Tyler, the Creator did not seem destined for Grammy nominations after the release of his first album.

When the 18-year-old rapper/producer released his debut album, "Goblin," it contained a willful disregard of the rules and of authority that defined the early Eminem albums. It was weird, left-field, violent, and graphic. The over-the-top imagery is reminiscent of the Wu-Tang Clan back in the ‘90s. This was a kid who went to 12 different schools in his 12 years of schooling, and he made an album that expressed a quintessentially youthful hatred of authority. The hook for the song “Radicals” is simply, “kill people, burn sh*t, f*ck school,” repeated over and over. In other words, it was not an album that had any chance of Grammy nominations.

What happened between then and the creation of his most recent album, "Flower Boy," a mature, introspective, and downright beautiful collection of songs? Something that we don’t see often enough in the music industry, and in the rap industry especially: Tyler matured. This is not to say he grew out of anything, but that he grew past it. Youthful anger and graphic violence has its place, but it’s not something an artist can return to time and time again over the course of a long creative career.

There seems to be a bit of a trend building here, and it gives me hope that we will see similar artistic maturations from our hip-hop artists in future years. Jay-Z, who made his name in his early days as a hustler who happens to rap, released "4:44," also Grammy-nominated. It is equally introspective and thoughtful with a remarkable emotional maturity and honesty. Jay trades out rhymes about moving units and big yachts for songs about his relationship struggles (“4:44”), the sexuality of his mom (“Smile"), and the struggles of identity for black people in America ("The Story of O.J."). Some have derisively called this “dad-rap,” but I see it as a fruitful--and necessary--evolution of the artform.

For this reason, it’s important not to give up on young rappers making immature music that might sound cacophonous to older ears. A listener who disregarded Tyler because of his early work would have missed out on a truly special album. The same goes for Jay-Z, although his maturation came decidedly later. As J Cole says on the song “1985,” “you gotta give a boy a chance to grow some.”

Young artists should also look to these albums as a sign that their audience is capable of enjoying more thoughtful work. More than that, I would even say there is a significant market for thoughtful, challenging hip-hop albums. Kendrick Lamar has proven that time and time again.

Of course, not all young and hot rappers will prove to be capable of the kind of maturation Tyler and Jay-Z went through. Eminem is an example of someone who was never quite able to produce a lasting album after his rebellious early work. But if a generation of young artists understand that this kind of an album is possible, it can only be a good thing.

My hope is that albums like "Flower Boy" and "4:44"

are harbingers for what is to come in hip-hop. And if they are, the future of the genre has never looked brighter.