FOR REAL the second they saw an expressive art as a "rap game" they started playing for points and making industry consumer products VS something THEY wanted to make
The main problem with the current music industry is that, in order to get a hit, you need an exterior contributor to make the song viral. An artist can make their magnum opus song that would have been a smash hit in any other decade, but without it becoming a trend on social media, specifically TikTok, they shouldn’t expect serious chart success. TikTok artists absolutely dominate the billboard charts, but, as you’ve said, their careers rarely have longevity, because people were never listening to their songs for the actual pure enjoyment of the music.
TikTok artists? like who? All Spotify most streams are certified artists. 1 The Weeknd 2 Taylor Swift 3 Drake 4 Bad Bunny 5 Rihanna 6 Ed Sheeran 7 Doja Cat 8 Justin Bieber 9 Dua Lipa 10 Billie Eilish 11 SZA 12 Coldplay 13 David Guetta 14 Ariana Grande 15 Bruno Mars 16 Shakira 17 Eminem 18 Miley Cyrus 19 Travis Scott 20 Calvin Harris 21 Post Malone 22 21 Savage 23 Olivia Rodrigo 24 Kanye West
This is the same conversation we started having about rock music 10 years ago. Rap isn’t going away it’s just going to sink into the underground just like Rock and Jazz has
Honestly, that stinks so much. I just became a listener last year, and to think that it’s really gonna fall off kind of hurts. As far as I know, there is no other genre that utilizes spoken word like rap. 😢
@@BeBoMaMujust because a genre “falls off” doesn’t mean it disappears. It’s actually kind of nice when the music genre is in more of an underground state rather than in the mainstream. Tickets to shows are cheaper, community is more authentic, and you know the artists are actually in it for the music rather than for the money
To be fair we aren’t ignoring them as much as the machine pushes the worst artists out to the forefront and back them up with unlimited advertising budget
Thats not an exclusive hiphop problem. The entertainment industry is going down in general. Music, movies, shows, videogames… all lack quality and creative brains that think outside of the box. There is no progress anymore
A piece of this conversation I don't see often is the deaths of XXXTENTACION, Mac Miller, Juice WRLD, and Nipsey Hussle, all of which took place around that 2018-19 mark. Felt like these tragedies took some of the life out of the game. Literally and figuratively. I would add too that some of the responsibility falls on raps biggest labels to develop sustainable new artists. Namely TDE. I can't make too many judgements there because I don't know all that goes on and I won't pretend to, but the relationship between business and consumer there feels gross. The lack of exciting new talent, the lack of releases from their core artists, and the toxic social media presence displayed by them makes fans divest whether they want to or not. J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake shouldn't have to bear the responsibility of keeping discourse around the genre alive, but I can't imagine they feel great about passing the torch with the current state of affairs.
I feel like a huge part of it is that there aren’t newer artists coming up that are being passed the torch the way we saw Drake, Kendrick, J Cole, etc. I agree with the point also their is no longevity. On top of this, the ones who most likely were going to lead this new generation of superstardom unfortunately had their lives taken. Juice Wrld, XXX, lil peep, pop smoke, Mac miller, etc all would be/already were some of the biggest artists on the planet. We need the next generation of superstars to step up. Yes we have travis, carti, Tyler, Uzi etc but we NEED the younger generation
XXX juice wrld and pop smoke's death had a huge impact, more than we realised at the time. Particularly X. Those deaths may well be a major factor in the fall of the hip hop empire
Because there’s nobody to pass the torch to. Newer artists put next to no effort in the quality and production of their music like Drake or Kendrick for example. And it reflects in the kind of music newer rappers are putting out. But their fans like that stuff.
I think people underestimate the fact that Pop Smoke, Juice WRLD & XXX would have probably been 3 of the biggest rappers of this generation and all died in completely unfortunate circumstances. RIP legends.
@jessie6600 a yang withouts it's yang ☯️ is not balanced. Maybe there's not enough substance in music now a days. Everyone wants to go down that route of rapping about street life or women talking about hood rat shit.
thats not true at all. Jid, as much as i love him, will never be a superstar. His sound is closer to underground than it is to releasing a gkmc. Same thing with denzel, they don’t DESERVE the exposure, because they don’t create superstar music. I love them but they can’t take the torch
@@muzibuthelezi5307 hopefully, but there’s a difference between getting better and having the impact of mid 10’s kendrick, drake, cole… which zel and jid just won’t reach.
@@cemsen5460 how about you sit and wait another couple years then you can say they never got the exposure cus JID’s career ramped up a bit with TFS and Denzel just needs another ultimate (not saying that it’s going to happen no matter what but don’t say it will never happen right now)
@@pengxin99 bro denzel does NOT need another ultimate lmao and jid albums will probably not reach the superstar commercial value. What im discussing is not about quality at all. They are absolutely capable of making 10/10 projects, however they can’t be the ones that represent rap music for the next decade cuz they can never escape the underrated status.
