10 Reunions We Want To See in 2015

One of the predominant story lines within the world of music is arguably band reunions. While a lot of reunions do not end up being successful, they do, however, offer the best surprises. With bands like Jodeci or Dipset currently re-emerging on the scene, we can definitely see a trend. Hands down, the odds for most music reunions in general are rather low, it didn’t stop us from putting together a list of our ten acts (including one record label) that we’d like to see happen again 2015.

A$AP ROCKY & SPACEGHOSTPURRP
Before A$AP Mob had come into contact with SpaceGhostPurrp and his crew Raider Klan, they had yet to incorporate the all-black aesthetic in their look and the Memphis and Houston influence in their sound. After meeting up with Purrp in 2011, A$AP Rocky released his first two singles “Purple Swag” and “Peso,” both songs which seem to have drawn heavily from Purrp’s artistic input. Although the Miami native was featured on a few tracks off Rocky’s mixtape Live.Love.A$AP, as well as produced one of A$AP Rocky’s most acclaimed tracks “Pretty Flacko,” Purrp and the Mob soon fell off after feeling that A$AP’s success was undeserved. The beef further escalated through numerous verbal and physical altercations, which had occurred between the group’s members. In his single “Angels,” Rocky drops a few thoughts on the situation: “N*ggas claim they the god of black / Well your name is Purple; I’m the god of that.” The conflicts have simmered down since then as the two currently seems to have been heading towards different musical directions, but to this day many loyal fans still insist on a reunion.

CHILD REBEL SOLDIER (Kanye West, Pharrell & Lupe Fiasco)
Without the scheduling conflicts, this supergroup would have put out some crazy material in the past few years. Child Rebel Soldier was conceived in 2007 with the conception of the Thom Yorke-sampled song “Us Placers” which appears on Kanye West’s Can’t Tell Me Nothing mixtape. The track was received with much acclaim and shortly after, Lupe Fiasco revealed that the three had hoped to construct a full-length studio album. However, outside of collaborative performances for the ‘Glow In The Dark’ tour, a remix to N.E.R.D.’s “Everyone Nose” in 2008, and releasing “Don’t Stop” as a part of Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Fridays weekly releases, the album never came into fruition — although Lupe claims that the group had already completed a few songs for it. In 2010 during a screening for Kanye’s short film Runaway, Kanye tells reporters that the project is on hold and will resume after his completion of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Watch The Throne. It wasn’t until mid-2013 when Lupe finally comes clean by announcing that Child Rebel Soldier has officially been cancelled.

DARKSIDE (Nicolas Jaar & Dave Harrington)
It only took Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington one album and one EP to leave a significant impact on the the music sphere. The collaboration of the electronic musician and the Brooklyn multi-instrumentalist has put fans around the globe into ecstatic mode with their unique blend of downtempo electronica, ambient sound and stunning light show-laced stage performances. The duo has worked together since 2011, when they released their critically acclaimed self-titled EP. A couple of years later, the pair put out their excellent Psychic album, which wonderfully displayed their developed minimalist sound and set the mood right for their amazing world tour. Last August, the band announced they were “coming to an end, for now” before they were to play their last show on September 12th at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. It remains to be seen if the “for now” means “for good.”

DEATH GRIPS (Stefan Burnett, Zach Hill & Andy Morin)
When staunchly experimental, forward-thinking approaches and mindsets towards making music are backed up with militance and a punk-esque attitude toward, well, everything, lightning strikes. Rarely do modern attempts at jarring, middle-fingers-up riot music produce a big of an impact and stir up as many storms as Death Grips. This is reason enough to want the trio to resume the campaign of noise warfare they began with their Death Grips project. The group’s work together yielded a small, yet impressive body of work and incredible live performances that hinted at the coming of a legendary act, yet hope were cut short when the three artists parted ways last year. At least one more full-length is definitely needed to further the cement the band’s legacy and position.

