What Do You Want From An Album?

[XL Middleton]

Good topic X..What I want from a album is honesty and emotion, without 50,000 different producers ala Pete Rock, CL Smooth, /Guru, DJ Premier etc, etc. I'm tired of hearing thirty year old men gang bangin on records and calling women Bitches on every song . I don't just bump mainstream music, im feeling albums from Klashnekof from London, Sick jack, Q-Unique and Ill Bill, but I also like the energy of the southern shit. I just think people gotta go in the lab and do whats in there heart. Following formulas don't work, but you cant really blame rappers, they just trying to get on, (Ive made the same mistake)

what it is steele as always we pretty much on the same page wit it...holla @ me though we need to make some new music homie!!!

[Black Excellence]

i need another album wit possibly the best production ever, strong, creative, and honest lyrics wit great concepts. and for each and every song to be hot and on point not no thrown together shit.

[Scrappy Doo]

First of all major props...for the making of this topic.I think what all the others said is right,you shouldn't really look for that club stuff,you should focus on making songs with a topic and solid rhymes...on the other hand those songs have to be really smooth and funky/g funky with a good feel good touch.I think you should try to make a ridin record,that people can put in their car stereo and ride with....with that made you WILL get the radio play/club stuff going without having a club anthem,people love feel good music with a good topic so its automaticly gonna do the crossover to the clubs and radios.

SHIT this topic was about...Barliament Drunkadelic,anyways the above was/is my opinion on LPs

[Johnny B]

I need an album with:

- one artist working with ONE producer to make a solid cohesive album.
- solid lyrics/beats
- limited guests
- solid story based/realistic lyrics (something everyone can relate to...the cars and chains shit is played out)
- mood changer (need something that I can listen to when I wake up to inspire me)

[D Breezy]

i dont think an album necessarily needs one producer, but i do think artists have to stop tryin to cater to everybody. everyone know gotta have a south track, then we gotta have a radio track, then we gotta have a club track... i like artists that stay true to what they do best. if imma fan of snoop, i dont buy a snoop cd to hear him collaborate with lil jon and do songs like my medicine... i think a lotta artists just try 2 hard.

[XL Middleton]

i dont think an album necessarily needs one producer, but i do think artists have to stop tryin to cater to everybody. everyone know gotta have a south track, then we gotta have a radio track, then we gotta have a club track... i like artists that stay true to what they do best. if imma fan of snoop, i dont buy a snoop cd to hear him collaborate with lil jon and do songs like my medicine... i think a lotta artists just try 2 hard.

a first off i gotta say thats cool yall brought this thread back...and the reason i quoted the post above me is because this is how i been feeling too. i know a lot of yall will disagree with me, but i feel like trying to cover all bases will leave no one base covered thoroughly enough. and its funny cuz this is something thats just occurred to me lately. well, its something 2 keep in mind as i sit down and work on this new album....

[soopadoopaflykid]

i dont think an album necessarily needs one producer, but i do think artists have to stop tryin to cater to everybody. everyone know gotta have a south track, then we gotta have a radio track, then we gotta have a club track... i like artists that stay true to what they do best. if imma fan of snoop, i dont buy a snoop cd to hear him collaborate with lil jon and do songs like my medicine... i think a lotta artists just try 2 hard.

a first off i gotta say thats cool yall brought this thread back...and the reason i quoted the post above me is because this is how i been feeling too. i know a lot of yall will disagree with me, but i feel like trying to cover all bases will leave no one base covered thoroughly enough. and its funny cuz this is something thats just occurred to me lately. well, its something 2 keep in mind as i sit down and work on this new album....

I'll co-sign that^

[Slikk_J]

I think it would be impossible to cover all bases on one album...some people take a whole career to do this...(like older days when albums had real concepts and direction they were heading for).

As far as production, I don't mind them having more than one producer, just not like 1 diff producer for each song. Like maybe 4-5 diff producers, with 2 in particular handling the bulk of the work...thats cool to me. Also originality/creativity is a big thing for me. I mean thats why you are called artists, show us your poetry in moion, you aren't called imitators, copying everyone elses shit...and if you get ideas and inspiration from other artists, thats cool, just don't try to be them...you have to have your own little flavor added.

Albums just need more consistency. Im sick of albums having perhaps 3-4 tracks I like, while the rest is garbage.

Features. Nothing wrong with having features, as long as they have something to offer the track, or actually enhance the track. Too many features on tracks these days, for the sake of having features. If it makes the track more banging, then sure, if it doesn't, well then keep them off.

Replay value. Nothing like bumping an album, have your fav tracks at the start, then when you start getting over them tracks, you listen to it more and find a hidden gem that you missed.

Timeless. To me what makes albums Classics, is the ability to bump these tracks 10-20 shit even 50 years from now like it was brand new. Best example is 2pac. His music is just timeless. The Production was dope (not oversaturated mainstream shit, but music with emotion), his delivery was superb, and he definatly had messages/stories.

