The Unsung Heroes Of The 2010’s (Article)
What up one & all. Sky Bento here once again on the check in. Big Bento Energy is most definitely in total effect. Last time we gathered here together to discuss the big three of hip-hop. No sooner than that article dropped, the fabled 2010’s Mt. Rushmore of Rap resurfaced to spark and internet wide debate on who deserves to be the fourth face alongside Drake, Kendrick Lamar & J. Cole. Last year, Nicki Minaj was crowned as the unofficial fourth face but this year that same initial image (sans Nicki) caused Big Sean to trend on twitter. Younger cats might be in awe at the audacity of having Big Sean in such prestigious company. But if you was outside at the turn of the decade - it should come to no surprise. If you know you know, the saying goes… And if you don’t know, allow your boy to educate right quick. Let’s discuss the unsung heroes of the 2010’s. These are the artists who, at the beginning of the decade appeared prime to take over the genre but for one reason or another never solidified a place within the fabled big three.
BIG SEAN
2010 was such a simpler time. When Cole & Drake were coming up (and K. Dot still a mere afterthought), Big Sean was right there with him. He seemed destined for one of the three crowns. He was a blog era critical darling, an XXL Freshman, and where Cole had Hov & Drake had Wayne, Sean had Kanye f****** West. I don’t think we can understate the Big Sean hype at all. He spent the latter half of the 2000’s signed to Ye’s G.O.O.D. Music label and contributed to some of the biggest albums the man ever released with Graduation & My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Beyond that he showed out with a slew of scene stealing verses on Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Fridays records such as “Looking For Trouble”, “Don’t Look Down” and more in addition to dropping a blog era classic with his Don Cannon hosted Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG mixtape. Then he dropped his underwhelming yet star-studded debut album, killed some more features, then spun the block on the G.O.O.D. Fridays circuit with records like Clique and Mercy which introduced “swerve” into the popular lexicon. In fact, Big Sean came out the gate with catchphrases and ad libs galore. From “boi” to “oh God” to “oh, that’s yo girl?” to “whoa there” to “I do it” to his “Finally Famous getting money”, the character of Big Sean was definitely memorable. So what held him back? Probably that same corny charm. Big Sean popularized the hashtag rap flow that Drake, Lil Wayne and many others would abuse in the early years of the decade. You know, the one where rappers say a simile or metaphor without like or as. Line after line, barcode. While this got so tired that even the best lyrics fell victim to its poor delivery, it was the sophomore slump that really killed the Big Sean hype. By the time he came out with his best album - 2015’s Dark Sky Paradise - on his third outing, it was too little too late. While Sean has grown tremendously as not just a rapper but also a human being, the early years of his career have informed the reception of everything he’s done since. At this point his influence has been taken and repurposed, but he is hardly regarded as influential in 2022.
WALE
Like Big Sean before him, Wale was also a XXL Freshman. Actually, he was a XXL Freshman the year before Big Sean. Wale checks off a lot of the same boxes as Big Sean. He was lyrical, but not street. He was smart and witty, but egotistical enough to put it to good use as an MC. He was a punchline rapper, much like Sean, but his punchlines stayed pretty close to his interests and seemed more like he was trying to impress himself than others. His confidence felt much more natural than Sean’s in his early days, as he stuck to rapping about sports, wrestling, and waxing poetic over his own emotions. The introspection that Big Sean would later lean harder into was a part of Wale’s DNA from the start. Both of his About Nothing mixtapes were blog era classics, with More About Nothing being the obvious standout. While being a blog era rapper’s rapper, he made much more of an effort to cater to women than most of his contemporaries not named Drake. He never tried to appear the hardest, or untouchable. Wale was always unmistakably human, leading GQ to label him (alongside Drake & Kid Cudi) as a leader of the new school for his penchant for introspection. This is why his Seinfeld themed projects took off, he was able to relate to the everyman by talking about things that we all go through like competition with friends, breakups, manipulation, motivation, and more. This got the eyes of one Rick Ross on him, who quickly rounded out his burgeoning Maybach Music Group roster wish a much needed traditional lyricist. Wale brought the backpackers with him to MMG, a label full of street artists like Meek Mill, Gunplay, and of course the biggest boss himself. When Rick Ross fully came into his own as one of rap’s biggest names, it was with his generals Meek Mill & Wale right by his side. Obviously, neither of them were about to replace their leader so naturally they vied for second place. Meek was much more in line with what Rick Ross & the MMG brand represented, leaving Wale as the “Maybach Poetic Genius”. When it came time to deliver records for the ladies, Wale shined bright with his emotional vulnerability and knack for digging deeper when it came to painting pictures. But these were breaks from the label’s main export - bombastic, larger-than-life street anthems like Meek’s own “Tupac Back” & “Ima Boss” (both of which featured MMG’s commander in chief). It soon became very clear who Ross & MMG were prioritizing, which often left Wale to do his own thing. While he saw great success, he hardly cracked into top 5 conversations. Add to that his own Twitter fingers beefing with certain publications and a late-game arrogance for not being held in the same light as a J. Cole or Kendrick Lamar, and the general perception about Wale had completely soured.