As an underground artist, I truly feel the disconnect is with the artist themselves. Talking with other artists, the mindset I hear is that everyone chases 1 hit and tries to sell it to labels and pitch it for shows. It's like pure delusional imagine painting a picture and thinking you're Picasso. Nobody wants to put in the work anymore. I make my own beats and write my own songs, but at the same time it's about having fun and not caring what ppl think at first because you're still learning finding a sound and just gaining experience I never seen why anyone would let anyone control that creative process for money but hey I guess this is the next get rich quick scheme
Yeah bro this exactly it’s a bunch of ppl making songs for OTHER PEOPLE for money when they should be making songs for THEMSELVES for FUN that’s where the big big big big big bag is at the cultural impact bag
i genuinely feel like artists of the soundcloud era that passed away around 2017 to 2019 had a devastating effect on the progression that hip hop was making, becoming more experimental and emotional
Im surprised that yall didnt talk about the artists that got killed. X, Pop Smoke und Juice were supposed to guide the new generation and all of em are dead. Thats one of the biggest reasons for the state of hiphop rn in my opinion
X was a scummy worthless human who got what was coming to him, and some other rappers may be as bad but there were so many public receipts of his behaviour. If he was a leader (psychopath stealing beats and writing about his feelings while hurting others) the next generation would be ruined
Big facts my G, I say this 24/7. Those 3 guys were definitely going to lead the next generation. The genre could’ve also used King Von. He was an impressive storyteller in an era where storytelling is damn near extinct. Miss those guys man 😔😢
I think we just forget about how easily we forgot about the big rappers in 90s and 00s that were so popular. just with time we don't even remember forgetting them.
I think the question of if people would actually listen thru gkmc all the way is fascinating. These days people seem to prioritize playlists over albums, which is why artists release albums with 20 3 minute long songs rather than like 12 5 minute quality songs. I really think that to a mainstream consumer, they don’t care about the album experience anymore like they used to. Idk I just thought that was a great point of halls and why yall are my fav rap music channel!
For real all the best and big artists were releasing somewhat long albums which were personal or easy to relate to and then the radio played them whereas now music is made for the radio and adapted to fit on an album which is why the best albums are from 2010s artists because they still have a story
Rap albums have NEVER been formatted to where they have 12, 5 minute songs. R&B albums would typically be formatted that way, but rap albums never did. Not even in the 90s or 2000s.
@@ToAsTOnDeck Baby Keem is NOT discount Kendrick. They make different kinds of music for different purposes. People only say that because they’re cousins.
I think E.P’s would work. You could get the song connectivity of albums but the shortness and marketability of a single. It worked for Dave and central cee’s ‘Split decisions’ E.P
Reasons why Hip Hop is on it's way out of the mainstream: - Old guards are past their prime or want to retire - Upcoming talents don't look promising (compare old XXL Freshmans to current ones, you'll understand what I mean) - Value of music has decreased (Easier accessibilty, mass production, quick trend chasing, shortend attention span of audience) - Current mainstream rappers are not substance driven like the ones we had from the early 2010s. No substance = No longevity - Current rappers fail to connect with audience on a deeper level, audiences became smarter and label anything the artists do "a marketing stunt" - Audiences are listening to music more and more via playlists, which kinda decreases an artists individuality. Artists become "a song they heard from a playlist" - While other big genres still kept their musical integrity to an extent, current mainstream rap became simpler overtime, which decreased the likelihood of audiences taking the genre serious.
Good points. The most underrated ones are probably 'trend/clout chasing' and 'short attention spans', all courtesy of social media, of course... Like, just go look at the albums that were released in the early 2010s compared to the late 2010s... It's a night and day difference in quality. And that's because in the early 2010s people were still doing music based on their own unique perceptions of what they wanted to do... And they took their time with it... After artists and the music indrustry in general started realizing that social media is becoming the next biggest platform, and that there's certain trends and algorithms behind it that decide who gets promoted, and that you only have like 10 seconds to make an impression on people before they just move their finger to the next thing... It basicaly forced artists into doing more gimmicky shit to compete for attention... Like compare the come up of Kendrick Lamar and Xxxtentacion for example... Kendrick had to grind mixtapes, release a debut and then follow up with a legendary album to basically get acknowledged as one of the best artists in the genre... Xxxtentacion had millions of followers before he even had a picture on the internet or released a professionally mixed and mastered project... But because he was doing wild stuff on social media and went to jail and shit he got famous off that. Same goes for a lot of rappers during that time, the 'soundcloud' wave is where it started... Lil Pump would 100% never made it in the rap game if he was rapping in an era with no social media... He got famous because he was a meme... He took the trap sound, got the colored dreads, mimicked the ad-libs... He basically did all the trends and social media loved it because it was so ridicolous and social media made it so he was able to market his goofiness... And once people saw guys like Lil Pump with zero talent can make it in the rap game if they just follow the trends and the sounds and add some niche gimmick to it, then everything went downhill.
