50 Cent?
Nah.
John Mayer?
Boring.
Rakim?
Did you even know he’d released an album?
A cluster of comeback albums have been released recently — with
varying results. Some of these big-name artists were coming back from
hiatuses as long as 10 years or as short as two, but the releases
were designed to jump-start the careers of the artists on some level
or another. But none of them really measured up.
In the case of Rakim, was this honestly the best the
hip-hop legend could do after 10 years of near-silence? His aborted
project with golden-eared producer Dr. Dre only added to the myth of
hip-hop’s most famous recluse, and fanned the flames of fan frenzy
for a new release. The Seventh Seal features some tepid
production and an uninspired-sounding MC relishing his reputation and
sonically resting on his laurels. Rakim has always had a tendency to
rap about rapping, but when he’s on — there haven’t been very
many better. But, you wouldn’t know it to hear him here. His skills
are still there, but he doesn’t sound like he cares.
50 Cent’s album is more of a case of an artist just placating
the audience. He’s said that he understands what the audience
expects from him, but does that mean he can’t stretch himself
artistically? Not even in the least bit? His latest, Before
I Self Destruct, features the predictable mix that 50 has been
trudging in for years; pop-friendly songs for the radio (i.e., his
female fans) and another heaping of “street’” songs (i.e.,
songs for the block.) But, in becoming an international superstar,
and a mega mogul, a funny thing happened to Curtis “50 Cent”
Jackson … he got boring.
Speaking of which …
John Mayer’s latest opus, Battle Studies, finds the
sensitive singer-songwriter-guitarist regressing from the soulful
electric blues-influenced pop of his masterwork Continuum back
to the breathy, acoustics of his earlier work. That wouldn’t
necessarily be a bad thing, if it weren’t for the fact that the
songs seem to be redundant and inspired by his recent romance with
Jennifer Aniston. Mayer’s last album was three years ago and he’s
emerged as one of the most savvy and interesting pop stars of today.
Too bad his Twitter account is more entertaining than his music.
The next big comeback album in music will be the embattled Chris
Brown’s. His scrutiny level is much higher after his attack on
ex-girlfriend Rihanna and assault conviction. With those kind of
hurdles to jump, Brown has more to worry about than just having hits.
He has to win back the public’s faith.
– todd williams
