It is comeback season for a few artists this year and LL Cool J, Eve and Justin Timberlake just to name a few. LL and Eve are expected to drop albums this May and Justin is making his way to the top of the charts with his new hit single ‘Suit & Tie’ featuring Jay Z off his new album The 20/20 Experience. The G.O.A.T. has his fourteenth album entitled Authentic, five years after the release of Exit 13, and will be the first project severed from Def Jam Records. After nearly a decade and her release from Interscope, Eve is back with over a million views on Youtube already for her new hit single ‘She Bad Bad.’ The question is whether or not these comebacks will live up to their name, or (no shade) is it time for some of them to retire the mic?
Some of us might have thought that Exit 13 was a farewell album (hence the name Exit, after his 13th album) with over twenty-eight years in the business. Being such a force behind the most successful record label in hip-hop history, fourteen albums, and countless Hollywood appearances in film and television, LL Cool J’s resume reminds us of why he is the still the G.O.A.T. Others may still have their doubts about LL, especially since his record sales fall extremely short with his last album only selling 44,000 copies the first week.
Authentic (formally known as Authentic Hip-Hop) is one album that has LL excited to share, claiming that this is one of his greatest works so far. With singles such as ‘Take It’ featuring Joe, ‘Closer’ featuring Monica, and ‘Ratchet.’ His album title seemingly implies that he is taking a few jabs at some artists of today, but on the contrary this is not LL’s intended purpose. This album is supposed to be for a more seasoned hip-hop ear and also a way that LL is staying true to who he is as an artist, which is highly respectable at least LL will always do well with the big screen. With that being said hopefully staying true and not conforming to the demands of hip-hop today LL will hold his title as the ‘Greatest Of All Time.’
On a more feminine note, Ruff Ryder’s first lady comes out with her senior album, Lip Lock. After eleven years, Eve embraces us with her lyrical presence once again. Eleven years is quite a long time especially in this industry and could be detrimental to any artist’s career for even sleeping that long. ‘Tambourine’ was supposed to be a breakthrough for Eve, but with her former record label Interscope, it said otherwise. Reportedly Eve was having issues with maintaining her creativity as an artist and trying to meet the expectations of her legal agreement with Interscope Records. After years of her bind with the label, Eve is free of Interscope and will be debuting her album on her own record label, FTR (From the Ribs Records).
Eve has paved the way for so many female emcees today, but her slumber might have cost her some attention. With the game changers such as Nicki Minaj and her delivery of her music has revolutionized the way female rappers were once viewed with thugged out personas. Eve has mentioned that she gives full credit to artists such as Nicki for finding their niche in the hip-hop industry where it was once male dominated and them being so heavy in the game is a sign of a breakthrough.
Justin Timberlake might not be a rapper but has heavy Hip-Hop influences in his music. With Hip-Hop all-star Jay-Z holding it down for him in “Suit & Tie,” Justin seems to be doing just fine, but we have also seen this Justin before with his last album having heavy features in Timbaland, Three6Mafia and Will.i.am. This album is just Justin with only one feature with a Hip-Hop artist. Can he survive without the help of any rappers? Of course he’s on his way to selling over 500,000 plus units in his first week, with a second project (hence the 20/20 Experience… 10 songs this time… 10 songs next.)
The months to come will surely show us if the old is new and if Justin is still “Mr. Sexy Back.”
With these three examples, the question is whether or not the fanbase will be as receptive. In the time span since LL, Eve and Justin dropped their last project, sales have dropped, social media has risen and plenty of new artists have come to the forefront. Justin is out the gate making the best impression first, can Eve and LL receive the same reception?
LL once said “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years…” now that’s Authentic.
– Ashley Chaplin
