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Celeb News: Complex's Most Anticipated Albums of 2014.
Member Since: 10/1/2011
Posts: 53,790
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Complex's Most Anticipated Albums of 2014.
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Here we are in 2014 and, ho hum. The first two months of the year are traditionally a slow time for the music industry because all the blockbusters come out in time for the December holidays. Then the great bear goes into hibernation. Things usually pick with some spring releases, get hot and popping in the summer, and then, come fourth quarter, go into overdrive all over again. So after spending the end of 2013 drowning in new music (and best-of-the-year lists), we'll take advantage of the quiet to look ahead at the next twelve months.
What does music have in store for us this year? Well, we've got young rappers like Joey Bada$$ aiming to make a first real mark, while established vets like Rick Ross and Wiz Khalifa try to catch a respark. Folks like Pharrell and Pusha T come in riding high and hope to keep it going. Superstars like Nicki Minaj and Rihanna have new material slated after quiet periods that have felt like forever.
We compiled 50 albums we're very much looking forward to. And we ranked them (because that's what we do) on the basis of our fiendingness.
http://www.complex.com/music/2014/01...d-albums-2014/
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50. Iggy Azalea, The New Classic
47. Azealia Banks, Broke with Expensive Taste
33. Lily Allen, TBD
32. Mike Will Made It, Est. in 1989 Pt. 3 (The Album)
19. Grimes, TBD
18. Jhene Aiko, Souled Out
17. Jay Z & Kanye West, Watch The Throne 2
11. Pharrell, TBD
10. Nicki Minaj, TBD
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"Real hip-hop" be damned. Nicki Minaj is a veritable pop royalty but still one of the toughest spitters in the game. Her pre-New Year's Eve release "Boss Ass Bitch" may not be the full scope of what's to come, but it's a distinct reminder that she's still the person who ate Jay's and Kanye's lunch on "Monster." But even when she's single-handedly destroying the dominant players in the game, then and now, she's still an artist whose reach extends to adorable little girls. All she needs is that classic album that shuts up the haters. If she can score that in 2014, then we can all hail her Minajesty.
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9. Nas, TBD
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2014 marks the 20 year anniversary of Nas' classic Illmatic. And 20 years later, we're still in awe of the Queensbridge rapper's rhymes. Nas really got his grown man on with 2012’s Life Is Good. The album, which was his first solo project since 2008’s Untitled, included joints like “Bye Baby” and “Daughters,” delving into subject subjects typically left untouched in rap. All done with the Queensbridge MC’s razor-sharp pen.
For his follow up, expect more real life raps from Esco, delivered as impressively as ever (the guest appearances he's made over the last few years, on songs like "Triple Beam Dreams" and "Let Nas Down (Remix)," have been nothing short of breathtaking). Timbaland spilled the beans about an upcoming song with Jay Z and Justin Timberlake, "Sinatra In the Sands," but Nas himself hasn't revealed too much about the album. Though he has claimed, "It’s the next chapter in myself as a writer." That’s a chapter we’re ready for.
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7. Lana Del Rey, Ultraviolence
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2013 was sort of a weird year for Lana Del Rey. Although she didn't release a full-length album last year, she still managed to score the biggest commercial hit of her career when French DJ/producer Cédric Gervais remixed her 2012 single, "Summertime Sadness," and helped it climb all the way to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Additionally, she also released Tropico, a well-received 30-minute short film directed by Anthony Mandler that featured songs from her Born to Die: Paradise Edition album.
So in 2014, she's going to attempt to ride the wave of momentum that she created by releasing her third album, Ultraviolence. She hasn't revealed very much info on it yet—in fact, as recently as October, it didn't even sound like she had started on the project—but, according to her, the album is going feature her taking a new approach to music compared to her stuff from the last couple years. "I really just wanted us all to be together so I could try and visually close out my [Born to Die/Paradise] chapters before I release the new record," she said before dropping Tropico last month. We look forward to seeing what the next chapter is all about
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5. Rihanna, TBD
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And in the eighth year, he gave Rihanna a break. But let's be real, she deserved it. Every year since 2005, the Bajan beauty has put out an album (it was a reissue in 2008, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded) lodging 13 No. 1 hit singles along the way. And she didn't just sell a ton of records, but she also toured constantly while everyone and all their mothers gossiped about her life decisions. Now that she's had a full year off, traveling the world—in a much more relaxed setting than the calamitous 777 Tour—it's time for her to get back in the studio and turn up again.
