Nas and Hit-Boy are dropping King’s Disease III soon and we can’t wait! Series in hip hop are almost absolute. A lot of rappers have done sequels, prequels, and trilogies. For example, Yo Gotti has made 10 Cocaine Muzik projects! Series can be sometimes like a stamp for a rapper. It’s like this is what they are known for. Let’s take a look at the best project series in rap history.
10. French Montana- Mac & Cheese
In April of 2009, French Montana dropped his mixtape, Mac Wit Da Cheese. Hosted by Big Mike, the Bronx rapper took off with this one. Already being linked to Harlem rapper Max B, French featured him on a couple songs off this project along with Gucci Mane, Beanie Sigel, and Jadakiss. The following year, he dropped Mac & Cheese 2 where he went off prominent beats such as “Maybach Music” and “In the Paint”. Two years later, in 2012, Montana comes with Mac & Cheese 3. This might have been the biggest tape out of the series, as it went Diamond after achieving 1 million downloads! It has a star studded lineup with the likes of Future, Chinx Drugz, Mase, Wale, J.Cole, Rick Ross, and Fabolous. French took a hiatus from his Mac & Cheese series but came back in 2015 for MC4. French also tapped on a bunch of his friends for the tape as well, with Drake, Jeezy, Ye, Kodak Black, and Nas making appearances.
9. Migos- Culture
Migos started their Culture albums in 2017. Culture was the second official album by the Atlanta trio. “Bad and Boujee” & “T-Shirt” were the lead singles for the album. This was the first Migos album to be number one on both Billboard 200 and top of the US R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart. The album went platinum and was Grammy nominated. Exactly 364 days later, the trio drops Culture II. Migos dropped a double album with this one and was executive produced by Quavo. The album went number one again with guest appearances from Drake, 2 Chainz, Nick Minaj, and Cardi B to name a few. After 3 years, the trio put out Culture III. It was received well and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. NBA Youngboy, Drake, and Cardi B all have verses on this third installment.
https://twitter.com/mylifeassne/status/1587402430660091904?s=46&t=Ni0z39lNcP9nkRri5AM5bg
8. Wale- About Nothing Series
The Mixtape About Nothing was the first installment of Wale’s Seinfeld themed mixtapes. Wale found a love for the classic sitcom, Seinfeld and claims he has seen every episode. He samples skits from the show throughout the mixtape. Released early in his career, he managed to get feature verses from The Roots, Bun B, Pusha T, and Lil Wayne. Two years later, in 2010, Wale releases the mixtape, More About Nothing with more Seinfeld references. The D.C. rapper’s third installment of this series turned out to be an album. After recording it for 2 years with the help of Jerry Seinfeld himself, in 2015 Wale dropped The Album About Nothing. The album features Jerry Seinfeld, Jeremih, Usher, SZA, and J.Cole. It debuted at number one, selling 100,000 copies the first week!
7. Yo Gotti- Cocaine Muzik
Yo Gotti has 11 albums, 22 mixtapes, and a slew of singles. His series, Cocaine Muzik is what he became famous for. He started with Cocaine Muzik in 2008 and just ended with CM10: Free Game earlier this year. Gotti is now retired since dropping his latest installment. After dropping the first one in 2008, the Memphis artist dropped Cocaine Muzik 2 and 3 in 2009. In 2010, he released Cocaine Muzik 4, Cocaine Muzik 4.5: Da Documentary, and Cocaine Muzik 5: White Friday. Cocaine Muzik 6: Gangster of the Year came out in 2011 and Cocaine Muzik 7: The World Is Yours was released in 2012. Gotti took a 3-year break and released Cocaine Muzik 8: Any Hood America in 2015 followed by White Friday (CM9) the following year. Clearly, Cocaine Muzik is Gotti’s stamp!
Draymond Green ended his availability shouting out Young Dolph and Memphis rap music. The Warriors played three Dolph songs during practice and Green said it’s by design to play local music on a trip.
