Basking in the glories of the highly anticipated returns of R&B artist D’Angelo and rock group No Doubt, I came across a few more artists that should come back & make an album.
Justin Timberlake, you top this list. It has been 6 years since he dropped the amazing FutureSex/LoveSounds and he only holds 2 solo efforts under his belt at this point. When he is not randomly showing up on the set of Saturday Night Live for a random cameo, Justin is making movies… lots of movies. With the exception of The Social Network Justin’s movies either bomb in the box office or are panned by critics, or both (he was called “box office poision” at one point.) What the hell was In Time? And why does his IMDB say that he has three movies in post-production with a fourth in the works? I know you are getting ready to wife up Jessica Biel, but if you can find it in your heart Justin, please return to the recording studio. That “other” Justin is coming for your spot.
It wouldn’t be fair to start this off without mentioning that Missy Elliott has been privately battling with Graves Disease for years, and that very fact is why we have not heard from her in so long. While her fans are glad that she has gotten better, we are also desperately missing Missy’s music! The rap game needs Missy, it really does. She is a dope MC with a beautiful singing voice, monster producing skills, and music videos that put her in a class of her own. We will never forget Missy wearing a garbage bag in “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” or extending her head and neck in “Get Your Freak On.” Missy’s last album, The Cookbook dropped in 2005 and after overcoming illness she released the single ”Ching-a-Ling” in 2008, made guest appearances on songs with Katy Perry and J. Cole and began working on her new album, Block Party. So Missy, take your time, but we do miss you.
We know that Big Boi released Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty in 2007 and that Andre 3000 makes random appearances on various with various artists, but the last time we received a collective effort from the two emcees under the moniker OutKast was on the soundtrack to the movie Idlewild 2006. We have heard from Big Boi and Dre separately, but can we please have another OutKast album? It’s not like yall broke up as a group! It doesn’t matter if its another double album like Speakerboxx/ The Love Below or anything like your classics Aquemini and Stankonia, but now that OutKast as a group have signed to Epic Records under L.A. Reid, it’s time to get that collective magic going again! That is, of course, after Dre finishes shooting the Jimi Hendrix movie.
Hip-Hop fans already knew to give up on hopes of the now urban legend-like album Detox. If you still believe that Dr. Dre will release an album, this article by Hiphopwired.com will change your mind (and make you laugh.) I don’t ever want to hear Dr. Dre mention the word “detox” ever again unless he is stating a release date after it. It has been 13 years, I repeat THIRTEEN YEARS since Dre dropped 2001. (It was released in 1999. This can be a bit confusing lol.) Between then and now, Dre worked with artists like Eminem, 50 Cent, and more recently, Kendrick Lamar. He has also hit the gym extra hard, but still managed to make a guest appearance here and there on some tracks. Then, the man made headphones. Not just any headphones, but BEATS by Dre headphones that are selling like hot cakes. The reality is, at this point Dre doesn’t need to release an album, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t nor does it mean that he will. So until he puts the dumbbell down and takes his Beats off his ears, we have a better chance of getting an album from Hologram Tupac. I personally think that Dr. Pepper should make the same bet wit Dre that they did with Guns N’ Roses. Maybe that will light a fire under his foot.
The undisputed queen of “Were is Your New Music”-dom is Lauryn Hill. We all know the story. L-Boogie dropped the classic The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998, sold millions, won 5 Grammys, and solidified her stance as a star separate from the Fugees. Then she went into hiding after being dissatisfied with the music industry, and we were all sad. You made an appearance on MTV Unplugged with some new material, but a full length album did not follow. At one point there was an effort for a Fugees reunion, but after one new song with Lauryn, Wyclef Jean, and Pras, the reunion fell apart. She then began touring again, and every time we think Miss Hill is about to make a musical comeback, something happens. Most of the time this road block is pregnancy which is fine, but failing to pay your taxes is not ok. Hopefully, Lauryn’s sentence will be short, and after she comes out of jail (if she ends up serving jail time) she’ll go straight to the studio. There is too much talent there for her not to!
