Anyone keeping tabs can probably agree that the rap game is in an interesting place. Thanks to social media, a career can break overnight. One viral single can top the charts and catapult young artists into instant notoriety. Look no further than the Lil Tecca's and Lil Nas X's of the world, who have come to be largely associated with the singles that launched their careers; a gift and curse, as it were, considering that the follow-up is infinitely more difficult. For that reason, recent years have seen no shortage of short-term rap runs and one-hit wonders -- a fact not lost on Freddie Gibbs, who took to Twitter to voice as much.
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Never one to sugar-coat his feelings, no matter how blunt -- this is, after all, the man who singlehandedly committed to belittling Akademiks with an unyielding barrage of memes and purple-nurple threats -- Gibbs recently took a moment to criticize the utter lack of longevity currently plaguing the rap game. "The average rap career lasts a year," he declares, a take that can easily be read as cynical. After all, there are plenty of new rappers who have already surpassed that point, though hitting five might not be so simple. Yet it's hard to argue that Freddie's claim isn't true enough to at least resonate, even if he's being slightly hyperbolic to prove a point.
If he is correct in his assessment, how bad is a short-term rap game turnaround time really? On the surface, the problem might not seem so nefarious. Yet in reality, the issues bred can run deeper than initially thought. Consider the ramifications of a one-hit-wonder topping the charts. The copycats alone would be enough to muddy the waters, and next thing you know hip-hop finds itself becoming less about artistic individuality and more about trend-chasing for the bag. Do you agree with Gangsta Gibbs' assessment?
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