danthrax, the first wop to escape the matrix.

If you wanna make it as a musical artist these days… it seems like the mixtape game has become the dominant strategy. Arguably it’s always been that way in hiphop, going back to the days when people actually recorded that shit on tapes. But it’s even more true in the digital age.

Wale. Kid Cudi. Drake. Wiz Khalifa. And over the next few months, Big Sean, Big K.R.I.T., Lil B, J Cole. You build your buzz through mixtape after mixtape. then when you finally break through… you drop the album. 

But too many times… the album just comes softer than the mixtape. (Yeah, that includes the first four names above… and we’ll see if it includes the last four.) What’s going on? Is it hard for them to duplicate the magic that got them attention in the first place?

At least part of the story is airplay. Radio is one of the only ways to get the kind of sales you need for a long-term career. And if a mixtape was lucky to have one crossover smash, that artist is now stuck trying to crossover for more than half their debut album. You gotta please the loyal people who brought you to the dance… while romancing the radio audience at the same time.

For some artists, album release day is what Valentine’s day is to cheaters. Trying to double your fun might well tear you apart.

Theme Music: Wyclef Jean - “To All The Girls”