KID CUDI
Out of everybody we’re discussing today, Cudi has likely had the most tumultuous career. He’s also likely the most influential, and most widely regarded as influential on the current generation. As previously mentioned, he shared that GQ article with Wale & Drake early in his career. Like Big Sean he was signed to Kanye. But most importantly, he played a pivotal role in what could be Kanye’s most influential album - 808’s & Heartbreak. Through this, the current lineage of melodic, introspective, lonely stoners we consider rappers can be traced back to Kid Cudi. Unlike other blog era stars, Kid Cudi didn’t give us tape after tape. He came into the game pretty much completely behind the scenes and gave us one mixtape in A Kid Named Cudi and next thing you know his single “Day N Nite” was EVERYWHERE. He was the first G.O.O.D. Music star, and benefited a decent amount from being part of that initial wave of hype. But Cudi’s strengths did not live in his rapping ability. It was his vulnerable songwriting and off-kilter style that separated him from the crowd. He released his first two albums on G.O.O.D. Music and quickly parted ways with the label to do his own thing. From the outside looking in, he didn’t appear to have the same support as the more stereotypical rappers on the label such as Pusha T and of course, Big Sean. He wanted to do whatever he wanted to do, and began showing it. He became a wildly experimental artist (much more than before) to varying degrees of success. This only moved him further and further away from the mainstream consciousness until ultimately the same place all of his strengths came from were unfortunately what would hold him back. He struggled with his own mental health, and this put him at odds with many of his former allies like Drake and Kanye. But he continued to gain respect for wearing his heart on his sleeve and being his unapologetic self. Today, Cudi is well known for his influence, especially with artists like Travis Scott & Quavo giving him his much deserved props. Cudi was really never meant to be a superstar though. Even in his early days, him being himself was a bit of an act of rebellion. He just wanted to be himself, and pursue happiness.
NICKI MINAJ
Just for fun, let’s talk about Nicki as if she’s one of these “unsung heroes”. As if anybody could say the biggest female rapper of all time did not reach her potential. Much like her Young Money brother Drake, she came into the game with the cosign of the best rapper alive at the height of his powers. She also had close ties to Gucci Mane & 1017 Brick Squad in her early years. Drake & Nicki were a lot like Wale & Meek, in that Drake was tapped as the poetic, introspective artist for features, whereas Nicki was tapped to absolutely destroy tracks. She was much more like Wayne in that regard. Her verses were always fun to rap along to, especially for the women. But then she did the unthinkable and went beyond trying to be the best rapper alive. Nicki Minaj successfully went pop and quickly became a superstar, even rivaling Drake. While a great step for her career overall, it ultimately alienated her fanbase. A lot of people wanted Mixtape Nicki with the Weezy-level bars and New York swagger. The off the wall delivery had been replaced with accents and theatrics at the level of a pop star like Britney or Christina. This made it easier than ever to write her off as a rapper as if casual misogyny hadn’t helped enough. That same misogyny would propel a number of smear campaigns against Nicki as she rubbed some industry elites the wrong way. Anybody who did not want to see a strong Black woman speak for herself used that to discredit Nicki. Then there was the occasional moment where lyrically, she just wasn’t matching the fierceness she delivered lyrics with. Another thing that kind of stunted her growth was the marketing of her first few albums. Her first two albums basically shared the same name, with her sophomore effort Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded appearing to be little more than a deluxe edition of her debut Pink Friday. There was no sense of progression in Nicki early on, likely leading her third album The Pinkprint to kick off the first of two four year hiatuses, which also did not help her case as one of the best rappers out. Of course, she was already cemented as a star at this point, but when she returned with 2018’s Queen it felt long overdue. This project revealed a more mature Nicki, but much like Big Sean, everybody’s opinion of Nicki had already been solidified and there was nothing she could do to grow any larger organically like Drake did. Add to that the amount of women who decided to follow in Nicki’s footsteps ended up over saturating her own market in her absence. But as a woman in hip-hop, what she did was monumental and laid the blueprint for all of the women who’ve made their own mark on rap in recent years. If we’re looking at her peak rapping ability, and her influence, she’s absolutely deserving of a spot on the 2010’s Mt. Rushmore of rap. Had she been more consistent and shown more growth, she may have even overtaken one of the big 3. But as it stands, settling for biggest female rapper of all time isn’t too shabby.