Sequels in Hip Hop are much like those in Hollywood, they never live up to the original (save Godfather 2). More disappointing though, is that the sequels are rarely even good, let alone living up to anything. The worst culprits always seem to be veterans trying to reclaim their past glory when their career is in the wind critically or commercially. In honor of Snoop Dogg recently announcing his intentions to make Doggystyle 2, of which we’re quite skeptical, here are five follow ups that have no place alongside the original.
Mobb Deep – Infamy (2001)
2001 was the year for bad sequels and M-O-B-B was no exception, they were maybe even the rule. Murda Muzik was a disappointment after bootlegging and delays hurt the album amidst changing technologies and styles. Reeling from Jay-Z’s Summer Jam stage beating didn’t help either. So the QB went right after the charts, abandoning their grit for songs like “Bouce” and Hey Luv.” Imagine those songs in between “Survival of the Fittest” and “Eye For An Eye.” Little dunns cried worldwide.
On 1994’s The Infamous you got “Survival of the Fittest 
.” On 2001’s Infamy you got “Bounce ”
Warren G – Return of the Regulator (2001)
The saddest thing about this album sequel is that the original wasn’t all that great either, and by comparison this was still awful. Don’t get it twisted, Regulate…G Funk Era was a good album, but it didn’t live up to the massive expectations created by the title track. Warren G did everything he could to capture his past glory with Return, right down to the album cover. Oh, except for the music. Return found Warren way outside of his lane, abandoning his trademark G-Funk for generic nonsense.
On 1994’s Regulate…G Funk Era you got “Regulate .” On 2001’s Return of the Regulator you got “Speed Dreamin ‘”
Fat Joe – J.O.S.E. (2001)
How do follow up one of the hardest albums of all-time? With Ja Rule and Ashanti of course! Joey does deserve some credit for employing production from Beatnuts’ Psycho Les, Buckwild and Alchemist, but the album was softer than Joe’s midsection. For whatever reason Joe decided to make a follow up to that; the abominable J.O.S.E. 2. This made the first Jealous Ones Envy sound like It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back by comparison. We’re glad Joe came back to the darkside.
On 1995’s J.O.E. you got “Shit Is Real (DJ Premier Remix) ”. On 2001’s J.O.S.E. you got “What’s Luv? ”
Onyx – Bacdafucup Pt. II (2002)
In the midst of A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul, and Black Moon dropping east coast classics in 1993, Onyx snuck in with an excellent debut album. With Jam Master Jay at the helm and the young bald heads spitting fire and brimstone, the Queens trio quickly distinguished themselves from the pack. Fast forward nine years, several group and solo albums, Onyx found themselves on Koch with public interest waning. They reached back to the good ol’ days and made a part two to their debut, right down to a follow up to their hit single “Slam.” The album was littered with poppy, club joints, and no one wants to hear that from Onyx.
On 1993’s Bacdafucup you got “Throw Ya Gunz .” On 2002’s Bacdafucup 2 you got “Clap & Rob’em ”
Twista – Adrenaline Rush 2007 (2007)
Twista earns some points here because he didn’t seem to have the same poor reasons for going back to the well as his counterparts. The Tung Twista had become a major player and was riding a wave of success, and it was the 10 year anniversary of his 1997 classic. Intentions aside, his result wasn’t much different than the others. The 2007 version seemed much more focused on living up to his recent success on the charts rather than living up to the quality of the original.
On 1997’s Adrenaline Rush you got “Adrenaline Rush .” On 2007’s Adrenaline Rush 2007 you got “Love Rehab .”
Sequels such as these should stand as a cautionary tale to rappers looking for ways to revive their careers. Only Fat Joe saw more commercial success with his follow up, while the others all lost critically and commercially.
Since I’m sure quite a few of you are going to point to Jay’s The Blueprint 2 (or 3 for that matter), I’ll speak to that. Part 2 certainly was a bloated album that had no business being a double disc, but it still had enough good material to save it from this list.
