Kendrick Lamar, Future and Playboi Carti are among a number of artists who Spotify has deemed to have “classic albums.”
The streaming platform took to its social media pages on Thursday (February 15) to list 30 defining Hip Hop and R&B albums from the streaming era, which dates from 2015 to the present day.
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Included in the list are Kendrick’s To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN., Future’s DS2 and Carti’s Die Lit, along with JAY-Z’s 4:44, Travis Scott’s Astroworld, Nipsey Hussle’s Victory Lap, Migos’ Culture and Freddie Gibbs and Madlib’s Bandana.
Albums from Lil Uzi Vert (Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World), XXXTENTACION (17), Tyler, The Creator (Flower Boy and Call Me If You Get Lost), Roddy Ricch (Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial) and Saba (Care For Me) also made the cut.
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In R&B, Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Renaissance, Frank Ocean’s Blonde, Rihanna’s Anti, SZA’s Ctrl, Anderson .Paak’s Malibu, Solange’s A Seat at the Table and Summer Walker’s Over It were among those to be stamped.
Check out the full list below.
In a video that accompanied the list, Spotify explained is decision behind the picks.
“What is a classic? Is it an album that has stood the test of time?” said Carl Chery, the company’s creative director and head of urban music. “In an era of instant reaction and infinite plays, one thing is clear: a classic causes a shift in you. It makes you dress differently, dance differently, think differently.
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“A sound spoken into the universe. New in that moment, and then permanent, forever. A classic changes you, it changes culture. You know it when you hear it. It’s unskippable, inexhaustible, exceptional.”
The list is part of a wider catalog programming initiative called Spotify Classics, which is being highlighted as a hub on the streaming platform.
“As editors, most of our work requires us to evaluate music at a song level so for the first iteration of the Spotify Classics program, we thought it was important to celebrate albums as a body of work,” Chery told Variety.
“Historically, media outlets would have published a list like the Classic Hip Hop and R&B albums of the Streaming Era, but as the leader in streaming, we thought we were uniquely positioned to tell that story.”
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“I don’t think a streaming classic is any different from classic albums from previous eras,” he added. “This program is 100 percent editorial. We took into consideration factors like quality, impact, influence, and replay value, among others, when making our selections.
“We expect to spark a conversation among passionate music fans. Whether you’re excited to see your favorite album acknowledged or you’re outraged that your favorite album is missing, we welcome all opinions.”
Despite many big artists making the cut, fans took to social media to express their disapproval over various omissions, including albums from Kanye West, Drake, Nas, Nas and Lil Wayne.
“No Kanye, no Nas, no Lil Wayne, I’m disappointed with the way they treat black artists,” one person commented on Spotify’s Instagram post.
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Another said: “Why do you pretend that Kanye doesn’t exist if he is one of the most listened to artists on the platform?”
“Where’s “At Long Last A$AP????” read another comment, referring tot he 2015 A$AP Rocky album.
