Are comebacks in Hip Hop Dead?

[Debra Cox and Lettuce]

I think back to LL Cool J having multiple comebacks with Mama Said Knock you out, Love You Better, and Headsprung.

As well as artists like Busta Rhymes with the Big Bang Era, and Fat Joe with Lean Back and Make it Rain as well as Common with Be and Twista with Kanye.These artists were able to maintain a 6-8 year run and return with a number 1 hit.

Hip hop is a young man's /woman game, but outside of Nicki Minaj recently with her number 1 song Freak, who has done it recently? Is hip hop comebacks dead???

If not what candidate can have a their run ended and come back with a new run/number 1 song?

I can't see Rick Ross, Gucci, 2Chainz, or someone doing it. Maybe J Cole?

 

[Debra Cox and Lettuce]

This may be a very odd picking but I can see Plies pulling a number 1 hit outta know where due to the current meme/social media time and he has a pretty good pulse on making things go viral. Cant really see anyone else though.

You old heads better not say KRS or Smif and Wessun or some shit.

 

[grYmes]

Is the shit with Nicki really a comeback or just taking advantage of a slow week in music? That song came and went quickly (& it’s trash). I think (almost) anyone given the right circumstances can have a comeback single or album. People love a redemption story.

 

[Suckio Andretti]

ASAP Rocky I think could

 

[5th Letter]

Fetty Wap just made a come back with that Yams song

 

[Qawshun]

Long as your fan base rock with you I think so. You just need to put out some quality music.

 

[Water Ur Seeds]

Its actually a good question...

I think this generation is too fast moving and the music and fads too disposable to have a proper comeback with number 1 album or single, if you dont stay relevant on social media etc youre basically finished... 50, Jay, Nas, Em, Dre, Game, Fat Joe have stayed relevant from news outlets etc but once you lose that presence now, its hard to regain it...

Its easier than ever for artists to put out music too but I cant see any former stars having another star run... Like I cant see Luda, Nelly or Missy etc having anyother mainstream hits but we have seen if you got a fan base you can do tours and put out music for your fanbase...

 

[RozayTabernacle]

Its actually a good question...

I think this generation is too fast moving and the music and fads too disposable to have a proper comeback with number 1 album or single, if you dont stay relevant on social media etc youre basically finished... 50, Jay, Nas, Em, Dre, Game, Fat Joe have stayed relevant from news outlets etc but once you lose that presence now, its hard to regain it...

Its easier than ever for artists to put out music too but I cant see any former stars having another star run... Like I cant see Luda, Nelly or Missy etc having anyother mainstream hits but we have seen if you got a fan base you can do tours and put out music for your fanbase...

I could see Missy having a hit if she actually put music out. But rappers like Nelly and Luda just don't make music like they used to. The quality isn't there and it just comes off...inauthentic maybe?

 

[Water Ur Seeds]

I could see Missy having a hit if she actually put music out. But rappers like Nelly and Luda just don't make music like they used to. The quality isn't there and it just comes off...inauthentic maybe?

Most hip hop or R&B hits are either drill music or over trance/house/dance type beats these days, so I cant see 90s/00s artists having hits tbh

Like you say Missy maybe able to pull of a hit over a dance type beat but the days of slowish or dope beats like 'Ride Wit Me', 'Dilemma', 'Southern Hospitality', 'Roll Out',' Kick, Push', Ms. Jackson' or R&B tunes 'Bills, Bills, Bills,' 'Westside', 'Scrubs' etc are long gone unfortunately...

 

[ImaInfluenza]

I think anyone from the 90’s and up can make a come back if they showed growth in their music. You have to realize that all of their fans are older, have had a multitude of life experiences, and would love to have a soundtrack to their current life. Think of the song from Beyoncé where she sings about quiting her job. Yea that might not be her actual case but that is the case for a lot of her fans that have grown beyond “can you pay my bills”.

So if a guy like Method Man, or Juvenile, or..even the game. Made music that reflects their current age and understanding of their world from a mature adult perspective and it’s actually good. They would be the captain of a ship for a new wave of music with other elders jumping on board.

But they all seem to be in a space where they either don’t wanna rap, rapping like they still have to prove that they can rap, or rapping like they are still in their 20’s. At this point, I don’t think most of their fans wanna hear that shit. Most people in their mid to late thirties and up don’t wanna hear about how you are on the block still, chasing money, doing drugs, staying out all night or fucking mad hoes.

Those are pursuits of the young and dumb, at a certain age you realize life is much more than that. You might listen to their old shit to remember their youth, but you don’t wanna hear no new shit like they’re stuck in their youth.

Nas does this and alot of Nas fans love his newer mature approach. To me it doesn’t pop because he goes half way, he don’t go full mature. I think to be perfectly honest, I think Joey Badass or Tyler the Creator or ASAP Rocky will be the one to do it.

 

[loud-ninja]

Its actually a good question...

I think this generation is too fast moving and the music and fads too disposable to have a proper comeback with number 1 album or single, if you dont stay relevant on social media etc youre basically finished... 50, Jay, Nas, Em, Dre, Game, Fat Joe have stayed relevant from news outlets etc but once you lose that presence now, its hard to regain it...

Its easier than ever for artists to put out music too but I cant see any former stars having another star run... Like I cant see Luda, Nelly or Missy etc having anyother mainstream hits but we have seen if you got a fan base you can do tours and put out music for your fanbase...

Missy is in a lane of her own. When she feels like making music, her shit is most of the time a hit. Especially her party singles. Mind you, she produces and writes for others as well.