Stay tuned, next week we’ll be back with the sequels that did work.
I listened to all the originals but I have not listened to any of these sequels. Judging from the article must be for good reason.
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia#p/u
Won Says by $WonDough$
This guy didnt hate as hard as i thought he would. but i expected the list to be a little longer. Lazy article.
Rappers are fuckin doin it before they get truly famous now. I mean what the fuck is “Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager.”
cudi’s doing it to continue the story not to live of the success of his first album. all these guys did it because their careers turned lame
You expected a stated list of 5 to be longer?
Blueprint 2 by jay z was a dope album. I bumped that shit for a year straight. It had commercial and hard joints. The problem is so much Nas dick riders were hating on hov around that time in 2002 they did not give the album a chance. Speaking of double albums that nas double album street disciple was the worst double album of all times and stillmatic should be on the list of wackest follow upeven though illmatic wasn’t all that either. I dont give two shits who disagrees because they are homos anyway.
Blueprint 2 sucked compare to part 1.
Illmatic wasn’t all that either @j 23 is a fool…Yeah you are a fuckin’ foolin real life especially for making that comment…Blueprint 2 was garbage…There I said and I don’t give a fuck what you think or anybody else thinks…Kingdom Come from Jay-Z wasn’t shit neither and it’s an album that people barely even talk about or mention…AND STOP MAKING JAY-Z OUT TO BE SO FUCKING PERFECT!!! I DON’T GIVE A FUCK IF JAY-Z HAS ALL OF THE MONEY FROM THE ENTIRE UNITED FUCKING STATES, BY NO MEANS ARE ALL OF HIS ALBUMS FLAWLESS…BLUEPRINT 2 AND KINGDOM COME WILL BE ALBUMS THAT PEOPLE WILL NEVER TALK ABOUT FROM JAY-Z…AT LEAST I’M NOT AFRAID TO CRITICIZE JAY-Z LIKE MOST OF YOU BITCHES ARE…EVEN THE BLOGGERS ARE AFRAID TO CRITICIZE…THE SOURCE GAVE THE BLUEPRINT 2 3 1/2 MICS SO THAT SHOULD TELL YOUR ASS SOMETHING ABOUT THAT GARBAGE ASS ALBUM…
you’re fucking lame. Illmatic wasn’t all that great….what the fuck are you smoking?
BP2 was horrible. Streets Disciple wasn’ the greatest, but if you’re comparing double albums it was much better than bp2.
illmatic is the best hip hop album of all time. they did a servey of hip hop critics and that was the highest rated for the best album of all time. stillmatic was a classic also. street’s disciple wasnt his greatest, wasnt his worse, and it still had some nice hardshittin joints on there.
Tha Carter was awful. Tha Carter II was worse.
Tha Carter III was the worst of them all.
Preach
I gotta disagree with you on Tha Carter 2. That joint was tight homey. Wayne rapped his ass off on that. Give it another listen. Carter 1 was eh, besides “Go DJ” and “I Miss My Dawgz” it was pretty mediocre. Carter 3… “Lollipop” destroyed that album from the start. And don’t get me started on the “Cop Car or Miss officer” whatever it’s called bullshit. LOL.
this “j 23” guy is a fucking dip shit. that is all.
Will you PLEAAASSSEEE get off Jay-Z’s nuts?? You are forever trying to give this guy a pass. Blueprint 2 and 3 were terrible and you all know it!!!
lol you a fool….diamond is forever, meet the parents, hovi baby, u dont know remix, the watcher 2. These are all songs that if you can honestly LISTEN to them and say they trash then i don’t know what your into. Album isn’t perfect but great songs scattered all over that album.
I agree with dlp. 2 and 3 are/were whack. A few good songs do not make a good album.
