Will the Top Dawgs Flop?

Home , Chasing Summer, Isaiah Rashad, Like (record producer), Reason (rapper), Schoolboy Q, Top Dawg Entertainment

By TRodriguez23547 of SOFLOSOUND.com

No label in hip-hop quite ran the hype, acclaim, and sales of mainstream music quite like Top Dawg Entertainment in the 2010s. With critical and commercial acclaim under its massive belt, the collective exceeded its humble beginnings with one of the most defining runs of quality in rap history. Kendrick Lamar, the de-facto leader of the label, demolished both the charts and critics' brains with numerous records that seemed to reinvent mainstream concept-rap as we know it. SZA has claimed a spot on the present-day R&B Mount Rushmore with her unique voice. Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q, and Isaiah Rashad have supplanted themselves as key role players to allow the TDE team to score big with cohesive, narrative-driven albums that hit hard on the brain and bass.

The reason for their success in the past decade was simple: quality over quantity. Each project had time to grow and change into its own unique being, landing at the perfect time for each release to evolve into some sort of mythical event. That should

1 be it right? Can’t they just carry over these same practices into the new decade? Well, not now it seems. Hindsight is 20/20, but many are unsure if they can make it past the year 2020.

Let's get the obvious out of the way: TDE is still a landmark force in hip-hop. With such an exceptionally talented roster, it's doubtful people would forget the skills that the collective holds. Even with recent mixed responses for the likes of Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q, the artists on the label are held to high esteem and have no doubt secured spots in numerous rap fans' top ten. Music twitter still won't shut up about To Pimp a Butterfly and its artistic merit, even though it’s nearly five years old. But with high expectations comes high chances for failure. Despite the amazing output he collective has had over the years, the continual buildup by fans for an artist to drop another Oxymoron or Control System is making an insurmountable mountain for label signees to overcome. In an age where disappointment can quickly go viral by a well worded review or expertly tuned slander tweet, an album can simply fall by the wayside of critics and charts alike, all to be left in the wake of new album releases in a forthcoming week. It all follows the common delusion of hip-hop fans: if someone dropped a classic, they must only drop classics afterwards or their overall legacy will be nothing more than a shit stain. This is wrong of course; an album doesn't have to be perfect to be enjoyable. Unfortunately, a lot of rap heads want the whole cake or none at all.Expectations are not the only ingredients in the cautionary stew that TDE is preparing to eat. The rise of collectives like Griselda and Dreamville tie into what is TDE's most lacking component: the admission, growth, and promotion of smaller talent.

The core members of TDE are unanimously known in the rap community. Everyone knows about K-Dot, Rock, Q, and Ab-Soul. Hell, even now SZA is beginning to come around as one of the label’s biggest names. But a lot of attention from fans goes towards them, and little is left for the rest. To prove this point, look at none other than Chattanooga’s best, Isaiah Rashad. As much as Rashad is a huge force for the Southern underground, it’s not difficult to imagine that many non-hardcore fans wouldn't know he's even signed to TDE. His long-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed darling, The Sun's Tirade, has barely even received any promotion or attention outside of a few tweets from Kenny Beats and Zay himself. It may all be a big strategy from the collective to build anticipation, but the album remains nowhere in sight. Without a release in 2020, hope may dissipate for fans of his, leaving potential interest in the label on the gutter. I pray this isn't the case, as he brings a truly human element to a titanic group of artists.

In the same boat, some of the more unique voices in the collective haven’t had much time to shine in the spotlight. SiR’s 2019 album Chasing Summer was one of the better R&B albums of the year, yet despite its TDE backing, it barely made a splash in the pool of weekly releases. The same goes for the dynamic soul from Reason with his 2018 album, There You Have It. While both great bodies of work, the promotion and attention called to these albums was oddly small. If the grand release cycle of DAMN. was a trip to Disney World, these SiR and Reason release cycles were a budget trip to go see Rise of Skywalker. This may have been unintentional, but the lack of awareness by general music fans of these

3 great artists is disheartening.

An obvious counter argument can be made that maybe these artists didn't want to be the next big thing as they chase their own lane at their own speed. While this is true, their success ultimately helps the collective thrive, grow, and create great music. Labels like Griselda are in the running for top label of the next few years solely because of their hunger and heavy promotion of new works from some of the game’s most hungry artists. WWCD, The Plugs I Met, Hitler Wears Hermes, etc. came a big way to showcase the talent and skill of MCs that seemed to pop out of nowhere from the underground. Dreamville has a large cast of characters, but each has received their own spot on every fan's radar by partaking in their third label compilation last year, whereas other TDE artists had at most one appearance (or none, for Zay and SiR) on the Black Panther Album...

It's clear that TDE is here to stay. Their decisions, use of amazing artists, and marketing have proven their success in the past. But the fans ultimately determine what succeeds and what fails. With so much heavy talent on their roster, the buildup of anticipation for albums will be tough to satisfy fans. Besides the production of great music to meet expectations (a usual constant for the collective when they don't chase trends), TDE may need to grow and show love to even the most obscure of their artists while we wait for the next Kendrick or SZA album. Maybe a new talent can be signed? The label as a whole has a great eye for talent, so maybe a new star will be born if its members are willing to expand.

2020 looks like it may be a big year for the organization with possible Ab-Soul, Kendrick, and Reason releases on the horizon. I cannot wait to hear what one of the best rap collectives of modern memory has to offer. All I hope for is that they remember the importance of the little guy and the chances they can take with them...like the one they took with one Kendrick Lamar.