by Diamond Brown
Rapper JT released her long-awaited album this past Friday and, in true Music Circle fashion, I gave it a thorough listen and even revisited it last night. I give this project a solid 3/10.
Image Credit: Paper Magazine
When it comes to being a female Hip Hop artist, there are a few things you need: (1) confidence, (2) a story, (3) support, and lastly, (4) a solid identity. JT let her confidence slip when she mentioned that this project was a mixtape instead of an album. The truth is, an album can be counted towards your contract—any record contract that you may have with a label—whereas a mixtape does not. Also, mixtape numbers don’t really matter because it’s more so used as a way to build a solid fan base, not “feed” your current fan base as the young ones like to say today.
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Now let’s say this mixtape does not do well on the charts and numbers is something that her label told her she needs in order to earn a bigger budget and advance for future projects; she won’t feel the effects as much. But if it were an album, then yes, those numbers would affect the budget and so forth. Confidence in this industry is key, and right out of the gate, her confidence faltered when she went from tweeting about this album to then calling it a mixtape.
Today it’s easy for an artist to feel self-conscious about their work because it’s so heavily criticized in real-time on social media platforms for all to see at any given time. Back in the day, this wasn’t necessarily the case. If a song was disliked, we just wouldn’t hear about it, not see the negative critiques of both song and artist on socials. But in a sea full of sharks, you need to stand tall and stand behind your work. This is your album, not a mixtape.
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“Mixtapes are casual and albums are not. Mixtapes are a collection of random songs put together with no real production behind it. Also, there are no singles or big-budget music videos,” says Hallie Lozano, Artist Development Manager from Branndet Marketing Group. With JT, we see that she went from calling herself a new artist to then dropping singles like “Okay” and “Sideways” to positive reviews.
During her short rap beef with TV personality Sukihana, JT went on the ‘All Things Keyshia Ka’oir’ podcast to explain that she had no plans on indulging in the beef because she did not want her next single to be a song about someone else. She was adamant that she was, in fact, dropping singles which could only mean an album was brewing.