Drop It Like It’s Hot… Please?

Can these hip-hop/R&B artists (and their labels) get it together? I understand a fluid release date is simply the nature of the business, but really? Usually it’s only a matter of weeks or maybe a month or two at most that an album gets pushed back. But these days it seems that the time is getting longer and longer. A prime example would be Ciara, whose album, Fantasy Ride, was due out in December, then pushed back to late January, and now is set to drop in April. Yes, April. Not to mention that her moderately successful first single, “Go Girl,” was released waaay back on September 30. Apparently the single failed to generate enough buzz, so a new lead single, “Never Ever,” was chosen and the album has accordingly been pushed back. So, unfortunately, all that most people remember about her as of late is her controversial Vibe cover shoot.

Other highlights from this year include 50 Cent, Big Boi, Cassie, Keri Hilson, Missy Elliott (who had a hit with “Ching-a-Ling” nearly a year ago…), Jadakiss, The-Dream and Bus-A-Bus himself – all artists who released a single only to lose speed in the end. Like I said, I realize that so much of the industry relies on perfect timing and I’m not advocating rushing out a sloppy, unfinished product, but c’mon … The reality is that often times an artist ends up losing their momentum and steam. How you gonna drop a hot song and then not follow up? People get tired of hearing that a release date has been pushed back, yet again, and whatever promotion you have done up to that point is pretty much wasted. Fans are confused by multiple “lead” singles, some that are actually “promotional” singles or “buzz” singles, or whatever they’re called nowadays. Which one gets a video and the full promotional treatment? How does this help an artist stay in the news and stay popular? Beats me. In this reality of leaked albums, file sharing, DRM-free music (now including the juggernaut known as iTunes Plus), artists need to stay on top of things more than ever. They would be wise to learn a lesson from someone like Beyoncé, who came and dropped two monster singles, kept up the promotion with appearances, scorching videos and killer performances and released her album about a month later to some serious success.

So don’t pull a Nicole Scherzinger (who went straight back to The Pussycat Dolls), Lindsay Lohan (who knows what’s happening there), or an Eve (did she shake that “Tambourine” too hard?) and get your album shelved indefinitely, because people will soon be like “Yo, whatever happened to (fill in the blank)…”

by: Rene Perez