BP2….best tracks were “stronger” than Black Albums best. However, Black Album>BP3.Shame folkes hate on BP3 that much when it was the last album Jay sounded “young” on…everything else he sounds “old” per say.
bacdafucup 2 was a mad chill album. stop hatin and find a different album to hate on from one of the best hardcore groups ever
Agreed, dope album…”Slam Harder”>”Slam” imo
I’m awaiting a lot of hate…but, I was really disappointed with Life After Death. I bought that shit in March of 97 the day it came out…took the G train in the rain (NYers know whats up) and all that to get it. Shit was like a 3 hour journey. When I finally put it in my system at the crib…it didn’t grab me like Ready to Die did. I was disappointed.
You are crazy.
There was def. some classic material on there, but yeah i have to agree with you.
i agree.it was a major disapointment.a classic followed by pop.glad he didn`t make a third.
Infamy went hard.
Fail
This is actually a terrible article. “Murda Muzik” is a classic album, and Mobb’s more successful as far as sales is concerned. How quick some seem to forget about the hot shit.
Word
I’m waiting for Detox to be put on this list….
hahahahaha
im with ya! i am 100% sure that detox will flop! dre is just too old and too fake
@Richie
age has nothing to do with it moron!!!
I agree about Detox flopping tho. it’s close to October and still no release date or single. I thought it was dropping this year, for sure!? hahahaha Fuck Outta here Doc!!!!!
Yeah, blueprint 2 was so good even the artist felt he needed to put out a 2nd version. Any praise of blueprints 2 & 3 is strickly dick riding.
By the by …. You guys were WAY too easy on that J.O.S.E. 2! I said to myself how bad could this free …Holy shit is bad! I believe “ice cream man”( or whatever that track w/ Rae was) was one of MANY Joe would like to have back.
One wack ass sophomore joint was “Planet of da Apes” by Da Lench Mob. Their first album “Guerillas in the Mist” was real hot.
lol i didnt kno they had a 2nd album and my uncle is t-bone
dudes is tripping, Blueprint 2 had some of the greatest material Jigga has ever recorded. Was it as strong as part 1? no, not by any means, but it was still a good album with a little something for everyone, I still bump that shit to this day.
Good list though, I may not agree with everything here but I enjoy reading shit like this all the same. Not sure if it counts since its the 3rd in a series but Tical 0 def needed to make that cut
bp 2 was so shit he had to re sale it as bp 2.5 which was shit as well plus bp 3 wasnt all that he just holla’d @ all the up n coming rappers to help him out poor album
oh, I will say this in regards to Jigga. Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life was a terrible, terrible album. One of the worst sequels ever. Vol. 1 was a near classic and 2 just dropped the ball in a big way, just a piece of poppy shit. Still the worst album ive ever spent money on
Best sequel i9s between 2001 or Stillamitic
&
best double disc is defently All Eyez on Me
all eyez on me was definitely classic shit, but for a double lp I’ll take the Wu any day of the week.
Regulate G Funk era,1994, was a classic album, y’all tripping by stating that it did not live up to the hype
list should’ve been longer. plus both bp2 & bp3 need to be on the list
Yea ol boy who said illmatic was wack is trippin hard. Clearly loves Jay and seems bitter about that “Ether” Nas gave him. Bp2 was ok at best…ima midwest guy tho so I was mad hurt when Twista came out wit that AD2007. That Adrenaline Rush was a classic and shouldn’t have been touched if he wasn’t gon have Traxter back in his corner for production…AD2007 was horrible
Murda Musik a disappointment? When did this happen? I agree this list could be longer, alot dud ass follow-ups came out. We can all agree that its hard to capture that magic again on wax.
Murda Muzik is a classic. Illmatic is Top 3 best of all-time albums(Paid In full, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx). Blueprint 2/3 greta garbo!
Lets get the record straight:
Blueprint – amazing album
Bluprint 2 – Some amazing tracks some wack tracks.
Blueprint 3 – wack.
As for best double albums:
1. Wu-Tang Clan – Wu Tang Forever
2. Master P – The Last Don
3. 2pac – R U still Down
4. Biggie – Life after death
5.