FERRARI BOYZ (Gucci Mane & Waka Flocka Flame)
Waka Flocka Flame has always been a supporter of Gucci Mane, and has had more than a few cameos in a few of GuWop’s earlier music videos. It wasn’t until when Gucci had gotten locked up that forced Waka to churn out first hit “O Let’s Do It,” Christmas of 2009. Since then Flocka had skyrocketed into comparable stardom with his debut album Flockaveli and the two trap masters released a collaborative album titled Ferrari Boyz in 2011. However, in mid-2013, Gucci Mane had given a sudden announcement that Waka was dropped from the 1017 Brick Squad Records label. The relationship has been complicated since then -– reconciliation and breakups periodically reoccurred. Most recently the surfacing of their collaborative track “Against All Odds,” depict that they have been on good terms in the meantime. Waka informs fans: “Everything’s been 100 with me and Gucci. It’s just like when two brothers is famous and they argue, we just don’t know that publicly, people are watching and it ain’t just amongst family. It ain’t never gon’ be beef.” Hopefully, we’ll get to see a second instalment of Ferrari Boyz soon.

FUGEES (Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean & Pras Michel)
Most heads would mutually agree that The Score is one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. The album, released in 1996, featured a masterful fusion of soul, reggae, and other musical elements well-ahead of its time. In 1997, the group had disbanded due to personal interests; Wyclef recorded his debut album and produced for other artists (and later run for a Haitian presidential campaign), Lauryn worked on her acclaimed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album, and Pras ventured into soundtrack recording and acting. Their reunion projects were met with mixed reviews; 2005’s “Take It Easy” was a flop while their 2006 track “Foxy” was dubbed as “the real return of the Fugees.” Their reunion performances were even more controversial — both male members of the group opened up about the issue of Lauryn Hill’s mental health as the prime hindrance preventing a successful reunion from happening. Despite all this, Wyclef had told Huffington Post late last year that he’s “still totally down” for a reunion, saying, “I think the future allows itself for that. I’m all for that, 100 percent. I’m the No. 1 Fugees fan.”

KIDS THESE DAYS
Vic Mensa may be performing alongside Kanye on SNL anniversary shows and Chance the Rapper’s Social Experiment may be causing a ruckus in LA, but that just means there wouldn’t be a better time for a Kids These Days rebirth. Nico Segal (Donnie Trumpet), Vic Mensa, Stix, JP Floyd, Macie Stewart, Liam Cunningham and Lane Beckstrom are currently reaching their own artistic and career peaks, and though some former KTD artists may be on the verge of some massive success out on their own, it would be a shame if we didn’t at least hear a few more songs under the Kids These Days banner. Considering the current quality of music by Vic, Chance, and other former KTD members, imagine how they would sound now as one cohesive unit.

ROC-FELLA-RECORDS
The heaviest chain in the game was the indicator. If you were in the possession of it, you were rap royalty. With a roster that included Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Cam’ron, Teairra Marí, Amil, The Diplomats, DJ Clue, Freeway, Freekey Zekey, and last but definitely not least, Kanye West and JAY Z, Roc-A-Fella Records, aka The Dynasty, was literally “running this rap sh*t.” With the release of JAY’s all-time 2001 classic The Blueprint became one of hip-hop’s most important albums of all time, the millennium started off right for the record label, which was founded by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Damon “Dame” Dash, and Kareem “Biggs” Burke. The album was triumphantly followed by Kanye classics, such as College Dropout and Late Registration for instance, heavy hitters such as Killa Cam’s Come Home with Me, the State Property albums, and of course Watch The Throne. While some artists are still on amicable terms, chances are rather low that we will experience another great compilation album like The Dynasty: Roc La Familia.

THE CLIPSE (Pusha T & No Malice)
The brotherly duo broke many hearts when Pusha and NoMalice first broke up in 2010. While it wasn’t label as a break-up per se, it was then, when both members first expressed interest in doing solo albums. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to us, they’ve never found their way back together to the recording studio. Prior to that, the band released all-time hip-hop classics such as Lord Willin’ (2002), Hell Hath No Fury (2006), and 2009’s Til the Casket Drops, not to mention the countless singles and featured appearances of both. Paired with the incomparable Neptunes sound, the band became notorious for painting vivid pictures of a one-time reality of narcotic sales they don’t condone today. Talks about a potential reunion come and go, so total hope is not lost in this case.

TNGHT (Hudson Mohawke & Lunice)
Without even one full-length album out, Hudson Mohawke and Lunice mesmerized the scene with their popular TNGHT EP. Their “hiatus,” which was announced in December 2013, came at a point where most followers were eagerly anticipating more single releases and a full-length album. No matter how you turn around this case, this breakup can potentially be labeled “unfinished business.”