It's been anything but a banner year for hip-hop. Amazingly, only one rap album released thus far has gone platinum (1 million or more sales): ``King'' from Atlanta's T.I.
Aside from the fact that market tastes seem to be shifting away from rap at the moment, one reason for slow sales is that most of the biggest releases have been pushed to the fourth quarter.
Here's a preview of what you should save your holiday money for, both big and small (release dates are tentative).
Ol Dirty Bastard: ``A Son Unique'' (Nov.
7)
This second posthumous album by the late Wu-Tang member was supposed to have come out on Roc-A-Fella, but his death obviously threw things into chaos. While we're not expecting an instant classic, we have to assume there will be a few gems in the mix, especially with the Neptunes, DJ Premier and Rza lending beats.
Some thought the Game committed career suicide by openly beefing with former mentor 50 Cent.
Rumors that Dr. Dre broke off working with the Game seem unfounded, but with or without the venerable hip-hop hit-maker, the Game's future rests on this sophomore effort. If he can duplicate the success of 2005's ``The Documentary,'' he'll prove that he didn't need 50.
If he bombs, the label ``one-hit wonder'' may seem too generous.
The pressure on the Game is nothing compared to what Jay-Z has at stake with his comeback after three years in (cough, cough) ``retirement.'' A year ago, he still sounded as good as ever with excellent cameos for Kanye West, Young Jeezy and Memphis Bleek, but this year, his guest turns for Beyonc e , Pharrell Williams and Rick Ross have been shockingly weak.
With the release of what's unquestionably one of the most heavily anticipated -- and soon-to-be scrutinized -- albums of the year, Jay-Z risks his legacy on a CD that could confirm him as the greatest of all time or make him look like an over-the-hill MC who should have been happy with emeritus status. First-week sales will be critic-proof, but as OutKast's recent flop with ``Idlewild'' suggests, word of mouth can be deadly, even to respected rap acts.
Snoop Dogg: ``Blue Carpet Treatment'' (Nov.
21)
After a string of hit-and-miss albums on No Limit in the late 1990s, the last four years have churned out back-to-back successes: 2002's ``Paid Tha Cost To Be Tha Boss'' and 2004's ``Rhythm and Gangsta.''
So far, Snoop's had an enviable year -- he's been invaluable in pushing the return of the Dogg Pound with ``Cali iz Active,'' his cameo shot for Too Short's ``Keep Bouncin' '' is by far the best verse on the song and Snoop's latest single, ``Vato,'' is already charging up radio and video charts. The chances of this flopping are as good as Snoop walking through Long Beach in a pepper-red zoot suit.
The Clipse: ``Hell Hath No Fury'' (Dec. 12)
The Clipse's label (Jive) has pushed this album back so many times, we'd be amazed if it even shows up in 2006. Yet no group has managed to build up so much cult hype as this Virginia duo.
It's been far too long since their 2002 debut, ``Lord Willin','' and even though dozens of rappers have bit hard on their crack rap style, the duo of Pusha T and Malice will be hungry to prove they can be imitated but not duplicated. Assuming, of course, we actually get to hear this.
If album titles are any indication, this already looks to be on shaky ground.
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