To Pen a Butterfly: Lengthy, streaming-oriented albums can still be cohesive

Dake’s 22-track More Life  compilation wasn’t the first overly bloated project to hit the market when it dropped last year, nor has it been the last — but his decision to term it as a “playlist” rather than an album raised many eyebrows. Playlists have become the dominant method of consuming music in recent years, and while many artists have dabbled in curating their own collections for public consumption on Spotify and Apple Music, none before had come with the heavily anticipated release date and the widespread promotion typically reserved for albums.

More Life’s categorization could certainly be seen as Drake’s method of capturing sounds from around the globe and solidifying his status as a tastemaker, but moreover it was a way to cash in on the rise of music streaming, allowing himself more opportunities to earn the fractions of pennies available with each stream. Now, Migos’ Culture II is the latest album to follow this trend, containing a hefty 24 songs for listeners to sift through. Clocking in at a whopping one hour and 45 minutes, Culture II runs longer than many movies do, and is even three minutes longer than Quality Control’s entire Control the Streets compilation album in which the group contributed heavily to.

The music industry — and hip-hop especially — evolves faster than your friendly neighborhood Caterpie in a Pokmon game, and with more songs equating to more money, it’s unlikely that artists like Migos care too much about album purists crying for shorter tracklists and a more cohesive listen-through. However, “cohesive” and “extensive” are not mutually exclusive terms when it comes to a project; the two are fully able to coexist, it just requires a little extra creativity from the responsible creatives.

Rapper Big K.R.I.T. struggled against his label Def Jam to put out his music for years, eventually choosing to leave the company and work independently instead. 4Eva Is A Mighty Long Time, his first release after departing, contained 22 songs and is by no means a short listen, yet still manages to retain the listener’s attention thanks to its double-disc format. The Mississippi rapper fills the first half of the album with a mix of hard-hitting bangers and relaxed, mellow grooves, while spending the latter portion giving an introspective look into the world of Justin Scott, the real-life individual behind the Big K.R.I.T. persona. Wasting none of the album’s 82 minutes with overly repetitive beats and lyrics, it was one of the strongest hip-hop projects of 2017, while still granting him plenty of chances to pick up those ever-so-valuable song streams to rake in the revenue.

The double-album isn’t the only way to get the most out of a lengthy tracklist, however — R&B star Jhené Aiko also needed 22 songs to tell her story on Trip. Weaving lyrics about love, loss and redemption around the concept of a rather intense experience on LSD, Jhené parallels her roller coaster emotional state with the music behind her, creating a layered album with a mood that rises and falls throughout. Songs like “Moments” open the album on a positive note before the situation becomes more grave in the middle of the album on “Nobody,” until Jhené victoriously emerges on the other side of the tunnel on “Frequency.” The result is a project that allows for a worthwhile experience when played front-to-back, but is still just as enjoyable when split off into various playlists.

With no clear storyline linking Culture II together and no apparent intentions from the group to do so, it’s somewhat useless to judge the project by the same standards as other albums. In fact, as it falls more in line with the “playlist” philosophy, it’s somewhat useless to judge the project at all until it’s had appropriate time to make its intended impact, diced and shuffled into booming, trap-heavy collections. Still, other artists have proven that it’s possible to optimize streaming potential without wasting the original album format; hopefully more are able to discover the right balance going forward.

Anyway, here’s what’s on my mind in the world of music this week.

Why I’m smiling: Chris Dave and the Drumhedz’ self-titled debut album

A drummer by trade, Chris Dave made himself into an industry household name thanks to his work with acclaimed artists such as Adele, D’Angelo and even Justin Bieber on his 2015 album Purpose. On Chris Dave and the Drumhedz, however, he shows that he’s more than capable of standing on his own. While his work on the drums unsurprisingly carries the project, soulful melodies on songs like “Spread Her Wings” give the album sonic depth and impressive instrumentation. Not to mention two Anderson .Paak features? You had me at the first hi-hat.

Why I’m shaking my head: Joey Bada$$ says rap is in “a very trash state”

How many times do we have to have this conversation? Radio rap (and Spotify’s influential RapCaviar playlist, to be frank) could certainly stand to become less monotonous, but in the digital age, there’s plenty of other platforms where hip-hop is as diverse as ever. Artists like Smino, Goldlink and BROCKHAMPTON are proving it’s possible to break into the mainstream with an original sound. With a little more effort on the part of consumers, perhaps more talented artists will be able to have their shine as well.

Why I’m hopeful for the future: TDE Championship Tour

After the label released arguably the two best albums of 2017 in Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. and SZA’s Ctrl, there is no better title for their upcoming victory lap across the country. Top Dawg is bringing the entire roster — with the exception of rapper Isaiah Rashad, for reasons still unclear — on what is sure to be one of the marquee tours of the summer, with 29 dates lined up between May and June. Tickets won’t be cheap, but with a laundry list of names that could easily rival a single-day festival lineup, it will certainly be worth it.

Kenan Draughorne is a junior majoring in journalism. He is also the lifestyle editor of the Daily Trojan. His column, “To Pen a Butterfly,” runs Mondays.