Both Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life and Prince’s Sign ☮️ The Times were both released nearly 10 years of one another.

Both albums are similar to me as they feature great artists at the peak of their powers, making double albums in which they tackle nearly every subject under the sun.

What would be the modern equivalent to these two albums? Good Kid, maad City?

There is none tbh. I can’t think of an album that is as lengthy or varied as these 2 and still a 10/10

Good answer tbh. From a hip hop lens, this might just be the album i’m thinking of

How far are we allowed to go back? I picked Common based on the vibe it gives me and subject matter but if it has to be a double album of an artist at their peak, All Eyez On Me and Life After Death are on par

Yeah I know it’s not as long as those but I know what you’re saying about subject matter, I love those kind of albums that really almost capture the whole spectrum of life

if kanye still cared it would be donda or TLOP,

massively succesful albums that are reflections of the black (but also just the human) experience of the times

it would be a disgrace to consider those two albums on the level of these ones, but with a little bit more attention and care they could have easily been what you're looking for in terms of scope, popularity, influence, legacy, etc etc

cardi b - invasion of privacy

Tpab and blonde the closest

Yeah the album ur describing is just tpab so I’m saying Kendrick got the version of that for this gen

probably tpab

I think an aspect I need to add is accessibility, both albums feature some of the respective artists’ biggest hit singles/standout tracks.

I think that’s the biggest achievement that both of these records share to this day, their ability to be bold & ambitious, while still connecting with the people

Feel like All Eyez isn’t varied enough, and frankly isn’t as good as these two albums. Songs and Sign have 0 filler imo

Haven’t listened to Life After Death yet

mm actually yea ur right

but i think what would more perfectly capture the vibe these two albums have, is if kendrick's next record had the commerciality of damn with the intricacies of tpab imo

not saying i disagree, but i think tpab is a very deeply personal record, where as songs in key of life and sign o the times can be a bit more universal

but overall i agree that it's probably tpab

i’d judge it off being a double album tbh.

yes thank u! this is why i didnt immediately put tpab, because it is a damn near perfect record, but lacks the accessibility of those two records

alright is a massively successful single that will go down in history, but there's no sir duke, no adore on tpab that you can pinpoint

i comes close to being that single for the record, but considering that the album version is a live version with a monologue at the end idkkkk

its not that i dont think tpab is on the level of these albums, i just think it has a different value to the cultural imaginary and holds a different legacy, u feel?

the closest i can think of is 4eva is a mighty long time @op but i still wouldn’t put it on par with SITKOL or SOTT

Check out LAD, it’s probably the most successfully varied hip hop album I can think of. The variety is amazing and it’s better than AEOM

I can see what you mean but Songs in the Key of Life is literally the best album ever imo, nothing gonna be quite as good but these are some different projects that I think you could see as hip hop equivalents you know. AEOM might not have as much sonic variety but I do think he touches on a lot of different topics and has a lot of different type of songs with the majority of them being classics and iconic, they’re really only one track I consider filler

LAD can be in that conversation then imo

Yeah the themes of damn would fit better but I feel like musically tpab the closest but I get what u mean 100% Bc they more universal songs on their albums

yeah it’s def one of the GOAT double albums tbh

If TPAB had just a couple more tracks it probably would have been a straight up double album.

i think this actually is a gateway to a much broader convo on

"can music be universal in these times? what does universal music sound and look like?"

im not sure, considering every niche is available to tap into at all times

how do artists with global reach, create works of art that speak to the human experience, when everyone can tap into a work of art that specifically speaks to them, no matter how niche

Blonde