What will be the Aftermath???

Recently Eminem's new single "Crack a Bottle" featuring 50 Cent and Dr. Dre broke a digital sales record for the highest total of opening week downloads ever with 418,000 sold. As most of you already know by now, rap's three headed monster of Em, Fifty, and Dre are preparing to re-enter the hip-hop arena with the release of three separate solo projects that will be dropped over the course of the next few months.

This obvious marketing ploy will mark the first time that the rap titans will unveil newly recorded material within the same calendar year. While on the surface this may appear to be a recession proof strategy that is certain to generate interest and boost music sales; one has to wonder whether there remains a strong enough interest in this once mighty rap collective given the ever-changing hip-hop landscape.

If the recent sale numbers serve as any indication then at the very least we can presume that fans will have more than a tepid interest in their music. But only time will tell if they can sustain this momentum, and translate the success of the single into actual album sales. I personally wouldn't bet against them, but with the industry as it stands today anything is possible.

Here are some questions to ponder:

• Will the new generation accept a gangsta rapper in his mid 40's?
• Does Eminem still have the passion to rap?
• Is it too late for Fifty to give the fans what they want?
• After 10 years of waiting on Detox will it meet expectations?
• Who has more buzz Asher Roth or Eminem?
  
• Is the requisite thug rapper obsolete?
  
• Does the fate of major label hip-hop rest on their shoulders?
  

P.S. Can you imagine Em returning to his gay bashing Slim Shadyesque ways in today's tight pants loving/quasi-homosexual era of rap??? I can just picture Kanye throwing temper tantrums left and right.

Crack A Bottle - Eminem, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent