2017 had some bangers. Even through the month of December artist have still been blessing us with new collab. projects and singles to keep us at bay until the New Year. From a new single from Cardi B to a collab project between Travis Scott and Quavo to a new Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne album, we will be starting 2018 off with a lot of new music to bump to. With a lot of new music at the end of the year, it brings up the idea of how will this newly released music shape the sound of 2018.
While all three projects and Cardi B’s single have somewhat distinct production styles giving us hope that next year’s beat selections and productions will be more diverse and innovative, there is still the issue of a production monopoly. Although Travis Scott and Quavo’s Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho is produced by different producers, Gucci Mane’s El Gato: The Human Glacier is produced primarily by Southside. Like many other projects in 2017, in 2018 we are sure to see more works of Metro Boomin who topped the charts this year with hits. We also saw more original production and less sampling in many tracks in 2017. Lil Wayne’s 6th installment in the Dedication mixtape series and Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho reminds us how elemental, yet effective samples can be on a track. Sometimes it is not all about the beat choice, but about the lyrics that accompany it.
In 2017, there were several collaborative projects. From the likes of Big Sean and Metro Boomin, Future and Young Thug, to the recent collab of Travis Scott and Quavo, we are likely to see more collaborative efforts in Rap than competition in the New Year. It will be interesting to see what other artist will team up and bring us hits. While some of the collab projects released this year were unexpected, it has fans wondering if collaborative projects in 2018 will be between artists that fans want to see team up. Maybe we will finally get that long awaited J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar project?
Recorded in just two days, El Gato: The Human Glacier will possibly challenge other artists to just put out new music for the fans. While we want quality music, we also want it sooner than later. Gucci is setting the bar higher by making any excuse to not put out new music totally unacceptable.
All the projects released at the end of 2017 have singles that have the makings for the perfect club banger, but do not necessarily have the elements of a mainstream or crossover single. In 2018, will we see more uncensored releases not meant to be radio-friendly? Or will there be a rise of more clean mainstream music?
What new music are you looking forward to in 2018? Drop us a line in the comment section.
