Darkest Timeline: All the Ways a Promising Year in Hip-Hop Could Go Very Wrong

The year in hip-hop looks pretty promising...but that doesn't mean it actually will be.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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It was obvious 2014 was bound to (no pun intended) be a barren wasteland for hip-hop by the time we got midway through 2013. At that point, A$AP Rocky dropped an impressive debut, Kanye went head-to-head with J. Cole, Jay Z announced a new album then dropped it two weeks later, and Drake and Pusha T were scheduled to impact the fall. And that's just a concise summary of what was indeed a bountiful year. Despite unpredictably exciting offerings from a seemingly endless parade of randos and one-hit-wonders, 2014 lived up to its bleak predictions, at least album-wise. Now that hip-hop's earth is scorched, with a new year brings an inevitable period of rejuvenation, no?

Drake, Kanye, Wale (with Seinfeld!), Big Sean, A$AP Rocky, Kendrick, and Meek Mill are all due. Pusha T, too, probably. Rick Ross could fuck around and drop three projects this year to one-up himself. Jay Z might do...something. Jay Electronica will continue to tease an album of increasingly mythical proportions, just to keep things even. With an added bout of fresh-faced January-flavored optimism, 2015 is looking aces. It's going to be a great year. Probably.

Allow yourself, if you dare, to venture down a dark wormhole of pessimism with me. Even the best laid plans can go horrifically awry—just ask any of the dozen dead good guys on Game of Thrones. Just ask any Lil Wayne fan who's been expecting Tha Carter V since last May. Shit can go way left, very quickly. Here are just a few of many probabilities in which hip-hop can totally squander all of its 2015 promises. Happy Friday, though!

Tha Carter V isn't worth the wait.

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Hit-Boy really goes into retirement.

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The man behind some of the most crucial beats of the decade so far let this mystifying and abrupt tweet go last fall and no one really knows what it means, still. Presumably it's just a dramatic way for Hit to declare he's saving all his time, energy, and focus for his label HS87, home to Audio Push, K. Roosevelt, Bmacthequeen, etc. Read: cool artists with potential who are otherwise monopolizing hot beats from one of the freshest producers in the game. There's a wealth of production talent from up-and-comers and those who had a few hits over the past few years and are still rising. But if Hit-Boy is really over-focused on building up his team and like-minded young shooters like OverDoz, and done with lacing the A-listers with the likes of "Trophies," "Cold," or "SomewhereInAmerica," it'll be the biggest cheat of the year.

Kendrick catches the (major label) sophomore slump.

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Empire releases a soundtrack full of original music.

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Meek Mill misses again.

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Chet Haze becomes America's new favorite pop rapper.

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Drake throws up his first brick.

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Kanye quits music and commits to fashion.

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Jay Z doesn't drop new music.

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