Summer 2014
by: Iby Amedu
I still remember June 18th of last year. It was important date for hip hop, as well as all music. Three well-known artists released studio albums on this day. Kanye West, Mac Miller, and J. Cole released an album. Yeezus, Watching Movies with the Sound Off, and Born Sinner were played in cars and at parties throughout the summer. Wale dropped his album, The Gifted, a week after that, and Jay Z released Magna Carta Holy Grail on short notice by the 4th of July. Shit, the “Control” verse was even born towards the end of the summer. Not to mention Chance the Rapper’s Acid Rap was still very much in rotation. Fans were blessed with music for the summer. It reminds me of earlier this year when Rick Ross, Pharrell, ScHoolboy Q, and Kid Cudi all delivered projects in about a two week span around March. Those were great times for the hip-hop culture. But, that was March and now it’s June.
Maybe it’s because I love bumping my music loud as fuck in my whip during the summer rather than the winter. Music just sounds better in the summer.
Music needs to drop in the summer. It’s only natural. Music and summer seem to go together so well. Maybe it’s because every single rap music video I watch is just rappers turning up with video vixens poolside even though it’s freezing where I am. Maybe it’s because I need to play the hottest, newest shit during the numerous amount of cookouts the summer brings. Maybe it’s because I love bumping my music loud as fuck in my whip during the summer rather than the winter. Music just sounds better in the summer.
The need for a summer anthem is huge reason new music is necessary in the summer. Each year passes, and there are always more than a few defining songs for the season. A couple of years back, I could not stop listening to “Niggas in Paris” for the entire summer. Last year, we had “New Slaves,” “Blood on the Leaves,” “Holy Grail,” “Tom Ford.” Whether or not you liked these songs, you can’t deny that they were an integral part of the sound for that summer. Even on a more mainstream note, “Get Lucky” and “Blurred Lines” were smashes. Once again, even if you have a negative opinion on either of those songs, you can’t lie and say you didn’t hear them everywhere. It’s okay. I caught myself saying I can’t stand “Blurred Lines” a few times, but when it came on in a social setting, I gave in. I told myself that I may hate it, but it is a summer anthem.
What of 2014, though? Where is the summer anthem? What mixtape or album needs to be played from front to back this summer? With summer just beginning, there’s more speculation than anything concrete at this point. But, from looking at the months prior, it’s almost safe to assume that YMCMB might supply us with the hotness this summer. Fresh off of an impressive showing at Summer Jam, YMCMB members Nicki Minaj, Drake, and even a resurrected Weezy have dropped nothing but heat to this point in the year, and it doesn’t seem like they want to stop doing so. I have no doubt Drizzy’s talking about his squad when he raps, “Fuck being on some chill shit/We go 0 to 100 nigga, real quick” in “0 to 100” (a song which is dinitely a nominee for the title of summer anthem). With Drake feeding the net with music so often, I believe he’ll continue to do so throughout the summer. Nicki Minaj has also been rapping her ass off lately, with the undeniable rap hit of “Chiraq” featuring Chicago’s own Lil Herb springing a ridiculous amount of remixes. I’m not sure when The Pinkprint is supposed to come out, but if it does release this summer, Nicki might just have the summer on lock. Lil Wayne has even made a slight comeback with the Drake-assisted “Believe Me.” I haven’t heard crazy lines like “I’ll fire this Nina like it’s her first day /On the job and this bitch overslept” since No Ceilings. With Carter V on the way in August, things are looking interesting. Unlike last year, which had a host of projects from a few different notable artists, it seems like one crew is looking to take the crown for the summer.
Ab-Soul and Common are both looking to release studio albums this summer. Ab-soul’s album, These Days, is highly anticipated and is supposed to come out this June. Common’s album, Nobody’s Smiling, is also set to release this summer. Both may grasp our attention with their projects. I believe that each artist is fully capable; nobody should sleep on either of them. Thinking towards mainstream and pop charts, it looks as if Iggy Azalea will have a strong presence this summer. As much as it pains me to say this, she claims stake to the number one and two spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 (I’ll discuss my disdain Ms. Azalea at another time). Irrelevant to me, but very important as far as music for the summer goes. “Fancy” by Azalea may very well turn into 2014’s “Blurred Lines,” and give 2014 its summer anthem.
It does put that element of surprise in each track that comes out. We’re not sure where that marquee song or project will come from
While it seems like there will be plenty of music for us to peruse, I still wonder if this summer can beat last summer. One can have high hopes for the music set to come out this summer, but, last year we could already expected great music from established artists. It does put that element of surprise in each track that comes out. We’re not sure where that marquee song or project will come from. In 2013, we had a handful of capable artists to choose from for our summer playlists. In the summer of 2014, we’ll be actively engaged to the blogosphere looking for that season-defining song that needs to be played at every rager we attend. As far as music goes, summer 2014 isn’t looking any better or worse than last year, just different.