Good things take time, especially when there’s a creative component attached to it. And if you’re a genuine fan of hip-hop, you already know that some of the game’s most certified talents have breaks in their catalogs that span across decades.
The first artist that comes to mind is Kendrick Lamar, who has yet to make his solo return to the mic after the Pulitzer Prize-winning DAMN. was released four years ago. He’s since assumed the role of Casper the Friendly Ghost and some of his TDE brethren are on the same type of time. Isaiah Rashad’s last album, The Sun’s Tirade, came out in 2016, as well as Ab-Soul’s Do What Thou Wilt. Knowing the quality of their roster, hopefully the wait is well worth it when they release their next projects.
If four to five years appears to be a drastic time to starve fans, then Dr. Dre’s 16-year pause might change the sentiment on that. Dre’s sophomore classic 2001 shook the game in 1999, seven years after his debut. But almost 20 years would pass before he followed up with the 2015 release of Compton.
Bad Boy Entertainment’s first lady Lil’ Kim can relate. Fourteen years went by between the 2005 release of The Naked Truth, a drop that came from inside the jail cell, and the 2019 release of 9. Speaking of the queens of hip-hop, Missy Elliott unleashed her sixth album The Cookbook in 2005, but the Virginia legend has yet to feed her fans another full serving of a record, despite teasing a new one. So let it be known that some of these timeouts have yet to resume.
With these artists in mind, there are plenty of others that have notable spaces in their discography. From OGs like Mos Def to newer recruits like Fetty Wap, take a look below to see the rappers with the longest gaps between albums.