Another point, Messages. I like tracks that have stories to them, or have direct message. You know songs with meaning. 2pac had songs dedicated to his mother, political messages (even letter), how women are mistreated, real everyday struggles etc. Examples I can think of are Eminem Marshall Matters LP and Sticky Fingaz - black Trash. They were story telling albums, but gives you more insight to the artistwhich I think builds more fans.

Or Even Ne-Yo...one of the best songwirtters in my opinion atm. Although he is mainstream and can write big hits for top artists, you listen to his songs, and its not your typical I love you baby type love songs. There is something that you can relate to, like daamn, I have been through that, or yeah I know how this dude feels. It's like you relate to the artist from experience or in pacs case other peoples experience etc.

This sort of stuff is missing from albums, and to me much more of this is needed.

Don't get me twisted, nothing wrong with a decent hard hitting club record, but don't do it for the sake of trend. Be original, or make sure it fits in with the album, or that your whole record isn't aimed at making people dance etc.

Sorry a bit long winded, but you asked for it :p Hopefully you can make sense of this.

[Maxin in the Shade]

Features - I don't mind a feature or 2, or especially a posse cut.  But please don't sell me a goddamn compiliation masquerading as a solo album.  All that tells me is you're not skilled enough to hold down an entire album by yourself.

Production - Using one producer for an album is almost unheard of today which is a huge reason albums aren't cohesive.  I can stand more than one, but a lot of albums struggle and have no difinitive sound because there's 15 producers on 15 tracks.  Stay the fuck away from superproducers.  There's about 20 producers that are used on nearly every mainstream release today.  How people can still get hyped for that blows my mind.  If you have your own in house production, you have something unique that NO ONE else has.  That is a good thing for an artist.

couldnt have said it better myself

[Mister Lepht]

Honestly I think there isnt a need to have your album be cohesive unless you are making an Opera, a musical, or an album that is conceptual.. for the most part variety is good and trying out new things is great..innovation is the up and coming trend.. be a little bit different than the last guy.. but not copy him and then put your own flair.. make it your own from beginning  to end. And XL you know we cool so Ill drop it on the real..... Dont be afraid to step out of the box staying in your comfort zone doesnt let you grow.. and right now I think everyone wants someone who just brings something new to the table.. because especially on the west coast weve heard the same shit time and time again from artists.. and do we really care abouta song about a 22 inch rims?  Do we care if youre the scariest monster on the street??  Do we care if you can beat up your producer??  Do we care if you can put bullets in someones chest??  Do we care if you hit 3 wheel motion while sippin potion?? lol... No we dont care.. because weve been hearing about all those things since 92' or earlier.. And here it is about to be 2009 and we are still on the same subjects?? The same fucking subjects over and over since The Chronic album dropped... I think that separates the trully talented artists by how much innovation and variety of subject matter they can put out.. artistic artists will start to appear soon.. and it will be more about the art of rap than the street worthiness of the rapper.. everything eventually evolves and rap is in a great depression its the era of innovation that pulls us out of that depression.

[Dae One]

DOPE THREAD! WHATS UP XL?? I THINK A GOOD ALBUM IS ALL OF THEY ABOVE, FOR THE MOST PART I FEEL LIKE ALOT OF THE NEW TALENT DOES ALOT OF THESE THINGS BUT HOW DO WE GET EVERYONE THINKING LIKE WE ARE??

[XL Middleton]

DOPE THREAD! WHATS UP XL?? I THINK A GOOD ALBUM IS ALL OF THEY ABOVE, FOR THE MOST PART I FEEL LIKE ALOT OF THE NEW TALENT DOES ALOT OF THESE THINGS BUT HOW DO WE GET EVERYONE THINKING LIKE WE ARE??

Dae One whats good fam!!! yeah its true what works for one album or one artist may not work for the next, so everyone got some good points in here...i feel like this thread is a good read for any artist looking to put together a solid project, i can definitely say its been good to read everyone's thoughts....

[RAIDErs of the lost ark]

Make sure it's properly mixed,something that has become a problem after the "industry collapsed".  

[V2DHeart]

An album with time and consideration taken into the track layout, and one important thing: production: If it sounds cheap, or horrible - like a lot of current releases - I wont buy it.
I like production that has that authentic instrumentation sound to it. Saxophones, clarinets, Real guitar riffs, some brass instruments, and only have some percussion sounds secondary to the rest. Production, which allows music to be a pleasurable listening experience, and not sound like cheap electronic spaceman shyt, which sounds like it took 5 minutes to make

^^^^

Get that right on retail albums, then the artists can work harder on delivering on good music

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

The answer is simple. A great album is one where every single song is enjoyable to listen to. Whether its a concept album that flows perfectly from track to track, or whether its just a collection of hit songs (IE Illmatic) doesn't truly matter. I want to be able to vibe to every song on there. That's the most important element.