It's All In The Story: The Best Concept Albums
- Morgan Goldsmith
- Jul 18, 2021
- 5 min read
A concept album, by my definition: A complete body of musical work that holds a consistent theme and is intentional in its use of sounds, skits, rhythms, and/or lyrics. Concept albums are my favorite forms of art because they keep my mind working, as I try to discover the larger theme or message from the music. Over the past few years, music has strayed away from a focus on concept and consistent themes, which is not a problem, but a few artists remain intentional as they compile their work together to present to the masses. Take a look at a few favorites below and leave your thoughts in the comments!
To Pimp A Butterfly, my favorite album from K Dot, serves as a case study on the rise to fame for Black Americans and how America has a way of chewing them up and spitting them right back out. The album highlights economic struggle and miseducation (“Wesley’s Theory,” “For Free”), moral conflicts (“These Walls”), isolation (“u”), and more. However, given the state of America at the time of the album’s release, songs like “Alright” and “The Blacker The Berry” showcased how the album was a snapshot of current events and created a sense of hope in Black Americans as we battle through systemic oppression.
Regarded as Yeezy’s best album, MBDTF shines a light on Kanye’s rise to stardom and his fall from grace following his incident with Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs. The album starts with “Can we get much higher?” signifying that Kanye is at the top of the mountain and there isn’t anywhere higher for him to go. However, as we get to songs like “All of the Lights” and “Monster,” the listener understands that Kanye’s public image has changed dramatically and he is seen as a villain in the industry. Finally, the album ends with “Runaway,” a candid moment from the arrogant rapper where he accepts the fall from grace because it seems like no one is listening to him anyway signified by the muffled singing toward the end of the track. Truly a beautifully dark story.
Snoh Aalegra captures the highs and lows of relationships perfectly in Ugh, those feels again. She portrays the honeymoon phase of finding “that” person in the first few songs of the project and eventually transitions into the rockier stages of the relationship to the eventual end. As the album moves from ultimate bliss to heartbrokenness to recovery, the listener can hear the change in rhythms and production, the change in word choice, and more. The album takes you on the rollercoaster of emotions every time as if you are in the relationship with Snoh and her lover. It’s truly masterful.
FM! is an homage to California, the home of Vince Staples. Reminiscing about his childhood, Staples created the album to mimic the radio shows he used to listen to in the car during his youth. He captures this radio feeling by recruiting iconic radio personality Big Boy to narrate the album skits and interludes with fun activities like radio games, listener call-ins, and the famous cowbell noise from Big Boy’s morning show. Staples also calls on other California artists like Kehlani, Tyga, E-40, and more to really create that “summertime in California” feel. It’s a feel-good album that takes the listener back to their favorite childhood car memories.
Lemonade, 4:44, Everything Is Love by Beyonce and Jay-Z
I couldn’t list these albums individually because this trilogy truly works together to tell the story of hurt, regret, and reconciliation. From a marketing point of view, was this intentional? Maybe, maybe not, but either way, they did it well. Lemonade was the confirmation of the rumored cheating scandal between the musical king and queen Beyonce and Jay-Z. Lemonade told us the story of Beyonce’s hurt and anger. However, 4:44 was the follow-up to Lemonade and included Jay-Z's response as he tries to understand the pain he caused his wife and the damage he caused his family on “Family Affair.” Everything Is Love is the ribbon that ties the story together to let the public know that all is well between The Carters and that everything truly is all love.
The most recent project from Jazmine Sullivan is incredible as the album tells the stories of women and aims to reclaim and reframe a slur used to demean so many women. The album tells the many variations of what it means to be a “h*e” whether it's wives pleasing their husbands for material gain (“Price Tags”), women who’ve cheated on their partner and regret it (“Lost One”), or simply women who just like sex (“On It”). All in all, Sullivan threaded the stories together so beautifully to help women from all walks of life find a song to describe the situations they didn’t have the words to explain themselves.
Jhene Aiko takes listeners on an exploration of life and death through her album Trip. Aiko searches for feeling following tragedy after tragedy occurred in her life with the loss of her brother, her turbulent divorce, and more. She turns to the world of psychedelics to become more in tune with herself and takes a trip in search of answers. The album explores death (“Jukai”), loss (“Oblivion”), and love (“O.L.L.A.”), the good and the bad. She shows the highs and lows of her drug-induced searching and eventually lands on a healing journey and an empathetic lover in Big Sean. What a poetic means of exploration.
Yes Lawd! is a collaboration album from Anderson .Paak and producer Knxwledge. The two artists come together to tell the tale of a troubled pimp portrayed by .Paak. As a pure character piece, Yes Lawd! checks all the boxes: pimp .Paak focused on his money, having a good time, flaunting his money, and keeping his girls happy and in line. Knxwledge and Anderson .Paak fit together perfectly to tell this story with soul and ambition.
Arguably one of the best albums of 2020, Tyler, the Creator took us on the journey of his blonde-haired, bowl-cut character Igor that mirrors something inside of us all. Igor is very clearly infatuated by someone who is not reciprocating the same feelings (“Earfquake”). As the album progresses, we see Igor turn obsessive in his pursuit of love (“New Magic Wand”). The album’s resolution shows Igor’s acceptance of his lover’s lover (“I Don't Love You Anymore”) and the lingering question of “Are We Still Friends?” It’s the story of every short-lived fling where two people come together only for one to separate and leave the other left in the past. Everyone can relate, hopefully not as obsessively, and that’s what makes IGOR an album of no skips.
Deciding between When I Get Home and A Seat At The Table was a tough decision, but I leaned into my bias a little and had to go with Solange’s homage to her Texas roots, When I Get Home. As a Houston native, the references to the city were immediately recognized with songs and interludes like “Almeda” and “Exit Scott,” but Solange doesn’t simply stop there. She sings of quintessential Houston trademarks like swangin’ in candy-painted cars and the drawl that comes from the city. She even includes a sample of Houston natives Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad singing together. The love for the city is real on this album.
Good read.