Do you think Crooked I not having a solo album is good for his career?

[Nima - Dubcnn.com]

Best position in his career?? Are you kidding me?

He's older, a lot fatter, and uglier than he ever was before.... & in Hip Hop nowadays, that is never going to get you into the stores, and on shelves, when the fan base are mainly teens, and that most are just so narrow minded.

You're right, because Rick Ross and Waka Flocka and Gucci Mane and Mac Miller look like Calvin Klein models right?

Come one bro. No one said Crooked was gonna be the next pop star. We're talking about success in rap.

[OG Jaydc]

Are you guys really discussing the looks of a rapper? Jesus Christ I've read some gay shit in here but that tops it.

And dre-day, how does shady not release albums? Only artists that didn't come out were Bobby creekwater and stat quo. And stat quo was a victim of dr.dre, if that album came out on shady alone, it would be in stores. Cashis released an ep in stores. Bobby creekwater was a victim of eminems drug problem.

Obie trice trice had two albums, d12 had two albums, cashis had an ep and yelawolf just released an album, along with all the 50 cent and eminem albums. That label has about a 90 percent rate of artists getting to release music. How can you say they don't release albums when only one (stat quo was completely on dre)artist in their history didn't release music in stores. I dare you to find ONE other label that has rate of artists signed/artists in stores. You won't find one.

Gauaranteed slaughterhouse will be released.

[Quadruple OG]

Actually Crooked is in a very good position right now, as a part of Slaughterhouse signed to Eminem. You guys forget that he is bigger than he has ever been at the moment. Us on this forum might have been following his music for over a decade and are frustrated about no album dropping, but dude grinded his way up and he has constantly expanded his fanbase and is more known now than ever before.

Sure, "the album" never dropped, but he has released more music (both original songs and freestyles) than a lot of artists with regular retail releases.

So why doesn't he start fresh and leak the "albums" he's recorded over the year? Obviously that work doesn't matter since he's in a "very good position" now. Plus that material (the old shit) is going to sound pretty dated.

[Chamillitary Click]

I'll say this. It's on a MUCH smaller scale, so don't take it incredibly literal. BUT, lets not act like when Wu-Tang dropped "36 Chambers" y'all didn't think Method Man was dope as fuck. You didn't need Tical to solidify that opinion.

Slaughterhouse debut was really dope. Coulda used some work in direction of songs, themes, production. Better hook game. Making more songs along the lines of "Move On". But let's say Slaughterhouse, under Shady, drops their second album & it's the dopest shit in a long while. Why doesn't he get that pass Method Man got in '93?

Because Meth was a part of two classic albums. Since when is Slaughterhouse one of the greatest groups of all time and since when is Crooked I a part of two of the greatest albums of all time? A more legit comparison would be Kool Kim from the UMCs. You ask who? Exactly. Actually scratch that, because he put a solo out.

Even if he were a part of a classic group it might not be enough. I don't see anyone raving about Masta Killa or U-God.

Not my point. They didn't drop the album & people were like "WOW, Method Man is one of the all-time greats". Obviously years went by & the album gained more "classic" value & is now regarded as one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all-time. My point is that after it came out, right away people recognized how good he was. He could of got popped after that & people today would talk about how good he was off a group album.

Crooked could bring some amazing shit to the table next time around & I wouldn't need a solo album to solidify his dopeness.

Will he? Unlikely. But point is you don't "need" a solo album to recognize the greatness.

Wu Tang came out and it was the hottest shit ever heard. It was the new thing. Not only that but Meth's solo song on the album was a radio hit. He made an impact and stuck out as a part of the hottest group of the moment. Like Jimmy said, similar to Cube and Treach. Not only that, but he stuck around. If he had stopped making hits after 36 Chambers, no one would be talking about him now. You can't compare that to a guy the mainstream isn't aware of. Like I said, he's more comparable to a Kool Kim. Had a little mainstream success, was a part of two dope group albums.

I'm not comparing him to Method Man or his career or his popularity or his impact. All I'm saying is, if Method Man never took a solo career we'd still be saying the same shit about him today. So like I said, Crooked I doesn't need a solo album. He can solidify himself on a group album.

[Smackdog]

he needs to release some more ep's

[Jimmy H.]

I'm not comparing him to Method Man or his career or his popularity or his impact. All I'm saying is, if Method Man never took a solo career we'd still be saying the same shit about him today. So like I said, Crooked I doesn't need a solo album. He can solidify himself on a group album.

I get what you are saying but it's still backwards in terms of fans' perceptions. He's not a guy who came out as part of a collective and then decided he'd go solo. Slaughterhouse was built as a "super group", four ultra-talented MC's who caught hard luck in the industry and decided to join up. There is still a large portion of his individual fan base who need that solo album. You ask Crooked I fans, the ones who've been following forever and a day, what they want to know about him as far as questions and I bet the majority revolve around a solo album. That's what his fans specifically want. It's like Dre with that Detox. It's not gonna dissapear. And that's a guy who a lot of people view as the greatest of all-time in his profession.

And while we're on the subject, I don't think if Meth had foregone a solo career and individual endevors (the Biggie collabo, duet with Mary J, duo project with Redman) that we would still be saying the same shit.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

I'm not comparing him to Method Man or his career or his popularity or his impact. All I'm saying is, if Method Man never took a solo career we'd still be saying the same shit about him today. So like I said, Crooked I doesn't need a solo album. He can solidify himself on a group album.

If Meth never took a solo career he'd be that east coast rapper who was hot for a moment in the mid 90s. To act like his solo career and his work with Redman haven't contributed to how people view his career is just blind.

