Most Overrated Albums of 2018

Story posted December 28, 2018 in Arts & Entertainment by Arts Staff.

As 2018 wraps up, the CommRadio Arts Department will be taking a look back at the year in music. For overrated albums, the albums placed on the list are not necessarily the worst albums of the year. Rather, these projects received unearned critical or commercial acclaim and stole the lime light from more deserving projects. Here is the Arts Department’s list of the most overrated albums of 2018.

Juice WRLD - Goodbye & Good Riddance

It’s hard to understand what went wrong in 2018 where Goodbye & Good Riddance became one of the most popular albums of the year. Juice WRLD’s whiny, 17-track record sounds like he sang every entry from his diary, word for word, and threw an album together. Except, everything he sang should have just been kept inside the diary. While emo-rap should express the artist’s feelings, a song titled “All Girls Are the Same” is a sure sign that this is just music from a complaining teenage boy, furious about being dumped by some girl. “Lucid Dreams” quickly became one of the songs of the summer after Goodbye & Good Riddance was released in May. The track is the perfect embodiment of the emo-rap genre’s sound, but the lyrics are so superficial that it’s hard to be taken seriously. While the production of the album is undeniably good, the lyrics are so clearly misogynistic and surface-level at best. Goodbye & Good Riddance may be one of the most popular records of the year, but it won’t stand the test of time over the next few years. While the same might not be true for Juice WRLD himself, it’s safe to hope that his next album will dive much deeper into his true feelings, and have a greater respect for women. - Jenna Minnig

Drake – Scorpion

On Drake’s fifth studio album, Scorpion, he appeared to try and take advantage of the fact that he is the most popular hip hop artist in the world and quite possibly ever. The double-sided, 25-track album contains some of Drake’s most forgettable songs in his catalog. There are a few high notes including some of his top-40 hits such as “In My Feelings” and “God’s Plan,” but in between the hits there is just way too much filler. Scorpion came after the beef with Pusha T and Drake was able to express his feelings on being a father, and offer some subliminal disses, but getting to the personal tracks felt like a burden. Drake unquestionably created some enjoyable songs, but when looking at the hits compared to misses throughout the project, it is hard to look at the album favorably. It appeared Drake tried to give each part of his fan base something that they can enjoy; an album for his R&B fans and an album for his hip hop fans. But in packaging them together he overloaded his consumers which is why Scorpion will probably be considered the most forgettable album in the Drake discography. - Jerome Taylor

Post Malone - beerbongs & bentleys

Listening to anything from Post Malone that is not a hit is just asking for one of the most unenjoyable experiences known to man. His voice drones on and he packs too much music into his albums, just a few of the myriad of issues with beerbongs & bentleys. Despite this, his sophomore album did fairly well and people continue to flock toward Post Malone. Through his rise, he has disputed that he makes rap music, consistently mocking the genre and disrespecting the years of history in it. And frankly, that’s fine because he doesn’t make good rap music so the distance from one of the best genres currently going is a good thing. His pop anthems, with a touch of country and R&B, are painfully unaware, just like the artist creating the music, and were confusingly praised by the community he consistently shuns. Until he embraces that community more though, the one who has so embraced him, the music will continue to suffer. - David Arroyo

Kanye West – ye

ye is the second album from the 7-track Wyoming projects that Kanye West executive produced this summer, and it’s safe to say that his own project was his least impressive. West had a tumultuous summer that included several head scratching moments from the artists. The project details Kanye’s battles with mental illness, worries for his daughter’s future and problems with his wife, Kim Kardashian-West. Many would argue that Kanye didn’t adequately address any of his dilemmas such as when he tries to address his “slavery was a choice” comments by suggesting the reason he shouldn’t have done it was because his wife told him it was going to “f*** the money up.” Additionally, for someone who has historically taken his music seriously, it was disappointing to hear an album that was initially poorly mixed and edited and sounded like it was thrown together in weeks. According to Kanye, the album was remade after his slavery comments. In comparison to his previous projects and the projects he produced this year, ye was the worst that he’s released. - Jerome Taylor

Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth

Each and every year Kamasin Washington releases music, he is lauded for his jazz musicianship. However, that does not always mean that Washington is as great as critics will lead you to believe and that was not any truer than this year. Heaven and Earth is a decent jazz album, but does not touch what the genre is at its best, or even what Washington can do at his best. There are more artists than just Washington, but none of them get the coverage that he does. That is a travesty at a time when so much music is released and makes it even harder to comprehend how he got the coverage he did for the album. It is a good album, but is it one of the best albums of this year? Not even close. - David Arroyo

 

Jenna Minnig is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email jennaminnigx@gmail.com.

David Arroyo is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email arroyodavid01@gmail.com.

Jerome Taylor is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jerometaylor91697@gmail.com.

About the Contributors

David Arroyo's photo

David Arroyo

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

David Arroyo currently serves as one of two General Managers for CommRadio. David is a former arts & entertainment director, social media director and editor for the station. He has produced for multiple Penn State sports while in CommRadio, has done play by play for Penn State sporting events such as football, basketball and volleyball and co-hosted and produced his own talk show. During the fall of 2017, David was an anchor, producer and reporter for the Centre County Report. David most recently interned at WPVI-TV, 6abc in Philadelphia during the summer of 2018. While at 6abc he was a programing intern and helped in the production of their weekly show “FYI Philly.” David has interned at B94.5 (State College) and Center City Film and Video (Philadelphia). Follow him on Twitter (@_arroyodavid) or email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Jenna Minnig's photo

Jenna Minnig

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

Jenna is a General Manager of CommRadio where she manages the student radio station.

Jerome Taylor's photo

Jerome Taylor

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

Jerome Taylor currently serves as one of two Arts & Entertainment Managers for CommRadio. He currently serves as a host for the department’s flagship radio show, “The Nittany Record Club.” He has also written several album reviews and has contributed to several lists that the department has produced. Jerome has also served as a beat writer and producer for several Penn State sports including, lacrosse, volleyball, and basketball. After graduation Jerome hopes to work in the broadcast journalism field covering sports or entertainment. Follow him on twitter (@ThatGuy_Rome) or email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).