5.
forgot number 5.
5. TRU – Tru 2 Da Game
All Eyez on Me & Until the End of Time outshine R U Still down son
NO NO NO NO NO NO!!! DOWN SOUTH HUSTLERS&THUGGED OUT BY YUKMOUTH……YA BITCHES
Point Blank, its not a good look to name your album after a successful one. All artist are supposed to grow and try new things. At least they can do is re-name the album, like nas did with STILL-matic….good article
-NOVA-
“Invest In YOUR Sound”
http://www.BeatsByNova.com
Awwww Shut the fuck up Nova! You dont got a clue what the fuck you’re talking about. Oh, and you’re beats are TRAAAAAASH!!!! LMAO!!
You people are dumbe talkin bout BP2 and BP3 when they was talkin bout early 90s albums… And both of those Blueprints was hot anyway.. What I don’t understand about people is how they don’t understand that Jay-z has grown as a person and we are supposed to grow wit him. You heard him.. niggaz want my old shit buy my old album!!!!
get off jay z’s fat lip
I’d really like it if you made more articles like this. Features interest me way more than current news stories, plus all the dumb motherfuckers below me will keep coming back to argue with each other about how their, and your opinions are wrong.
I dont cop a sequel if I didnt cop the og version. And I dont put money in Mr. Carter’s pockets cause I think he’s mad over-rated anyway. So fucka Blueprint 1-754
but the best sequel? wait for it…Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II..easily lived up to the hype and especially after Rae dropped a couple lackluster albums in between. Too bad he felt the need to do a song with Justin Beiber..WTF Chef? that shit aint hip hop. Where they do that at?
BEST REAL SEQUEL: ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX II
I AGREE WITH ALL UR REVEIWS EXCEPT FOR CRACKS J.O.S.E. WAS THE ONLY SEQUEL THAT OUTSOLD ITS PREDECESSOR “I SMELL HATE” OL FUQ A$$ NI99A j-23 UR A REAL LIVE DOUCHEBAG CHUMP!!!!
Ever heard of ROCKSTAR MUZIK…Well we on the rise…here is a sneak peek of what I bring to the table
http://worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshh510wCEx7nsU8zVl6
I forgot how bangin the first Adrenaline Rush was. That shit was classic.
Murder Music isn’t a complete classic like the 2 and 3rd Mobb albums but it definitely isn’t dissapointing. The Realest, Quiet Storm, It’s Mine, I’m going out, What’s you Poison, Allustrious…
And BP2 is very bad. Cut it down to 12 songs and it still sounds like leftovers from BP1.
Return of Regulator is mediocre but not terrible. I like Speed Dreamin. Lookin at You and Sassy Ways are better than anything on BP2. You must not be a fan of G-Funk.
true-the album was dope- only a couple weak tracks- so what.
HiphopDX should do a sophomore jinx article next. Talk about all those horrible second albums that was wack!!!!! Mobb Deep’s “Infamy” shouldn’t even be on this list. That album wasn’t nearly as bad as most of these are. Blueprint 2 & 3 were both lackluster albums, but I didn’t think Blueprint 1 was a classic. It was almost a classic, Stillmatic was almost a classic too.Nobody mentioned how bad Method Man’s sequels are both t2000 & tical 0 were disappointments. Warren G’s debut was cool, but it was not great enough to even grant a sequel. His lyrics were horrible on his debut. That little kid he rapped with on that album served him easily, and the girl too.
This was an ok list.However I have to say the Twista album selection was wack. Adrenaline Rush can never be duplicated by even twista, but the Adrenaline Rush 2007 album was still very very good. Songs like “Pimp like Me,” “Ain’t no Hoes,” and “Imma Killer,” all good songs. There was only one bad song on this album and you posted it.
Muzic 4 Life http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRTgagpoZcw
I guess I’m only one who think that was one of his soild that he ever put out, cuz I have listen to almost all his records and to me it was his best one.