Every huge artist has their "New Jersey" - a huge event album that ultimately feels a bit hollow & signals a career decline

got credit his hussle a little bit

Mr. Short Khop, (pronounced "short chop") or simply Short Khop (born Lionel Hunt) is an American rapper. He encountered Ice Cube in front of a 7 Eleven convenience store in South Central, California. Ice Cube eventually struck a deal with the newcomer, and soon Short Khop made guest appearances in Ice Cube's 1998 War & Peace - Volume 1 (The War Disc)

Willenium

haha, this is kinda prophetic:

After winning the award twice in a row in 1998 and 1999, Smith was nominated again for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2000 ceremony for "Wild Wild West", but lost out to Eminem's debut single "My Name Is".

whoa, surprised that Willenium hasn't been mentioned yet, I think we've finally found another bonafide New Jersey.

Prism too. Remember the truck?

If it's so surprising, why in the hell didn't you mention it, then?

(xpost)

Well, exactly. You forget about New Jerseys. I figured the sleuths in this thread would've found it already. A defining feature of a New Jersey is an "Ohhh yeah!" reaction.

more like "oh...yeah"

dammmmn willennium is on point. crowning glory: the biggest song on it was a soundtrack hit six months before the album came out, and it acquires a lengthy spoken-word intro in which Will tries to convince toddler Jaden that it really should be left off the album, citing several other ostensible bangers that could replace it.

Not sure if this album would be considered a big enough event to be a New Jersey, but it seemed like one to my teenage mind:
The Offspring - Conspiracy of One

^ Yeah, it had 'Want You Bad' and... *thinks hard* something about a prankster on it. But it marked the last of their big commercial successes.

*rouses from sleep*

The reason Willenium wasn't mentioned is that it was a relative flop compared to the previous album. Big Willie Style sold 9 million copies in the US, had a #1 and two top 20 singles beyond the preceding movie tie-in. Willenium sold 2 million, and had no top 20 singles after the preceding movie tie-in. It was a clear misfire long before the release of the follow-up.

*goes back to sleep*

surely a defining feature of a NJ is that after initial recognition its NJ status is ultimately disputed and rejected

hmmmm so it's more of a Fairweather Johnson? looking at the actual performance of the actual album singles I buy that... pretty dismal.

To qualify as a New Jersey, the album has to sell as much or even more than its predecessors yet everyone knows the gig is up.

a bomb is not a New Jersey.

da croupier & alfred otm

willennium was not a bomb imho (4x platinum!) - but agreed that it is way way too diminished as a followup to count as a NJ.

I think you guys are being way too rigid. 4 million is not a bomb and New Jersey itself has sold 10 million less than SWW

Number 1:

Willennium was NOT an event album remotely on par w/New Jersey

The album was the follow-up to the band's third album, Slippery When Wet, and reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in its second week of release after making its debut at No. 8. It remained at No. 1 for four consecutive weeks.[3] It produced five Billboard Hot 100 top ten hits, the most top ten hits to date for any hard rock/glam metal album, including "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You", which both reached No. 1. The album was certified 7x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album also debuted at No. 1 in the UK and was the band's first UK No. 1 album.

Number 2:
Will Smith was not even capable of HAVING A NEW JERSEY in 1999. He's coming off Bad Boys, Indepedence Day, Men in Black and Enemy of the State, already a bankable Hollywood blockbuster action star and heading into his bid for critical acclaim Bagger Vance/Ali stage....

by this point he's not even primarily thought of as a music star, the fate of Willenium good or bad isn't where his career is going anyway

I'm pretty sure we discussed a long time ago that despite the thread title no album is ever going to match exactly the data points of the album "New Jersey" by the band Bon Jovi, and we can look for similarities in other blockbuster follow-up albums.

p.s. some of those movies you mention came out before Big Willie Style

we did discuss that and this is still not a New Jersey

*stomps angrily out of bedroom*

How the fuck did the sales magically turn from 2 million in the US to 4 million for willenium in the last 8 hours? Wikipedia has it at double platinum. Riaa.com has it double platinum.

Slippery When Wet and New Jersey both sold over 5 million copies before the release of the next album. New Jersey had MORE top ten hits than Slippery When Wet. "New Jersey" status doesn't just go to the last album by an artist you can remember.

I swear to fucking god, it blows my mind there are records nerds who want to play this game but a) don't want to look beyond personal anecdotal experience and b) can't fucking count to ten.

*storms out of room, slamming door*

*opens door a crack*

Sorry UMS, didn't see you'd already reaffirmed how notable New Jersey's stats are

*closes it quietly*

I might argue that Big Willie Style was the New Jersey to Will Smith's Fresh Prince career if I was feeling ornery

*talks politely from other side of door*

The problem there is the previous Fresh Prince album was Code Red. "Boom boom shake the room" has not endured in culture better than "Miami," let alone "gettin jiggy with it"

I swear to fucking god, it blows my mind there are records nerds who want to play this game but a) don't want to look beyond personal anecdotal experience and b) can't fucking count to ten.

I couldn't find the Wikipedia "Feels a bit hollow" rating for this album, please assist

Ok, you said "career" but the early millenials still love those BWS singles is the point.

PK I know you miss me but you don't have to miss my point

"Boom boom shake the room" has not endured in culture better than "Miami," let alone "gettin jiggy with it"

I'd say it has endured in culture as well as either of those tracks.

Wikipedia has it at double platinum. Riaa.com has it double platinum.

sales to suppressive persons weren't calculated iirc

How the fuck did the sales magically turn from 2 million in the US to 4 million for willenium in the last 8 hours? Wikipedia has it at double platinum. Riaa.com has it double platinum.

clearly we all bought a couple hundred thousand copies of willennium just to troll you

when we troll into the wild wild west

Lol, i just can't believe my luck at having this be atop the page when I couldn't sleep and decided to check ilx for the first time in months last night.

In the future, I'll just appear if I think the claim has merit. otherwise people can assume I didn't see it or my response is a gif of Kent brockman saying "do your research, Shutton" (if not a gif of David Caruso in session 9).

I guess it's 2017 so we all looped a willennium full album youtube link 1,000,000 times each

Pretty sure that if this thread has proven anything, it's that not every huge artist has a New Jersey. Also, New Jersey is awesome.

― My Body's Made of Crushed Little Evening Stars (Sund4r), Tuesday, 9 May 2017 09:40 (five months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Shania Twain's Up! was mentioned a couple times upthread without any comment. Now it finally has a follow-up. But it might be in a class by itself: a diamond selling album with no real big singles.

Supposed Former Willfatuation Junkie

Boom! Shake The Room is one of the best Fresh & Jazzy singles btw (and all are better than any Will solo)

they needed to cover Scritti's "Boom! There She Was."

the ACTUAL New Jersey of will smith's career is Hitch

No way they play Hitch at jury duty here

and In Good Company.

if new jersey was a movie would it not be a movie that occasionally gets played at jury duty?

time to breathe new life into this thread

every huge actor has their "Hitch"

occasionally- no. but they haven't changed the DVD since 2005

it's the only movie they play

how long has this trial been going on

flappy bird, my man, I think you were actually convicted of this crime