Since 2014, Viper has released an undetermined number of albums to overtake the former record holder, Bengali folk singer Momtaz Begum - and where she took decades, Viper took years.A number of monumental news events dominated headlines this year. Unrest in Ferguson, rape allegations against Bill Cosby and an unforeseen thaw in relations between the U.S. and Cuba. These are the news markers by which we remember the year, but we would be remiss if we did not mention a stunning milestone achieved by one unheralded Houston rapper.
Over the past 12 months, the MC known as Viper released no fewer than 347 albums. Hard to believe? Just look at this highly labor-intensive spreadsheet we made. Viper is as prolific as he is repetitive.
Sure, the beats are a fairly weak, and, if we’re honest, the lyrics, diction and flow all leave a lot to be desired. Yet, over the course of 2014, Viper has produced almost an album a day and (with an average of 15 songs per album) somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,200 individual tracks. This is all assuming, of course, that he’s not doubling up with mixes or greatest hits albums here and there (which is a pretty bad assumption, actually, but we’re not going to listen to all 347 albums, and neither should you).
To put Viper’s achievement in perspective, Jay-Z has released a measly 12 solo albums in the last 18 years. That’s just lazy. By comparison, Viper deserves huge props for effort, consistency and an unmatched capacity for churning out lyrics. Jay-Z got 99 problems. Assuming they both generate problems at the same rate as they generate albums, Viper probably got 57,255 problems. So not only is he prolific, but he’s also overcoming adversity on a daily basis. Kudos, but why don’t you have 165 Beyoncés?
Viper dropped his most recent album on Monday. It’s available on Spotify, along with all of his hundreds of other releases. Being so prolific makes it hard to think up new titles, and as a result, many of the albums are sequels. Take for example, Heaven Is fo’ Reel Muthafucka 3, A Loyal Illuminati Memba II, and last but certainly not least, Put Sum Relish and Musta on It It Ain’t Extra 2. We suggest you read them all.
Most of Viper’s YouTube videos have less than a few thousand views, though one, “You’ll Cowards Don’t Even Smoke Crack,” has more than 540,000. Perhaps it’s the title.
Below is a recent video from the artist titled “Mallin’,” which appears to be a typo, because all Viper says in the video is “ballin’.” Perhaps he had a cold. Making an album a day can drain a butha’s immune system.
With more than 44,200 followers on Twitter under the handle @RapperViper, Viper seems he have a pretty substantial group of followers looking for that new album drop. At this rate, it should take only a few hours.
Crass? Careless? Artless? Yeah, I can see why you'd think that. But then again, You'll Cowards Don't Even Smoke Crack.
