In 2012, Kanye West released the compilation album Cruel Summer, a collection of tracks by artists from West’s record label GOOD Music. Cruel Summer produced four singles, two of which charted within the top twenty of the Hot 100: “Mercy” and “Clique”. West also directed a film of the same name that premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in custom pyramid-shaped screening pavilion featuring seven screens. Read more about Kanye West here.
Rah Digga’s second album Everything Is A Story was due to be released on J Records in 2004, but for unknown reasons was not released. Many songs from the album had leaked to the internet in an unofficial 23-track album of unreleased material, and in 2010 Rah Digga released her own version of the album, featuring unheard tracks from the album not present on the leaked version. Rah Digga released a new album, Classic, on September 14, 2010. Production was handled by Nottz, and a promo single was released entitled “This Ain’t No Lil Kid Rap”.
On August 14, 2020 “Laugh Now Cry Later” featuring Lil Durk was released, which was intended as the lead single from Drake’s album Certified Lover Boy, but not included on the final track listing. It debuted at number two on the Hot 100, and was nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. During an appearance on Fri Yiy Friday, a radio show supported by OVO Sound, Drake revealed Certified Lover Boy “is ready. [I’m] looking forward to delivering it”. He then appeared on “Betrayal”, a collaboration with Trippie Redd for Trip at Knight (2021). Certified Lover Boy was then released on September 3, 2021, becoming his tenth number-one album on the Billboard 200; every song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album was the first to chart nine songs on the top 10, with “Way 2 Sexy” becoming Drake’s ninth number-one single. He subsequently set the record for the fourth-most cumulative weeks (52) at number one on the Hot 100, behind Mariah Carey, Rihanna , and The Beatles.
CLB was nominated for Best Rap Album and “Way 2 Sexy” was nominated for Best Rap Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. He was later named Billboard’s Top Artist of the Year for 2021. On December 6, he withdrew his music for consideration for the Grammys, with multiple outlets noting his contentious relationship with the Recording Academy. Drake accumulated 8.6 billion on-demand streams in 2021, making him the most overall streamed artist of the year in the United States; one out of every 131 streams was a Drake song. Read more about Drake here.
Their second album, Super Tight, was released two years later, on August 30. Unlike their previous album, Super Tight managed to break into the Billboard Hot 200 and ultimately peaked at #95; their third album, Ridin’ Dirty, peaked at #15. Ridin’ Dirty would also be UGK’s last album for the time being, as they went on a five-year hiatus not long afterward. Read more about UGK here.
On June 30, 2020, West released the single, titled “Wash Us in the Blood”, featuring fellow American rapper and singer Travis Scott, along with the music video, which serves as the lead single from his tenth studio album Donda, and draws similarities to the sound of his 2013 album Yeezus. However, in September 2020, West stated that he would not be releasing any further music until he is “done with [his] contract with Sony and Universal” in a Twitter rant about record company contracts, payments towards artists and musicians, and the topic of ownership of their masters. On October 16, he released the single “Nah Nah Nah.” On October 29, a remix was previewed over Twitter, featuring American rappers DaBaby and 2 Chainz. The remix was released November 13. On December 25, 2020, exactly one year after the release of Jesus is Born, West’s Sunday Service released a new EP entitled Emmanuel. The mini-album, executively produced by West, consists of 5 songs entirely in Latin based in the style of Gregorian chant. On that same date, Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red was released, with West serving as executive producer of the album and appearing on the track “Go2DaMoon.”
On March 7, 2021, Cyhi the Prynce stated in an interview with VladTV that West had once again begun working on his upcoming album amid his divorce with Kim Kardashian. On July 17, Consequence posted a video of West in the studio with Tyler, the Creator on Instagram. The caption of the post suggested a late 2021 album release.
On July 19, 2021, American rapper Pusha T announced on Instagram that West would be holding a listening event for the album on July 22 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The following day Beats Electronics premiered a commercial during game six of the 2021 NBA Finals featuring athlete Sha'Carri Richardson, edited and scored by West using the track “No Child Left Behind”. French producer Gesaffelstein later stated that he produced the song, which featured Cory Henry playing the organ. Immediately following the commercial’s debut, Def Jam Recordings confirmed the album’s July 23 release date and revealed that the listening event in Atlanta would be globally live-streamed on Apple Music. The album ultimately remained unreleased on that date.