 

[deadeye]

Possible, but not likely.


Everyone has their time.


Once they've had their time, that's it.


Unless they put out a classic that bangs 10 times harder than anything currently in rotation...........it's over.

 

[Norrin_Radd]

I could see Missy having a hit if she actually put music out. But rappers like Nelly and Luda just don't make music like they used to. The quality isn't there and it just comes off...inauthentic maybe?

I could actually see Nelly coming out with a hit out of nowhere. Luda probably not he ain’t been the same since that Battle of the Sexes album and who can forget I fill her up, BALLOONS!

 

[ZMaKEa]

Music trends younger these days.

Most hit songs by American are due to TikTok, not radio play or even videos.

If you can't get 13 to 16 year olds to like your shit, you aren't getting a hit.

Steve Lacy got a number 1 because of TikTok.

So no, I don't see any Hip Hop act from the 90s and 2000s artist making a comeback, unless they are a feature of a younger, relevant artist song. Like if Missy did a song with Megan, and it was cute and catchy, she'll probably have a chance.

And I don't consider an artist like ASAP Rocky dropping shit as a comeback. The guy was never a major star outside of the Cloud Rap scene in the early 2010s. He's really an underground legend with a major label deal.

He don't even have a top 5 single in his whole career.

 

[Debra Cox and Lettuce]

Fetty Wap just made a come back with that Yams song

That's a cover though, that's Maesgo song from like 2 years ago

 

[Debra Cox and Lettuce]

Music trends younger these days.

Most hit songs by American are due to TikTok, not radio play or even videos.

If you can't get 13 to 16 year olds to like your shit, you aren't getting a hit.

Steve Lacy got a number 1 because of TikTok.

So no, I don't see any Hip Hop from the 90s and 2000s artist making a comeback, unless they are a feature of a younger, relevant artist song. Like if Missy did a song with Megan, and it was cute and catchy, she'll probably have a chance.

And I don't consider an artist like ASAP Rocky dropping shit as a comeback. The guy was never a major star outside of the Cloud Rap scene in the early 2010s. He's really an underground legend with a major label deal.

He don't even have a top 5 single in his whole career.

I agree.

 

[5th Letter]

That's a cover though, that's Maesgo song from like 2 years ago

Still counts

 

[5 Grand]

I think anyone from the 90’s and up can make a come back if they showed growth in their music. You have to realize that all of their fans are older, have had a multitude of life experiences, and would love to have a soundtrack to their current life. Think of the song from Beyoncé where she sings about quiting her job. Yea that might not be her actual case but that is the case for a lot of her fans that have grown beyond “can you pay my bills”.

So if a guy like Method Man, or Juvenile, or..even the game. Made music that reflects their current age and understanding of their world from a mature adult perspective and it’s actually good. They would be the captain of a ship for a new wave of music with other elders jumping on board.

But they all seem to be in a space where they either don’t wanna rap, rapping like they still have to prove that they can rap, or rapping like they are still in their 20’s. At this point, I don’t think most of their fans wanna hear that shit. Most people in their mid to late thirties and up don’t wanna hear about how you are on the block still, chasing money, doing drugs, staying out all night or fucking mad hoes.

Those are pursuits of the young and dumb, at a certain age you realize life is much more than that. You might listen to their old shit to remember their youth, but you don’t wanna hear no new shit like they’re stuck in their youth.

Nas does this and alot of Nas fans love his newer mature approach. To me it doesn’t pop because he goes half way, he don’t go full mature. I think to be perfectly honest, I think Joey Badass or Tyler the Creator or ASAP Rocky will be the one to do it.

No they can't

Michael Jackson was 25 when he dropped Thriller. That's about the average age for a rapper, although in 1982, Rap music was in its infancy.

I was alive, albeit 10 years old, when Thriller was out. He was smoking hot. He was the hottest ticket in town.

Then Bad came out about 5 years later. It was a good album, but it wasn't Thriller.

By the 90s, there was nothing MJ could do to comeback. It was impossible.

Same with Run DMC. They were huge from 5th-8th grade. But by high school there was nothing they could do to comeback.

Jay Z, Nas, Beyonce, those guys are anomalies. They're aliens.



When I was growing up, people like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, etc. were really popular in The 60s and 70s and they had big names. All of the teenagers knew who they were. BET played their videos when they had new music. But they just couldn't make a comeback, they couldn't make a hit. BET played their videos out of respect. They had respect in the industry. For example, if you look at We Are The World, there were some big names, but besides Michael Jackson, I doubt if anybody on that song had a hit that year.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

I think back to LL Cool J having multiple comebacks with Mama Said Knock you out, Love You Better, and Headsprung.

As well as artists like Busta Rhymes with the Big Bang Era, and Fat Joe with Lean Back and Make it Rain as well as Common with Be and Twista with Kanye.These artists were able to maintain a 6-8 year run and return with a number 1 hit.

Hip hop is a young man's /woman game, but outside of Nicki Minaj recently with her number 1 song Freak, who has done it recently? Is hip hop comebacks dead???

If not what candidate can have a their run ended and come back with a new run/number 1 song?

I can't see Rick Ross, Gucci, 2Chainz, or someone doing it. Maybe J Cole?

Some of these examples aren't exactly comebacks

Busta for example, from1996 to 2002 put out 6 albums. And the last before Big Bang went gold and had hits Make It Clap and I know What You Want. That 4 year hiatus was needed and he also switched labels