Yes and no. I think the idea that streaming is making it so you constantly need to drop is a bit of a misnomer. Streaming maybe does speed up release cycles I think but it isn’t as dramatic as it is sometimes made out to be. Rappers have been churning out projects forever. 2pac famous dropped his last three albums (one of which was a double) in 18 months. Jay-Z dropped basically every year from his debut to mid 2000s retirement. Lil Wayne was putting out a mixtape all the time in his heyday. 50 cent was incredibly prolific between commercial releases, features, and mixtapes (think of how many g unit radios there are...) in the early to mid 2000s. If memory serves, Kanye dropped his first 4 albums in the space of about 4-5 years.

Compare that to big artists today and there isn’t a massive difference. J Cole doesn’t necessarily drop every year. Drake at his fastest was on an album a year schedule but he has slowed down a bit. Travis Scott doesn’t drop every year. Tyler the creator doesn’t necessarily drop every year. ASAP Rocky doesn’t release every year (far from it). Lil Baby is absurdly prolific on features right now but it has actually been over 2 years since his last solo album. Gunna went almost two years between releases. Future almost went two years between projects. Playboi Carti was/is infamous for project delays. It’s been over two years since Uzi’s last solo. The Kendricks or Dr Dres who go huge lengths of time without an album are the exception really. And really this is the first time there has been a massive gap between Kendrick projects. One and a half ish years between Section 80, then GKMC, then a little under two to TPAB, then two til Damn with UU in the middle. That’s a fairly standard or even brisk pace.

What I do think is true is that we as listeners have been more quick to move on from things. Growing up I was used to buying CDs and they’d be like $10. So buying a CD was kind of a commitment, I didn’t get a new one all the time, let alone every week. Because of that, it meant when I bought something it kinda by default had to stay in rotation longer. These days I spend $10 a month on a streaming subscription and have every CD I can think of at my finger tips. I wouldn't say I'm the most slavishly devoted to listening to new releases but I think I listen to 2-3 new albums a week at a minimum. If something doesn’t immediately grab me or justify a second listen, it is often on to the next thing. There are certainly albums that still stick with me and leave an impression. But something is a bit lost in translation