2014 was a relatively quiet year for music. It almost felt like the first half of the year was dedicated to the remnants of 2013 (so we had Young Thug continue to blow up, all the Drake leftovers) and the second half was a build up to next year (we received no Lil Wayne or Kendrick Lamar album, etc). Nonetheless, the year is ending on a high note, with albums from J. Cole, PRhyme, Wu-Tang Clan, Nicki Minaj, Eminem etc-- a lot of the big projects were saved for this last quarter.
With that being said, a lot of things are up in the air when it comes to next year. A lot of seeds have been planted, but how will the plants grow? Follow us as we make our predictions on how things will pan out in the year 2015. If you have predictions of your own, let us know in the comments.
Lil Wayne & Tyga Will Find Their Way Out Of Cash Money
The biggest news at the end of 2014 by far is Wayne’s announcement/frustrations on Twitter, saying that he wants to leave Cash Money. This came on the heels of Tyga's own complaints about the label; the two basically echoed each other. There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered, but one thing we can predict is that they will leave. Tyga already said he's currently working on getting out of his deal, and with Wayne being on the tail end of his contract with Cash Money, one way or another we think he’s on his way out. Will he buy his way out like Hov did with Roc-A-Fella? Will he just leave everything behind? We’ll see.
Iggy Azalea Will Sweep The Grammy’s
We all know the Grammy voters don’t care about hip-hop. This years Grammy’s have started out no differently with the glaring oversight that is not including YG’s opus My Krazy Life (yet Blacc Hollywood and The New Classic are accounted for?). It might not be what we want as fans of hip-hop, but come one week after The Superbowl, expect Iggy to take home all of the golden phonographs available. Just don’t expect her to text Wiz Khalifa and apologize after.
T-Pain Will Be The Comeback Story of 2015
T-Pain’s comeback was an uneventful rollercoaster ride last year. First he dropped "Up Down," then went quiet. Then "Drinkin Patna." Quiet again. Finally did a small acoustic performace that had the internet going nuts (no Paul Wall). Will he go back to chilling? We don’t think so. Since that acoustic performance he hasn't been quiet at all, dropping several new records, each one showing off his raw vocals. Now that his greatest hits so far album is in the can, it’s time to add to the catalog. We’re expecting Pain to come back with one of his best albums to date. We all want a huge comeback from this guy. He just has to deliver.
Rowdy Rebel Will Be More Talked About Than Bobby Shmurda
Bobby Shmurda has been the talk of NY since his viral hit dropped in the summer. While Hot Boy was the breakout smash, Shmoney Dance (a Rowdy Rebel song) was the record that proved the real potential of GS9. With Bobby’s EP now out, and an album coming in 2015, critics are looking for every reason to call this dude the next Trinidad James. While we at HNHH really want to see Bobby win, 2015 is Rowdy’s time to shine. Beam Jawn has slowly become an NY hit, and with even more records in the can we think Rowdy is primed to have a breakout year.
2015 Will Be The Year Of The North East Comeback
2013 was the year north east hip-hop basically died. 2014 was the year of NY’s return to the radio. 2015 will be the year that north east finally stakes it’s comeback claim. As far as production goes, up top has found it’s sound. Vinylz is set up to be on every album from Drake to Wayne to Kanye. Jahlil Beats (yes, he’s from Philly but it counts) had 2014’s song of the summer, and will take things even further this year. More importantly, A$AP Rocky, Ferg, Meek Mill, and French Montana all have albums being set up for 2015. With all that and a buzzing indie scene that includes GS9, Troy Ave, and more you can expect NY’s resurgence to be a recurring theme.
There Will Be An OVO Compilation Mixtape
2014 was dominated by Drake remixes and loosies. We got "0-100." We got "2 On." But there was a lot of hype for loose tracks that never hit the net. Where’s the Wu-Tang remix to "Wu-Tang Forever"? Where’s his verse on "Try Me"? There’s a lot of questions still unanswered, and in the midst of all of them is his fledgling label OVO Sound. With rumors circulating that Drake is about to drop a mixtape in January, we thing he’ll take it a step further. We’re expecting new records from the whole crew. Could we see a Makonnen featuring PND track? All we know is, we’re keeping our ears open for it.
OB O’Brien Will Be The Breakout Artist of 2015
OVO as a whole has been looked at as an R&B-centric label for some time. Known for The Weeknd, then PARTYNEXTDOOR and Majid Jordan, and most recently Makonne's sung-raps, not many artists on the rappity-rap side have been discussed outside of Drake. Expect that to change in 2015 with OB O’Brien’s rise to fame. Already a known character through Instagram, Drake videos, and Johnny Manziel, OB has all of the eyeballs on him to make a run next year. Granted we haven’t heard much from him, but his verse on "2 On" was dope. Also the Boi-1da produced snippet of "Jewish" that’s been floating around is extremely interesting.
Kanye West’s Album and Sneaker Will Come Out On The Same Day
2014 was the year that Kanye took on the fashion world. He left Nike, he dissed Hedi Slimane, he told Sway that his attempts at the design world wasn’t “Ralph though”. And all of the time you watched him yell at Zane Low, you forgot he was planning on dropping another album. Knowing that ‘Ye has the flair for outside the box thinking, we’re predicting that the release of his album will coincide the release of his other long awaited project. His Adidas sneaker. Hypebeasts have long thought this was fact, and we’re rocking with them. With conflicting reports on an actual release date of either project, when one is announced we’re expecting the other to follow.
OG Maco Will Solidify Himself As Raps Next Superstar
A lot of you guys are expecting OG Maco to go away. Think again. With three street hits under his belt, a viral sensation in “U Guessed It”, and love from every hipster tastemaker from here to Williamsburg, Maco started his campaign in all of the right ways. All he needs is a real radio smash and he’ll solidify himself as “that guy” in 2015. With a great team behind him, and all of the talent he has, we’re predicting he’ll pull it off.
Dr. Dre And Jay Electronica Won't Drop Albums
Sometimes hip-hop fans are too optimistic for their own good. If you think either of these albums are dropping, something is wrong with you. More importantly, if you think either of these albums will drop and change the game, thats even more insane. The hype is too insurmountable, and both Dre and Jay should avoid dropping them at all. The only way we'll put Detox (which is probably no longer called Detox) on our iTunes playlist is if Apple U2's us. We love both Dre and Jay Elect and we do want to see new music from them, we're just tired of being let down.