Beyonce, aka Queen B, released a classic duet album with her husband Jay-Z in 2018.
Old heads might not like this article.
Many O.G.’s falsely believe that the grass was greener, and the sky was bluer back in the day.
As a result, many do not even give the new school musical artists the time of day.
Too bad, because many old heads miss out on some great talent by not giving the next generation a chance.
Five years ago, some monumental albums dropped.
From hip-hop to R&B to classical, RegalMag.com ranks the top 10 albums that dropped five years ago.
- “The Carter V” by Lil Wayne—Hands down, Lil Tunechi might go down as the greatest Dirty South rapper of all time. No offense to the legendary Scarface of the Geto Boys. Furthermore, Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter” franchise might go down as one of the greatest hip-hop album franchises alongside Jay’s Z “The Blueprint” franchise and Nas’ “King’s Disease” and “Magic” franchise. On the fifth installment of “Tha Carter,” the New Orleans rapper boasted guest appearances from Swizz Beatz, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg and Wayne’s daughter, Reginae Carter. Standout joints on the album are “Uproar” and “Mona Lisa.”
- “Evolution” by Alexis Ffrench—Classical music does not often make these yearly musical reviews in RegalMag.com. But when a talent as diverse as Alexis Ffrench drops a classical crossover banger, Regal feels that it is its duty to inform its readers about the artist. Ffrench has a way of combining that classical sound with the sounds of modern music like hip-hop. Check out the songs “Moments,” “Bluebird” and “Where Worlds Collide.”
- “Return of the Trill” by Bun B—Port Arthur, Texas emcee Bun B of the legendary group UGK has become a champion of grown man rap in recent years. Yes, Bun still represents for the streets. However, he does not do so in an immature way. Furthermore, his content has graduated into real middle age issues with songs like “Grow Up” with 8Ball and MJG and “Gone Away” with Leon Bridges.
- “Good Man” by Ne-Yo—Many people yearn for the good ole days of R&B. Sure, the ladies are holding it down. But many current male R&B stars sound more like rappers than romantic crooners and balladeers. Ne-Yo did his part to resurrect male R&B with his 2018 release. The album features the title cut in which he shows his intent to be a good man, “Back Chapters,” that makes it clear that a woman’s past has nothing to do with her future and “Apology,” which some men seem incapable of doing.
- “Ella Mai” by Ella Mai—When the single “Boo’d Up” dropped, real R&B heads knew the genre had another young star. But the dilemma with today’s viral/social media climate is whether an artist can do more than just release one hit single. The British songstress answered that in the affirmative also dropping jewels like “Shot Clock,” “Trip” and “Naked” on her self-titled album.
- “Daytona” by Pusha T—Former Clipse member Pusha T has never reached the success of his nemesis Drake. That is not debatable. But it is also not debatable that Pusha T had a better 2018 artistically than Drake if people compare “Daytona” with Drizzy’s “Scorpion.” And although many of his peers have embraced grown man rap, when a person raps about the dope game as well as Pusha T, why change lanes? The album contains the street anthems “If You Know You Know” and the Drake diss “What Would Meek Do” with Kanye West.
- “Everything is Love” by The Carters—Say what you want about Beyonce and Jay-Z. But they definitely know how to capitalize on scandal and turn it into profit. Despite their billion-dollar status, the Carters are no different than any other couple when it comes to family drama. However, the music legends turn their drama into a marketing plan. Beyonce released the album “Lemonade” to discuss her perspective. Jay-Z responded with his mea culpa, “4:44.” Then the couple released a classic album as a duo, which had hits like “Apes***” and “Black Effect.”
- “Championships” by Meek Mill—Incarceration can do a few things. It can make someone worse as in a recidivist. Unfortunately, prison can lead to someone’s death because it is not a place for the weak. Or it can cause someone to change their message, their purpose and their outlook on life. Prison had the latter effect on Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill. Many will say that Meek went to prison on some nonsense. But what he has accomplished for prison reform is not nonsense. His new purpose also impacted his music with songs like “What’s Free” with Rick Ross and Jay-Z and the title cut.
- “Astroworld” by Travis Scott—Houston rapper Travis Scott is a controversial figure thanks to the music festival based on this album title and the old Houston amusement park. However, a person would have to hate on him to not give him his props for the “Astroworld” album. The psychedelic-sounding album contains anthems like “Sicko Mode” with Drake, “Stargazing” and “Stop Trying To Be God.”
- “Victory Lap” by Nipsey Hussle—It’s a shame that mainstream musical success did not come Nipsey’s way until after his murder. Sure, hip-hop heads knew of Nipsey and his movement before his untimely demise. But many casual music fans began taking notice of his message after a killer cut his life short. Nipsey walked the fine line of reppin’ for his hood, while also showing those in the hood another way out of their predicament. Bangers on the album include “Last Time That I Checc’d,” “Rap N*****” and “Dedication” featuring Kendrick Lamar.
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