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3. Frank Ocean, TBD
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Nostalgia, Ultra was the scratchpad of intricate love songs that Frank Ocean wasn't legally allowed to share with us. But he shared it anyway, back in 2011, and it was a stunning success. He trumped that album, which would have been a career-defining work for many singers, with 2012's complex, layered, emotionally and sonically gorgeous Channel ORANGE. He's always advancing the narrative, so—as long as he gets over that scary vocal chord tear without complications—we expect the Odd Future crooner to deliver something even more elaborate in 2014.
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2. Kanye West, TBD
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Throughout his career Kanye has made a habit of making albums that leave fans picking their jaws up off the floor and wondering how on earth is he going to follow that?
After fusing the hot emotions of personal loss with the cold, spare, autotune synthsoul of 808s and Heartbreak he brought forth the grand-scale, baroque, rap-as-high-art masterpiece, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. After lavishing us in the luxury rhymes and plush production of Watch the Throne (a gazillion-dollar project that somehow, and effectively, came off as a small, self-contained, almost casual effort from the two biggest rap stars in the world) he challenged us to keep listening through the nasty, rage-filled blasphemy and cacophonous squawk of Yeezus—and made it very much worth the effort.
What will he do next? Who knows. But there is no more interesting question in music, or art, or popular culture in general this year.
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1. Kendrick Lamar, TBD
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Kendrick Lamar’s last album, good kid, m.A.A.d. city, is like a modern day Illmatic. It’s the last straight-up rap album to become a universally acclaimed classic. Funny thing is, although good kid came out in 2012, Kendrick didn’t really solidify his Best Rapper Alive status until last year. He spent 2013 coasting off the strength his major label debut, cruised past a million in sales, and spit a name-dropping, game-changing, earth-shaking verse on “Control.” This year, the ball is back in his court and the pressure is on.
Little is known about his next album, but the snippet we heard in his recent Beats By Dre ad sounded ****ing nuts. So if good kid is Illmatic, will his follow-up be an inspired but ultimately disappointing effort like Nas' It Was Written? Or can Kendrick once again outperform expectations? Can King Kendrick Lamar, comfortable on the throne, add another gem to his crown?
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Member Since: 12/15/2011
Posts: 4,771
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Quote:
Originally posted by Willy.
50. Iggy Azalea, The New Classic
47. Azealia Banks, Broke with Expensive Taste
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Member Since: 10/1/2011
Posts: 53,790
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The whole list is actually pretty great.
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Member Since: 6/8/2008
Posts: 24,791
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Pharrell
Rihanna
Frank
Kanye
Kendrick
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Member Since: 2/11/2012
Posts: 11,512
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Member Since: 8/3/2012
Posts: 19,910
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What a Top 3
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Member Since: 5/16/2012
Posts: 12,486
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I'm very excited to hear the albums Frank Ocean, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Pharrell, Rihanna, and Iggy Azalea create.
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Member Since: 11/8/2011
Posts: 31,648
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It's gonna be another amazing year.
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 26,488
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Azealia ahead of Iggy
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Member Since: 6/25/2011
Posts: 28,853
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Really great list...
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/31/2012
Posts: 12,510
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YAS at all this new hip hop. Looking forward to every name on that list actually.
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 12/7/2011
Posts: 27,655
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Great list, even though I Stan for Rihanna I'm more excited for Nicki's album. 
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Member Since: 2/11/2012
Posts: 11,512
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Yesss for them including my YG and ScHoolboy Q but where was the Queen Khia!?
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 16,461
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Lana and Frank 
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 4,132
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Everyone's excited for Lana
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 1,361
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So much potential  2014 might be really big.
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Member Since: 8/31/2013
Posts: 5,259
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I wanna know what was said about 'Watch the Throne 2' more than any of these other albums... I bet they'll finally have Rihanna & Beyoncé on the same track... which would be major slayage.
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Member Since: 8/19/2011
Posts: 37,346
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I'm looking forward to Rih, Lana & Nicki the most from this list.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 41,181
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Nas, Kendrick and Frank.  YES Complex 
Rihanna, Lana, Lily and Iggy as well
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Member Since: 12/2/2011
Posts: 52,765
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Great list
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