Following the July 22 listening party at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, West had taken up temporary residence in one of the stadium’s locker rooms, converting it in to a recording studio to finish the recording and mixing with Mike Dean. Videos and photos posted to social media also showed featured artists Playboi Carti and 2 Chainz recording vocals in the locker room a day before the listening party. A second listening party event at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium took place on August 5, 2021, with West stating that the album would be released on the same day. However, this did not materialize. On August 18, 2021, he announced a third listening party scheduled for August 26, 2021 at the Soldier Field Stadium in Chicago. After multiple delays, Donda finally released on August 29, 2021. Read more about Kanye West here.
Soon after Major Coins broke up, Amil decided to follow a solo career. She became a part of the group associated with Jay-Z’s label, Roc-A-Fella, joining the 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour. After the tour she appeared as a guest on albums for Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, and Funkmaster Flex. Amil released her first solo project through Roc-A-Fella, All Money Is Legal, in late 2000.
“For a female in this game to write her own stuff is a big statement,” Amil says. “I hope that with All Money Is Legal, people will get the chance to hear what I have to say and the life that I’ve lived."
All Money Is Legal gives you many facets of that life. For example, "Quarrels,” which Amil calls the deepest cut on the album. “Quarrels” features Carl Thomas and talks about temptations and the Devil. “Smile” is an honest and unflinching page out of Amil’s biography. On “How U Wanna Get Down,” Amil steps out of her role as outspoken rapster and offers proof of her prowess as a singer. According to Amil, “All of these songs were just in me and finally it was time to let them out."
In 2005, Amil temporarily re-formed "Major Coinz” and released songs on the mixtape circuit including the single “Glamorous Life” which was featured on MTV Mixtape Monday. In a 2006 interview, when asked whether female MCs are forced to meet standards that male MCs are not, she said: “Oh, yeah. Definitely. You have to be picture-perfect and you have to meet the standards of the perfect woman. That’s unreal to me. Real women do not have plastic-looking bodies. The average woman is not a size 0. You can do what you have to do to keep yourself looking like that or you could just be you. Me, I choose to just be me.” Read more about Amil here.
Game Theory is the seventh studio album by hip hop band The Roots, released August 29, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings. The group’s first release for the label after leaving Geffen Records, the album was recorded by the Roots mostly using the Apple-developed software application GarageBand. A darker, grittier album with minimal emphasis on hooks in comparison to their previous work, Game Theory features a stripped-down sound similar to the work of Public Enemy, with lyrics that concern sociological themes and the late hip hop producer J Dilla.
The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 61,000 copies in its first week. It produced two singles and achieved moderate sales success. Upon its release, Game Theory received acclaim from most music critics and earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album. To date, the album has sold over 200,000 copies in the United States. Read more about The Roots here.
He came back to his fullest in 2011 when releasing the fourth installment of “Tha Carter”, selling 964,000 copies in its first week. Through “Tha Charter IV”, he posted the biggest sales week for a male solo artist of all time after Usher’s “Confessions” (1.10 million) and Garth Brooks’ “Double Live” (1.09 million).
He occupied the third and fourth places at the same time with his first best sales week contributed by “Tha Charter III”, before Justin Timberlake barged in with “The 20/20 Experience” which pulled “Tha Carter IV” to the fifth slot on the list. Read more about Lil Wayne here.
The Idea of Beautiful is the debut studio album by American rapper Rapsody. It was released on August 28, 2012, by independent record label It’s A Wonderful World Music Group. The album was released after the critical acclaim of her mixtapes such as Return of the B-Girl (2010), Thank H.E.R. Now (2011) and For Everything (2011); as well as the release of her extended play (EP) The Black Mamba (2012).
None Shall Pass is the fifth studio album by Aesop Rock. It was released on Definitive Jux on August 28, 2007. The album features production by Blockhead, El-P, Rob Sonic, and Aesop Rock himself. Guest appearances include DJ Big Wiz, Cage, Breeze Brewin, El-P, Rob Sonic, and John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. The album’s artwork was done by Jeremy Fish. It debuted at number 50 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 13,000 copies in its first week through independent hip hop label Definitive Jux.