Also shouted out Yo Gotti’s Cocaine Muzik 2 as an all time fave. pic.twitter.com/cmBtlpjuoC
— Evan Barnes (@evan_b) May 2, 2022
6. Meek Mill- Dreamchasers
Meek Mill started his Dreamchasers series in 2011 after signing to Maybach Music. Hits like “House Party”, “Ima Boss” and “Tony Story” made the mixtape popular. Rick Ross, Beanie Sigel, Young Chris, and Yo Gotti make the tape. Less than a year later, the Philadelphia rapper put out Dreamchasers 2, which might be the most popular of them all. It was downloaded over 2 million times in one day causing DatPiff to crash. The star-studded track list includes Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, and Fabolous to name a few. Dreamchasers 3 came a year later in 2013 and featured the likes of Travis Scott, Diddy, Nicki Minaj, Fabolous, and Jadakiss. Like Wale and Yo Gotti, Meek Mill’s last installment of his mixtape series turned into an album. In 2016, the album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. Tory Lanez, Lil Uzi Vert, and Quavo are some of the artists to have guest verses.
5. Jadakiss- The Champ Is Here
Jadakiss dropped his first official mixtape in 2004, The Champ Is Here. Five years later, he dropped Kiss My Ass: The Champ Is Here Part 2. The Yonkers rapper has always produced great mixtapes for the streets and his true fans. Part 2 of the series includes fan favorites like “Big Dog Status” and “Letter to Big”. For the last installment, he grabbed DJ Drama for a Gangsta Grillz production. Jadakiss flourishes over hit instrumentals like “Somehow Some Way” and “Who Shot Ya” on The Champ Is Here 3. Nicki Minaj and his fellow D-Block members are featured on this tape.
https://twitter.com/mistahwinn/status/1487934137872748544?s=46&t=Ni0z39lNcP9nkRri5AM5bg
4. Fabolous- The S.O.U.L. Tape
In 2011, Fabolous dropped the first of three S.O.U.L. tapes. Fans loved it instantly as the Young OG rapped over hit songs like “In The Morning” and “Phone Numbers”. He called on Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, and Red Café for features. The next year, he dropped the much aniticipated follow up, The S.O.U.L. Tape 2. He certainly didn’t disappoint again with features from J.Cole, Wale, Pusha T, and Joe Budden to name a few. Fab didn’t wait again as he delivered The S.O.U.L. Tape 3 in 2013, this time on Christmas Day. The third installment birthed hits like “Cuffin Season”, “Thim Slick”, and “Situationships”.
3. Young Jeezy- Trap or Die
Back when he still had the Young in front of his name, Jeezy had the streets going crazy with his Trap or Die mixtape. He linked with DJ Drama and the two made history. Five years later, in 2010, the Snowman linked with Don Cannon forTrap or Die 2. Fans loved this follow up as it has hits like “Lose My Mind”, “Grape”, and “Camaro”. After a six-year hiatus, Jeezy continued his Trap or Die series with Trap or Die 3. It was turned into an album and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.
https://twitter.com/stcharming/status/1587686642231525377?s=46&t=Ni0z39lNcP9nkRri5AM5bg
2. Lil Wayne- Dedication
Lil Wayne is truly a mixtape king! In 2005, he linked with DJ Drama as they started theirDedication series. Wayne rapped over hit songs, old beats, and original sounds. The industry was already on Wayne, but he reached another level of fame when he dropped Dedication. After Dedication 2, he had the game in his hands. From 2005-2017, Drama and Wayne gave us 6 Dedication mixtapes. I think it’s safe to say Dedication 2 will forever be a staple in hip hop.
1. Jay-Z – The Blueprint
On a tragic day in American History, arguably the greatest rapper dropped one of the greatest music albums of all time. Jay-Z dropped The Blueprint on September 11, 2001. Jay-Z went solo on all the songs, except for one. Eminem helped him out on “Renegade” while Kanye West introduced himself as an amazing producer alongside Just Blaze. This was the fourth number one album for the Brooklyn rapper. The next year, he released The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse. This album was a double album! Disc one was The Gift and disc two was The Curse. Jay-Z went number one again and the album was 3x platinum. Seven years later, he comes back with The Blueprint 3! Another number one album for Hov as he makes several hits for this album. Songs included were, “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune), “Run This Town”, and “Empire State of Mind”. The Blueprint still can be played 20 years later!
21 years ago today JAY-Z released his sixth studio album “The Blueprint” featuring “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” “Song Cry,” & more. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 selling 427,000 copies first week and is certified 2x platinum. pic.twitter.com/xpT5ehvKet
— Rap Alert (@rapalert6) September 11, 2022
Written By: Brandon Simmons
