Alicia Keys

“…And Take Notes.”

Depending on who you ask, there have been between roughly forty to sixty Five Cig (5 Mics is done with, yaheard?) albums released in hip-hop’s history. If we take 1984′s Run DMC as the first, then we’ve averaged about two a year to date. However, recent times have seen a worse drought than Chicago’s weed scene. The Blueprint, released seven years ago, was the last album to receive a perfect rating from all media sources. While various magazines and websites have anointed an album or two since, we’re a long way from the mid 90′s. Which leaves one to wonder – what the hell happened?

Part of the problem is the systemic nature of criticism in the digital age. The Internet community exponentially increased the amount of critics, giving voices to more dissenters and contrarians. It’s lengthened the consensus building process. Scared critics don’t want to take the leap of labeling something unworthy a classic album; they’d rather go for a four or four and half and adjust once the masses have come to agreement. That’s why you see XXL and The Source going back and retroactively granting perfect ratings.

But shook critics aren’t the only problem. The harsh reality is that newer artists collectively have been unable to match their 80′s and 90s forefathers in terms of creativity and artistic achievement. This dearth of creativity has Hip-Hop fans looking backwards. We are stuck hoping for our heroes to recapture past glories, and most of the time, we are disappointed. All the 90′s mega-albums – The Infamous, The Chronic, Low End Theory – were defining works of artists at their creative peaks. Maintaining that level of consistency for a decade or two is impossible. Hip-hop’s greatest artists have been able reach such creative peaks two or three times in their careers. Without new artists stepping up to fill the void, we end up where we are today.

Looking at the 2008 releases, I wonder where we’re going to get our double dose of Five Cig albums. As a fan, I’m still caught in the nostalgia trap. Maybe on N*gger, Nas will put it all together and deliver the perfect social commentary he’s been aiming for since Stillmatic. Maybe André or Big Boi can use going solo as inspiration. Maybe on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2, RZA and Raekwon can find a cheap DeLorean and take us back to 1995 all over again.

But even if all three of these things happen, the fundamental problem will still remain. The current generation isn’t pulling their weight. I’ve come out of ’07 believing that Hip-Hop’s talent pool is deeper than at any time this decade. But one of the young guns – be it Weezy, Saigon, Joell, or someone whose name we don’t even know – needs to step up to the plate and make an album worthy of that Five rating. It’s the new generation’s time to carry the torch. Gotta keep those numbers up.