Hip Hop Should Let M.I Breathe

In Hip Hop there is nothing better than coming out with a classic debut album. A lot of greats are in this exclusive club reserved for rappers with stellar, game changing first albums. From Notorious B.I.G, Nas, Jay Z, Kanye West and 50 Cent there's a shining trail of word smiths who are regarded as demi-gods by Hip Hop heads.

Coming out the gate with a home run usually guarantees you legendary status, but despite being placed above mere mortal acts, a curse is embedded in the lofty praises, and adulation. With the exception of B.I.G who was cut down untimely, all the rappers have had their subsequent albums judged by the near perfection of their debut. 9 out of 10 times their new albums never meet up to their debut classic, and they are quickly tagged as 'sold out' or 'old school'. Herein lies the problem for the rapper, he has to come up with an album that is good (or better) than his first. He also has to produce an album that sounds exactly like it also. A creative mind is ever evolving. It is near impossible for an artist to go back and recreate that a body of work. Artists who bow down to this pressure quickly fade away.

This is a sad scenario in Hip Hop, and our very own M.I is the lead character. Much has been said about M.I's perfect debut album, and how he has fallen short since then. That's the general belief since then. Since the beginning of time man has always discarded old gods for new ones, and Hip Hop has been the same.

Taking a look at M.I's discography, he is actually not given credit for his body of work. Minus Talk About It (2008), he has released Illegal Music (2009), M.I 2 (2010) and Illegal Music 2 (2012). That's two albums, and two mixtapes within a six year time frame. When Chairman drops later this week, it will be five projects in six years. That's high output bearing in mind that Olamide is about to just do four albums in four years.

From the point of quantity, M.I has got it locked. What about quality? Illegal Music still remains one of the best mixtapes not only out of Nigeria, but Africa. It's sequel Illegal Music 2 saw M.I share the spotlight with several upcoming acts- a rare move by someone who is on top of the game.

The main bone of contention, and evidence against M.I's decline is his sophomore effort M.I 2. Hip Hop heads regard this album as proof that the short black one had strayed away from what made him a successful and respected act. To be realistic, there is no way M.I could have produced an album that closely resembled his debut so soon. You have all your life to come out with your first album. Your second album is primarily made up of experiences within the last two or three years of you becoming famous.

Artistically, it is wrong for fans to pressure artists into duplicating an album. A creative mind is an ever evolving mind, and forcing an artist to rehash old material is a set back. Ideally, M.I's second album had to be different than his first. Da Grin's surprising debut album had connected to the streets like no album before it. Being the top rapper in the country at that time, M.I had to come up with an album that connected intimately too. As for the commercial slant of the album, in order to maintain his position as top dog he needed hit records. As much as we love classic albums, hit records make you a successful recording act, and not flawless albums.

Granted M.I 2 could have been promoted better, but it was a good album nonetheless. It was a honest and realistic album from M.I. I would prefer he experimented and failed, than stick to the same old concept again and again.

M.I might be going through a rough patch, but which great individual hasn't? Even Messi has his off days. Yeah 'King James' wasn't the single that we thought would herald M.I's return but criticizing a man because of two or three bad singles after producing such good songs is an overkill.

I interviewed M.I in 2012, and he revealed to me that he was creatively burnt out. He is human after all. He is suffering a bad form, but forms are temporary. I have a sneaky feeling that on his next album, M.I will be at his best. However if he doesn't he is still M.I- the great Nigerian rapper, and potential legend.

"Even great artists make fake art"- M.I on 'Epic' off M.I 2