the sequencing of this album is a lot better than I initially gave it credit for love this thing so much
Most influential rapper after 2015 I would buy but the 21st century is a bit of a stretch when Lil Wayne, Kanye, Kid Cudi, Future, etc exist lol
I almost feel like he’s not MORE influential than Kanye, Future, or Wayne necessarily, but that he’s about on that same level. He’s responsible for a whole lot of what’s been hot in music pretty much since he came in the game. He’s at the front of the whole Atlanta wave, and now tons of rappers are trying to emulate him in different ways. It’s a lot of what So Much Fun is about in a way. On those songs he was just kicking into gear, having perfected his craft and just enjoying being able to make these songs with ease. He seems like he’s beyond it all though, it’s a very restrained release. He’s said on a buncha interviews how the album was what he knew the people wanted.
The thing is, you can’t talk about the 21st century without mentioning 00s rappers like Nelly, Ja Rule etc. that very much paved the way for current styles of, uh, “melodic rapping”. Then there’s 50 Cent too. Eminem even, for what it’s worth. The whole Houston wave in the mid 00s was huge too for rap not from the East or West. T.I. too. Also, the impact of Outkast’s double album cannot be understated. Dipset too made a huge impact on the culture. Then there's the whole underground which had it's own developments, some of which went mainstrean. It appears that often when people say 21st century, they really just mean the last 10 years or so. Also, this is a fun album. Did you guys check out the album cover in high res? It’s funny.
Idk I mean I get what you’re saying but I disagree that those artists you mentioned are necessarily more influential than Thug. It’s a tough thing to gauge because there are so many factors but Thug has been such a big part of the past five+ years of hip hop culture. Lil Baby, Gunna, Lil Keed, SahBabii, NBA YoungBoy, Lil Gotit, Lil Yachty, PartyNextDoor, Migos, and even Drake have all acknowledged and tried to emulate his approach to music, and that’s not even scratching the surface. He’s also received praise from practically every big name out there, from Eminem to Paul McCartney. Sure, Thug’s music might sound different today without artists like 50 and Nelly paving the way with their melodically inclined sensibilities, but that doesn’t take away from the massive impact Thug has had on the music industry.
I’m not saying he isn’t one of the most influential, I just think people almost only mentioned artists from the last 10 years which is incomplete is all
Gotcha, that’s fair then, I can get down with that. There are a lot of artists in the conversation for sure, I don’t think I could narrow it down to just one.
Anyone else kinda disappointed with the recent album? I feel like BTG and Barter 6 were so good it's gonna be hard to ever top for him
BTG and Barter 6 are masterpieces, but So Much Fun is a different vibe for me. It's infinitely replayable and I've grown to love nearly every song minus two. I personally love it and think it'll make my top 5 of the year.