It's possible Crooked I could solidy himself as part of a group. But (a) the group would have to be releasing several great albums and (b) he'd have to be the standout member. What's the chance of both happening? Neither one happened on the first.

[OG Jaydc]

I'd say meths solo work hurt how he's viewed, considering how weak his discography is.

[Jimmy H.]

You could argue that his solo albums haven't lived up to specific expectations but his solo work and his discography are two seperate things. That "All I Need" track with Mary was a big radio hit. That joint he did with Biggie was a good look since he was the only guest artist on that whole album. The stuff he did with Redman, while not solo work in the literal definition, was far enough removed from the Wu-Tang umbrella where it established his individual brand. He also had a pretty substantial cross-over hit with that track he did for Limp Bizkit. I don't know how well it aged since but that was the blueprint for the rap and rock crossover for a minute at the time. He was fucking visible in everything for quite awhile. He became a break-out star off that. As a solo artist, he hasn't had an undisputed classic but none of that shit flopped. Wu-Tang had some all-stars in its group so if Meth got sloppy with his career directions, he wouldn't be remembered for nothing. Let's sum it up like this. I don't think he's ever put out a solo on the level of "Built For Cuban Linx" but he got like three or four hit records that are bigger than any song on that entire album. So no, you don't need a classic solo album to be great but in the absence of that, you do need some real hit records. Whether it's a 16 on a group project or something you do on your own.

Greatness as a rapper-MC-artist comes down to the appeal. Whether you're a master lyrical guy or a glorified jingle writer, you need a catalog of songs that is going to keep people moving. If you're going to tour, you need to have a 45-minute to an hour-long set of songs that the audience in every region is going to know and love. Nothing else matters. There's people who go to these shows and don't even know that the guy they paid to watch actually performs some hit song they heard 100 times on the fucking radio and it don't matter. I watched Snoop go like 2-3 hours on a set doing a range of different songs to a huge venue and I watched Ras Kass headline a 25-minute set where there wasn't one song where everybody was vibing in unison because the whole room just KNEW it. You can have group songs. Posse cuts. Soundtrack selections. Guest spots on someone else's album. It don't matter but you need to own that.

[OG Jaydc]

His last album failed to go gold, as did the last red and meth album. So technically that's two flops. And as far as quality goes, his last two solo albums were trash,straight up. Sure, he had a few big songs solo wise but meth will always be remembered for his group effort, not his solo work. Because his solo work as a whole is a complete disappointment. Considering how much buzz he had with the first wu album, and then dropped the worst solo album of all the first wave of wu solos. A few hot guest verses here and there and a hit song  doesn't mean you had a good solo career, word to canibus.


And, that wu massacre album was mediocre and failed to go gold.

[Crooked I]

I think i was one of the biggest crooked i fans , ppl laughed at me here in germany because they listened to the game albums and shit and i was listening to the hip hop weeklys.
one of my dreams was a crooked album but since aound 1 year i dont give a fuck i dont follow him anymore, no mixtape nothing. maybe if his album comes ill download it for free and delete it then because he is only good on beats of other rappers,his own beats are shit i cant listen to them

he lost a big fan and i dont give a fuck about him anymore, every fag can bring out an album but he cant. he cant even get some real beats producers and features

[Smackdog]

I think i was one of the biggest crooked i fans , ppl laughed at me here in germany because they listened to the game albums and shit and i was listening to the hip hop weeklys.
one of my dreams was a crooked album but since aound 1 year i dont give a fuck i dont follow him anymore, no mixtape nothing. maybe if his album comes ill download it for free and delete it then because he is only good on beats of other rappers,his own beats are shit i cant listen to them

he lost a big fan and i dont give a fuck about him anymore, every fag can bring out an album but he cant. he cant even get some real beats producers and features

Something about that sentence just doesn't sound right,

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

His last album failed to go gold, as did the last red and meth album. So technically that's two flops. And as far as quality goes, his last two solo albums were trash,straight up. Sure, he had a few big songs solo wise but meth will always be remembered for his group effort, not his solo work. Because his solo work as a whole is a complete disappointment. Considering how much buzz he had with the first wu album, and then dropped the worst solo album of all the first wave of wu solos. A few hot guest verses here and there and a hit song  doesn't mean you had a good solo career, word to canibus.


And, that wu massacre album was mediocre and failed to go gold.

You're straight up delusional if you think people would still be talking about Meth without all his non-wu work.

[Smackdog]

His last album failed to go gold, as did the last red and meth album. So technically that's two flops. And as far as quality goes, his last two solo albums were trash,straight up. Sure, he had a few big songs solo wise but meth will always be remembered for his group effort, not his solo work. Because his solo work as a whole is a complete disappointment. Considering how much buzz he had with the first wu album, and then dropped the worst solo album of all the first wave of wu solos. A few hot guest verses here and there and a hit song  doesn't mean you had a good solo career, word to canibus.


And, that wu massacre album was mediocre and failed to go gold.

You're straight up delusional if you think people would still be talking about Meth without all his non-wu work.

[Jimmy H.]

His last album failed to go gold, as did the last red and meth album. So technically that's two flops. And as far as quality goes, his last two solo albums were trash,straight up. Sure, he had a few big songs solo wise but meth will always be remembered for his group effort, not his solo work. Because his solo work as a whole is a complete disappointment. Considering how much buzz he had with the first wu album, and then dropped the worst solo album of all the first wave of wu solos. A few hot guest verses here and there and a hit song  doesn't mean you had a good solo career, word to canibus.

The Canibus comparison would work better with Crooked I than it would with Meth. He might be struggling to live up to that solo album potential in the eyes of some crtitics but that doesn't change the fact that Method Man got the biggest hits out of anybody in Wu-Tang.