Lil Wayne
Why we're worried: His health, and his music, are deteriorating.
Rappers live exhaustive lives, so missing shows for lack of rest or some health issues is no real cause for alarm. That's why when Lil Wayne's private jet had to make an emergency landing in 2012 because he had a seizure it was worrisome but not terrifying. Stuff like that happens. However, when it happened again the next day it became clear that Wayne's health might really be a serious issue.
The next couple month's passed without much in the way of health scares, but in March, Weezy was rushed back into the hospital and the fear surrounding his health reached it's peak. It's peak meaning that people really thought Wayne was dead. #PrayforLilWayne became #RIPWeezy on Twitter after some egregiously sensationalized reporting from TMZ. (fu*k you TMZ.) There were reports of Drake, Birdman, and Wayne's mother being brought in to say goodbye and even that he was read his last rites. While Wayne thankfully is fine, the believability of his death goes to show how shaky his health really is.
Lil Wayne has a super lengthy history of drugs headlined by a prolific intake of codeine. Purple drank has taken too many rap superstars too early and we hope for his health's sake that Wayne gets clean. In terms of his career, Wayne currently takes a lot of sh*t from people who say he's fallen off. Every rapper cools off. Some do it gradually, others more drastically. Wayne seems to fall into that second category. But it's hard to stay the best rapper alive forever, so we just hope Wayne stays alive.
2 Chainz
Why we're worried: The the Feds are definitely watching and stick-up kids are out to tax.
If 2012 was a banner year for 2 Chainz, 2013 has been a little more difficult. And by a little more difficult we mean that it seems like he cannot stop getting robbed or arrested. His problems got started earlier this summer, when reports surfaced that Chainz got stuck up at gun point in San Francisco. After initially denying the repots, Tity 2 Necklace ultimately corroborated the story. Hey, it happens, rappers get robbed; welcome to Yung Berg's entire existence. That wasn't the end of it though.
As he was leaving the state where he got robbed, Mr. Epps got stopped by airport security at LAX for having weed and codine on him. If these weren't enough legal problems for one summer, just this week Chainz's tour bus got pulled over and everyone on board, including him, got hauled to jail for weed possession. While his recent troubles just seem to be a case of a bigger spotlight increasing the size of the target on Chainz's back, we hope he steers clear of the long arm of he law from here on out.
Pusha T
Why we're worried: We've been waiting on his debut solo album for too long.
Pusha's decision to start a solo career with G.O.O.D Music was accompanied by a ton of deserved hype. That hype only increased when his debut solo mixtape, Fear of God, showed people that he really wasn't playing. That excitement has lingered around for the almost three years now that people have been waiting for Pusha's debut solo album. Album pushbacks have been the downfall of many-a-promising MC and it seems like Pusha's My Name is My Name is just now going to finally come out.
Although that's good news, it means that the album now carries three years of expectations. There's no doubt Pusha can make good music, he's done it his whole career with our without his brother, but there's a difference between making good music and having the ability to create an entire album on your own. Hopefully, Pusha has that ability and My Name is My Name will validate the last three years of waiting. If it doesn't, the disappointment might be too much for Push to overcome.
Lupe Fiasco
Why we're worried: His entire career post-The Cool has been a mess.
After Lupe Fiasco's The Cool dropped in 2007, he was flat out the most promising artist in the game. He had released three stellar mixtapes and two legitimately dope albums, he had cosigns from backpackers and the mainstream, and was in a supergroup with Kanye West and Pharrell. What happened? One of the most famous and frustrating cases of an album related beef between a star and his label that we've ever seen.
Lupe claimed that Lasers was done by 2010, but that the label refused to release it because of a lack of "commercial singles." Lupe fans went into fu*k You mode, and created an Internet petition that amassed thousands of signatures and culminated with a protest outside of Atlantic records. When Lasers finally dropped, it was a let down. It didn't reach the creative excellence that his first two releases did or the amount of controversy that surrounded it's release. Similarly, Food & Liquor II wasn't a bad album and was beloved by Lupe fanatics, but was nothing compared to his early work.
Since then, he seems to get in endless controversy for outlandish statements about President Obama or Twitter rants that are cool but we'd much rather hear him rant on the mic. Lupe has shown an unbelievable amount of talent but we're worried the future of his career will be stuck in the shadow of what he did before. On top of that, Lupe seems to ruffle a few too many people's feathers. We hope he can make another classic.
Asher Roth
Why we're worried: He hasn't gotten the respect his talent warrants.
A lot of people heard "I Love College" and incorrectly wrote Asher Roth as a frat rapper, a subgenre of white rappers who talk about partying and not much else. Those people probably judged him solely off of that track and missed the rest of his catalogue. The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 1 is a legitimately great debut mixtape. Combine that with a solid album, and multiple other mixtapes highlighted by the unique and excellent Pabst & Jazz, and the fans who kept up with Asher past his slightly corny first single got the experience of watching a rapper grow into his lyrical skill.
Unfortunately, that growth has not been accompanied by a huge increase in popularity or another album. The transition Asher deserves to make, a transition from being dubbed a corny white rapper to being respected as a really talented rap artist, has already been made. It was just made by Mac Miller. And the transition from a corny white rapper to a white rapper more successful than anyone would have guessed has already been done by Macklemore. Hopefully, Asher can find a comparably large audience who will appreciate his talent.
