I mean album cut as in not a single, not really that it couldn't be a single, because at that time any 50 cut could be a single really
I dont totally disagree with you but its certainly not a conventional single style record, at least by the standards I grew up seeing
I think the glaring difference here is the girl metaphor is being used in relation to heroin and not something more benign like hip hop via Common, so to me that in and of itself makes it a less commercially viable record radio wise in the minds of label overseers in that era
I kinda disagree, I think if anything that record is him flexing his creative pen game for himself vs using his other pen, the catchy hit maker pen, which he predominantly picked up to appease the skeletons like Jimmy Iovine who controlled the music market at that time
Same point as before really, 50 could made anything a single during that era, cause 50 had the attention of the streets, the clubs and most important to the skeletons - the young suburbanites who will grow out of their rap puppy love within a 3 year span
You of all ppl should know how it goes on the charts, they aren't there to track talent or creativity, it's why a group like Desd Prez can have a smash like Hip Hop become a smash and be embraced by an audience that doesn't really understand what they're saying on Hip Hop, buys the album and then clutches their pearls hearing They Schools and is then turned off by Desd Prez as they're attacking the worldview that keeps that same "fan" feeling warm and insulated from reality
ATEOTD I just think Baltinore was a dope concept record (for the level 50 decided to operate at once joining the machine) with a smooth 70s esque beat that was better than any of the non singles from GRODT, could it have been a single, sure I guess, but it wasn't. I also consciously called it an album cut and not a deep cut, so I'm not totally ignorant of its polish.