Metro Boomin and 21 Savage returned to their roots by dropping a chopped-not-slopped version of their Savage Mode 2 album. In the process of doing so, Metro further distanced the album from the industry standard by denouncing deluxe albums.
"Chopped up not slopped up tonight paying homage to the OGs and classic hip hop," Metro said on Twitter when announcing the release of the Chopped-n-Screwed version of the album that came courtesy of Slim K, OG Ron C, and The Chopstars. "That deluxe shit burnt out #RIPDJSCREW."
Recently, everybody and their mom have decided to re-rock their albums and drop deluxe versions. Although the concept of a deluxe album isn't new, it has been brought back to life by acts looking to furth boost their album's Billboard chart success. During an interview with Complex, Lil Uzi Vert's label head, Don Cannon, explained that Uzi was the first artist to fully revive the idea.
"Uzi started the deluxe [trend]," Cannon said. "It’s like he’s doing a whole other wave of visionary shit."
Yet even when Uzi decided to drop a deluxe album, he did it in an innovative way. After legal issues and fighting for his musical freedom, Uzi finally dropped Eternal Atake in March. Uzi decided to reward his fans for years of patience by adding Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World 2 on top of Eternal Atake a week later. This was technically a deluxe album, but it felt and was packaged as two separate projects. Artists like Gunna, DaBaby, and others have followed suit. But instead of taking Uzi's innovative route, they just piled on extra songs to their already completed projects.
As known, the music industry can be a monkey-see-monkey-do business. While this can be lucrative, only real creativity will stand the test of time. Metro and 21 seem to understand this and decided that the Slaughter King should kill the deluxe trend.
