A dive into 75 classic albums and their respective followup attempts.
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Watching an artist attempt to followup a classic project is one of the most interesting moments to witness as a fan. If they drop another classic, their career is essentially stamped (i.e. Kendrick Lamar after GKMC and TPAB). If they miss the mark with their followup attempt, not only do they get looked at differently as an artist but so does their classic (i.e. True to Self's impact on Bryson Tiller and Trapsoul).
Point being, following up a classic is like walking a tightrope, one that can lead an artist to megastar heights or send them falling to a worse (albeit much richer) spot than where they started.
For example, pretend you're a 23-year-old artist who was recently signed to a major label. After years of tinkering away at ideas since high school, you have a good concept of what your debut studio project will sound, look and feel like. You use your new resources to make some songs in the space that got you signed and even throw in a few of your SoundCloud gems to ensure you can't miss.
All those years of trying out new sounds pay off and people like me say you dropped a classic debut. You celebrate, get invited on a couple tours, boost your name at some festivals, and right when everything's done and you think you can finally breathe, your new legion of fans are begging for project number two and your label won't stop mentioning momentum.
Now, you're tasked with following up the project that took your entire life to make in a few months.
Welcome to the tightrope that is following a classic.
With that central imagery in mind, I wanted to look at the different ways artists attempt to walk the classic tightrope. I chose 75 classic projects released between 2016 and 2020, reviewed their followup project and categorized the attempt. I came to the conclusion that there's seven ways artists choose to navigate the tightrope.
1. They Don't. They Go Ghost.
21 of the 75 classic albums have yet to receive a followup.
“Well, of course there's a lot of no followups, 2020 was like yesterday,” says the guy in the back.
Actually fictional guy in the back used to answer common question, only four of the 21 classics in the Ghost category came from 2019 and 2020, meaning 17 artists are going on year four of not following up their classic project.
As Twitter lives to remind the world, Frank Ocean's Blonde and Rihanna's ANTI are the only 2016 classics not to have a followup. Other notable classics approaching at least four years of no followup include: SZA's CTRL, Joey Bada$$'s ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$, Pusha T's Daytona, Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy, Travis Scott's Astroworld, Janelle Monae's Dirty Computer, The Internet's Hive Mind, and Sampha's Process.
Based on the way most of the artists in the Ghost category are still revered to this day, it's hard to argue against an artist going ghost after a classic project. It gives the artist time to explore new sounds and forces the listener to sit with and appreciate the project more.
2. They Drop Another Classic Project
I know it sounds easier said than done, but think of five classic projects — chances are one of those classics you thought of was followed up by another classic. Of the 75 classic albums revisited, 15 were followed up with another classic album.
The best part about this category is the deserved boost in recognition for nearly every artist that managed to pull off this feat. Each of the below artists are a lot of people's favorite artists and/or rarely have a bad word spoken about them when it comes to music.
Some notable classic projects in this category include: Solange's A Seat at the Table and When I Get Home, Kaytranada's 99.9% and Bubba, King Krule's The OOZ and Man Alive, Kali Uchis' Invasion of Privacy and Sin Miedo, Freddie Gibbs' Bandana and Alfredo, Little Simz' GREY Area and Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, and Mac Miller's Swimming and Circles.
Depending on how Call Me If You Get Lost and Whole Lotta Red age, Tyler the Creator and Playboi Carti are both potentially on a three-classic streak.
3. They Give A "Don't Judge Me" Project
A "Don't Judge Me" project is exactly what it sounds like.
It's a project with an excuse built in. While this form of project was mastered by Drake, it's actually a common practice. 14 of the 75 classic projects listed were followed up with a project that, for better or worse, abstained from being viewed in a critical light.
Drake labeled More Life a playlist to retire his five-classic streak, Childish Gambino hid his Awaken, My Love! followup behind a blank cover art and a bunch of dates, NBA Youngboy pressed pause on the mainstream ascension AI Youngboy II granted him by dropping back-to-back street mixtapes.
There's plenty of different reasons to release a "Don't Judge Me" project, but the two most popular seem to be superstars bowing out of critical acclaim and up-and-coming stars trying to use their newfound star power to pull up others (i.e. Benny the Butcher following up The Plugs I Met with a Black Soprano Family mixtape).
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4. They Go Into Purgatory With A Good Project
This followup route receives the most unfair treatment of the bunch.
Releasing a good project should be an admirable accomplishment, but that's rarely the case when that good project is following up a classic. 11 of the 75 classics surveyed were followed up with a good attempt, and there's a noticeable trend of both the artist and their followup attempt being overlooked.
Danny Brown's Atrocity Exhibition followup U Know What I'm Sayin?, Anderson .Paak's Malibu followup Ventura and Denzel Curry's Ta13oo followup ZUU are all prime examples of talented artists following a classic project up with a slept-on good project. The good project is often cast aside for the classic, and the wait for a more extreme (classic or bust) followup restarts.
The one positive of this route is that if done purposefully it can buy the artist more time while they work on the project that they feel is a classic (i.e. Travis Scott's Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight in between Rodeo and Astroworld).
5. They Go Into Purgatory With A Friend (Drop A Collab Project)
11 of the 75 classic projects were followed up with a collab project. This route is essentially a combination of the best number three and four have to offer, with the added possibility of popping as a classic of its own (i.e. Kid Cudi following up Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' with he and Kanye West's Kids See Ghosts).
Gunna and Lil Baby followed up their classic mixtapes, Drip Season 3 and Harder Than Ever, by pairing up to release Drip Harder. Then they both followed the formula again two years later post-Wunna and My Turn by turning to YSL's Slime Language 2 and Baby and Lil Durk's The Voice of the Heroes.
Other notable artists that chose to go the collab route following their classic include: Beyoncé (The Carters after Lemonade), Jay-Z (The Carters after 4:44), Bruno Mars (An Evening With Silk Sonic following 24k Magic), Future (SUPER SLIMEY after HNDRXX), and Chance the Rapper (Merry Christmas Lil Mama after Coloring Book).
Speaking of Chance the Rapper.
6. They Flop
Despite what common narratives suggest, not many artists flop after a classic. Maybe that's why the ones that do are nearly exiled from music. Of the 75 projects chosen, only two made the sharp turn from classic to unbearable miss.
Chance the Rapper's The Big Day after Coloring Book (the Jeremih Christmas mixtape being SoundCloud exclusive made it too underground to really count as a followup) and Migos' Culture II after their first installment are the only direct jumps from classic to flop since 2016.
Through a solo stint and the longest hiatus of their career, the Migos were able to bounce back with a decent Culture III performance, and the jury is still out on if Chance the Rapper can ever recover from his 2019 miss.
7. They Deliver Mid
Releasing a mid project after a classic is nearly as rare as flopping after a classic — just three of the 75 followups to classics fell under the mid category: Kanye West's Ye after The Life of Pablo, Rae Sremmund's SR3MM after Sremmlife 2 and DJ Khaled's Grateful after Major Key.
I know what you're thinking: Are those really classics?
Honestly, all three are tossups in my book. I wouldn't argue either way if someone labeled them a classic or a great project that doesn’t cut it as a classic.
In fact, the recipe for a mid followup to a classic project seems to be dropping a squeaker of a classic in the first place.
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