar path to mainstream glory. “Section.80” was released in 2011 before the major label deal (A classic in my eyes. Hold up, “Section.80”, GKMC and TPAB. That's a worthy first three album run). If we count “Section.80” then "To Pimp A Butterfly" (2015) would be his third album, a highly revered piece of art that saw him sweep at the Grammys (deservedly so but was it also an overcorrection for what happened to GKMC?). This album saw Kendrick put his name forward as one of the artists of his generation who will not be boxed in but also use their voice to say something meaningful and impactful. If we only count major studio releases then the run begins with "Good Kid M.A.A.D City" (2012), which makes "DAMN" (2017) the third album (GKMC, TPAB and DAMN. That's also a fire first three album run). “DAMN” saw Kendrick gain new fans and assert himself amongst the biggest hip hop artists in the world. It is his highest selling album to date (even though I am typing this sitting down, I do stand to be corrected) it might not be considered his most critically accomplished body of work but it’s still a project with great replay value and it also contains “DUCKWORTH”. “Duckworth” is a gem.
This however is just a theory and not a rule. There are many artists who do not follow this trend and are up there with the best of them. Nicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky and Tyler the Creator to name a few.
This could all be just a coincidence or not, The Three Album Theory.