Okay, so once upon a time artists would take a year to carefully craft an album. Promotion would release a single. The singles would be sold, with an edited and an explicit version on the cd as well as MAYBE a bonus track. Hype was built, and music was good.
Somehow though the buzz changed. Releasing music is no longer a clear cut process. And now long anticipated plans of album release dates are non-existent. Example, this year's rookie of the year Drake. Off of several mixtapes he had/has a buzz that could have propelled him to huge opening week numbers. He has the potential to be the next 50 Cent in terms of first album sales. But with no set album release date, what's the value in his album?
So Jay-Z's latest album has leaked on to the web. As every hyped hip hop fan, I was in the process of downloading it when a sudden realization hit me. What's the value in his work? Excluding the monetary value, what's the rush? This online generation of hip hop has ripped a part of it that made it special.
Remember waiting for an album. The whole allure of an album was made even bigger by the wait before it. So for now on, as far as albums go, I'm going to wait for them. Mixtapes though is another story
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