Take a Look at Double Disc Albums That Should’ve Been Down to One
Bigger is often better in hip-hop. Music’s most listened to genre has historically had lofty goals and an attraction to a larger-than-life lifestyle. A few rap stars that have long been synonymous with big-ticket items have also been ambitious with their music. And although two can be considered better than one, when artists tend to overdo it by releasing two albums worth of music at once, the results can sometimes be lackluster.
“Sometimes you have to set a little target goal for yourself just to keep things interesting, so last album I went high volume,” said Drake, who's prepared to deliver “something more concise” with his next solo offering. Inspired by Life After Death—the classic double album by The Notorious B.I.G., Drizzy made his first attempt at crafting a double disc project with his 2018 album, Scorpion. The lengthy project spawned mega-hits like “God’s Plan,” “Nice For What” and “In My Feelings,” but received a lukewarm response as a result of it featuring too many tracks.
After delivering the classic Blueprint in 2001, Jay-Z circled back the following year with the release of The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse. Complete with hits like “03 Bonnie & Clyde” and “Excuse Me Miss,” Hov’s multiplatinum seventh solo album was plagued by overcrowding, due to filler tracks like “I Did It My Way,” “2 Many Hoes” and the Roc-A-Fella posse cut “As One.”
The likes of the 6 God and Hov aren’t the only ones who could’ve trimmed the fat found on their double discs to produce better results. Rap stars and legends such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Scarface, 8ball, Nate Dogg, E-40, Nas, Migos, Rae Sremmurd, Kid Cudi, Vince Staples, Big K.R.I.T., DJ Khaled, Tech N9ne, The Diplomats, Lil Flip, Nelly, Kurupt and others could have also learned that sometimes less is more.
Here, XXL takes a look at double disc albums that should've been narrowed down to one.
See Double Disc Albums That Should've Been Down to One