7 Reasons Jaden Smith Should Drop A Rap Album

October 21, 2014 - 6:16 pm by Chris Yuscavage

When you close your eyes and think "best rapper alive," Jaden Smith's mug probably isn't the image that enters your mind's eye. Hell, when you think "best rapper in Jaden Smith's family," you probably don't think Jaden. But last Friday, Will Smith's son took to Twitter to put the rap game on notice and to make everyone aware of the fact that he has several albums worth of music recorded. "Dear Everybody Who Can Rap Better Than Me. Please Show Me," he wrote. "Cause I got 2 or 3 Albums In Stock Ready."

Smith's tweets sounded like a threat, almost like he was saying, "Don't make me put these raps out, struggle rappers!" But the truth is, after hearing some of his recent output, we wouldn't mind him putting out a solo project sometime in the near future. Like, at all. Here are the seven reasons a Jaden Smith album might not be the worst idea. —Chris Yuscavage

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Several of the songs that he's put out this year have actually been pretty good From the R&B-friendly "Blue Ocean" to the Pink Floyd-sampling "Melancholy" to "Trophy," which is arguably the best track of the bunch due to his convincing flow (listen below), just about everything that Jaden has put out recently has been surprisingly solid. He still sounds like he's trying to find his voice on his songs. But he's markedly better than he was a couple of years ago when he started rapping and sounds like he's trending in the right direction when it comes to finding what works for him on songs. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: Getty Images

He doesn't sound like the little kid that rapped on Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never" anymore Remember when Jaden dropped a verse on Biebs' pop-friendly hit? He sounded like what he was—a preteen rapping lines that someone else written for him. His voice was still squeaky and everything. But today, his voice has gotten deeper and, for better and sometimes for worse, it sounds like everything he's spitting was written by him. He's come a long way since rapping like this: [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: Getty Images

He also doesn't sound like a lot of celebrity kids who try to rap There's a reason why there aren't too many celebrity kids who make it as successful rappers. That reason? Most of them grew up getting everything they wanted out of life, so it's hard to take them seriously when they started trying to rap as if they didn't. That's not problematic for Jaden, though. He's only 16, so he raps about the things that most 16-year-olds deal with and it works well for him. That's not to say that it'll always work for him. But at the very least, he sounds genuine on his songs, which is half the battle for rappers who have famous mothers and/or fathers. Photo Credit: Getty Images

He's someone who doesn't have to record an album, which could potentially end up working in his favor Unlike most rappers, Jaden doesn't need his debut album to be super successful. He actually doesn't need it to be successful at all, at least not in a commercial sense. But he will have to surprise people with it and make it sound as dope as possible, which means that he's going to have to take some chances that other artists might not take on their debut. That could turn out to be a good thing, though, as it could pay big dividends if he takes the right risks. Photo Credit: Getty Images

He has enough connections to surround himself with talented people A piece of advice for Jaden: If you do end up releasing an album, approach it like you're trying to impress the world. Don't just slap together 13 or 14 songs that you've randomly recorded and put them out. Instead, surround yourself with people who have your best interests at heart. That's not to say that Jaden should hire every hip-hop super producer to craft a track for him, or that he needs Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Miley Cyrus on his album. But he should take the project seriously and recruit features that would give the project some weight. Photo Credit: Getty Images

He can't insinuate that he's the best rapper alive and then not put anything out to prove it. By writing "Dear Everybody Who Can Rap Better Than Me" on Twitter, Jaden essentially called other rappers out and placed himself on a pedestal. So now it's time for him to put up or shut up. If he doesn't, how can he possibly say that he's better than anyone, given the fact that he only has one mixtape and a handful of random songs to his name? Photo Credit: Getty Images

Even if his album isn't successful, it could ultimately lead to musical success sometime in the future. Worst case scenario, Jaden puts out an album and discovers that he's not a good rapper. Everyone hates his music and he doesn't do anything as far as sales go. Fine. But maybe he finds out he's an excellent producer in the process. Or maybe he discovers that he likes singing better than rapping. Or maybe he learns something about what works and what doesn't when he gets into the studio. He's only 16. So he could put all of that to work on his next project and get it right. One flop isn't going to kill his career. Long term, it could end up helping it. Photo Credit: Getty Images

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