Why we're worried: His health, and his music, are deteriorating.
Rappers live exhaustive lives, so missing shows for lack of rest or some health issues is no real cause for alarm. That's why when Lil Wayne's private jet had to make an emergency landing in 2012 because he had a seizure it was worrisome but not terrifying. Stuff like that happens. However, when it happened again the next day it became clear that Wayne's health might really be a serious issue.
The next couple month's passed without much in the way of health scares, but in March, Weezy was rushed back into the hospital and the fear surrounding his health reached it's peak. It's peak meaning that people really thought Wayne was dead. #PrayforLilWayne became #RIPWeezy on Twitter after some egregiously sensationalized reporting from TMZ. (fu*k you TMZ.) There were reports of Drake, Birdman, and Wayne's mother being brought in to say goodbye and even that he was read his last rites. While Wayne thankfully is fine, the believability of his death goes to show how shaky his health really is.
Lil Wayne has a super lengthy history of drugs headlined by a prolific intake of codeine. Purple drank has taken too many rap superstars too early and we hope for his health's sake that Wayne gets clean. In terms of his career, Wayne currently takes a lot of sh*t from people who say he's fallen off. Every rapper cools off. Some do it gradually, others more drastically. Wayne seems to fall into that second category. But it's hard to stay the best rapper alive forever, so we just hope Wayne stays alive.
2 Chainz
Why we're worried: The the Feds are definitely watching and stick-up kids are out to tax.
If 2012 was a banner year for 2 Chainz, 2013 has been a little more difficult. And by a little more difficult we mean that it seems like he cannot stop getting robbed or arrested. His problems got started earlier this summer, when reports surfaced that Chainz got stuck up at gun point in San Francisco. After initially denying the repots, Tity 2 Necklace ultimately corroborated the story. Hey, it happens, rappers get robbed; welcome to Yung Berg's entire existence. That wasn't the end of it though.
As he was leaving the state where he got robbed, Mr. Epps got stopped by airport security at LAX for having weed and codine on him. If these weren't enough legal problems for one summer, just this week Chainz's tour bus got pulled over and everyone on board, including him, got hauled to jail for weed possession. While his recent troubles just seem to be a case of a bigger spotlight increasing the size of the target on Chainz's back, we hope he steers clear of the long arm of he law from here on out.
Pusha T
Why we're worried: We've been waiting on his debut solo album for too long.
Pusha's decision to start a solo career with G.O.O.D Music was accompanied by a ton of deserved hype. That hype only increased when his debut solo mixtape, Fear of God, showed people that he really wasn't playing. That excitement has lingered around for the almost three years now that people have been waiting for Pusha's debut solo album. Album pushbacks have been the downfall of many-a-promising MC and it seems like Pusha's My Name is My Name is just now going to finally come out.
Although that's good news, it means that the album now carries three years of expectations. There's no doubt Pusha can make good music, he's done it his whole career with our without his brother, but there's a difference between making good music and having the ability to create an entire album on your own. Hopefully, Pusha has that ability and My Name is My Name will validate the last three years of waiting. If it doesn't, the disappointment might be too much for Push to overcome.
Lupe Fiasco
Why we're worried: His entire career post-The Cool has been a mess.
After Lupe Fiasco's The Cool dropped in 2007, he was flat out the most promising artist in the game. He had released three stellar mixtapes and two legitimately dope albums, he had cosigns from backpackers and the mainstream, and was in a supergroup with Kanye West and Pharrell. What happened? One of the most famous and frustrating cases of an album related beef between a star and his label that we've ever seen.
Lupe claimed that Lasers was done by 2010, but that the label refused to release it because of a lack of "commercial singles." Lupe fans went into fu*k You mode, and created an Internet petition that amassed thousands of signatures and culminated with a protest outside of Atlantic records. When Lasers finally dropped, it was a let down. It didn't reach the creative excellence that his first two releases did or the amount of controversy that surrounded it's release. Similarly, Food & Liquor II wasn't a bad album and was beloved by Lupe fanatics, but was nothing compared to his early work.
Since then, he seems to get in endless controversy for outlandish statements about President Obama or Twitter rants that are cool but we'd much rather hear him rant on the mic. Lupe has shown an unbelievable amount of talent but we're worried the future of his career will be stuck in the shadow of what he did before. On top of that, Lupe seems to ruffle a few too many people's feathers. We hope he can make another classic.
Asher Roth
Why we're worried: He hasn't gotten the respect his talent warrants.
A lot of people heard "I Love College" and incorrectly wrote Asher Roth as a frat rapper, a subgenre of white rappers who talk about partying and not much else. Those people probably judged him solely off of that track and missed the rest of his catalogue. The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 1 is a legitimately great debut mixtape. Combine that with a solid album, and multiple other mixtapes highlighted by the unique and excellent Pabst & Jazz, and the fans who kept up with Asher past his slightly corny first single got the experience of watching a rapper grow into his lyrical skill.
Unfortunately, that growth has not been accompanied by a huge increase in popularity or another album. The transition Asher deserves to make, a transition from being dubbed a corny white rapper to being respected as a really talented rap artist, has already been made. It was just made by Mac Miller. And the transition from a corny white rapper to a white rapper more successful than anyone would have guessed has already been done by Macklemore. Hopefully, Asher can find a comparably large audience who will appreciate his talent.