Y’all spittin. I been feeling like raps been dying for a while now. But I’m listening to a lot more other genres now because of it and discovered more music I like. Rap has gotten a bit boring
People have been saying this for 25 years. Literally every generation thinks the next is garbage and only they got to experience "real" music. In the 00s old heads were saying Wayne and Kanye ruined rap. In the 10s future, travis and rocky were all called trash. And guess what? The cycle never ends. You know why? Because people will like what they happen to be listening to while theyre growing up and experiencing life. Dumbasses want these kids to only listen to Run DMC and Funkmaster Flex or nothing released after 2005 😂 At some point the majority of current hip hop fans thought your music taste was trash.
@@v.k.healthlongevity9807There is something to say about modern popular music being a lot more dumbed down than it used to be in the past, and I believe that's across genres and pretty apparent
@@WindyCityNickI think Pop has become extremely dilluted like Hip Hop currently, and I understand that generation gap. But you can’t say that the big four, like kendrick, doesn’t compete with the 90s legends
The late singer & icon Barry White once said the reason artist fizzle out after having some early success in the biz is because they don't perfect their craft to build a legacy. He said an artist will play his guitar & sing good enough to secure a record deal & have a hit a record & then he becomes lazy, instead of building on his decent guitar/singing skills so he can have longevity in the biz. Its the same with most of these new rappers. They won't be talked about 20 or 30 years from now like Rakim, Krs One, Nas, Biggie, 2 Pac, LL Cool J, Jay Z, Wu Tang, Public Enemy, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, J Cole will be. They will be forgotten within 2 or 3 years.
I totally agree with you guys on this! There are new talents everywhere..... It's best for all of us to work as a community to sustain HIPHOP. Thank you NFR for all you do..🙏🏾❤️
As a listener, artist, and someone who works for a label, my take on what needs to happen in Hip-Hop is that we need substance again. We need bodies of work that make the art of hip-hop matter and make it be seen as art again. I feel as if a lot of rappers traded in making art for quick, fast food hits that are only cash grabs and not really made for the art of music. We’re missing creativity from the genre again and uniqueness amongst artists. I feel as if, if artists stopped hopping on trends, and just went about releasing music on their own merit, with their own take of creativity, we’d find more substance and meaningful art again within the genre.
The main problem is that Rap today don’t have a equivalent to Jay, Pac, Nas, Outkast, Wu tang etc. The same could be said for Drake, Kanye, Cole, Kendrick, and Travis Scott. There are no heavy hitters in this new generation
The labels are the problem. There’s many great rappers not being heard because they don’t talk about crap and the labels unfortunately want the the same bs scheme that’s been working for them because they are so greedy and stupid, they just want money. They don’t care about art. Unfortunately this is why music isn’t as good as it used to be, labels think they have to create gimmicks instead of just allowing real talent to come through.
@Ant29476 that's 1000% true and even Cube, Snoop, Dre and many others stated the same about the labels want to promote stupid tiresome trends that degrade the masses' mindset. And even Wayne stated that he doesn't listen to most of the new age rappers because they don't have positive impact or influence to evolve the listeners. He also stated most of the new generation rappers think about the benefits of the rap game rather than bringing something game changing
People are getting tired of the violence. And the direct correlation between the music and impact in the youth. Every rapper is responsible for this ftonone degree or another. From the onset of gangster rap, to the modern drill rap. But the correlation is impossible to ignore now. A lot of people don’t want to listen to death music. Especially in the era of the internet when you can actually find the people who have been deceased and are being rapped about being killed in these songs. I’ve loved hip hop my entire life. It really is my favorite thing. But I can’t get down with listening to music that glorifies murder. And I know that if I feel that way. Then other people do too. And that’s just one thing. It all sounds simplistic these days. And it has for a long time. There have been certain creative heights over the last 13 years but the trap beat saturation has tuked supreme, with certain excoetions, Cole, Kendrick, even Drake, Kanye, and others of course. JID is the perfect balance of popular sound but also being authentic, and highly creative, conscious, but also amazing style. But people are exhausted of this popular sound. And the world has changed so much in just the last few years. That people are thirsting for authenticity. And true art. And while it does come through. What rules the chart and is pushed by the internet and labels is just getting played out. People are hurting out here in the world. And getting tired of people glorifying an aspect of that pain. And in hard times. That’s where people crave meaningful art.There’s more to all of it, I know. But I believe this is all a large part of the decline in raps popularity. Not to mention that the younger generation just caring about viral sensations isn’t a recipe for longevity.
This bro. I love rap to death but we literally just making the next murderer on the run famous. Horrible example for our communities. Catch a body then a older homie in your state throws money at your single. You get a bussdown chain and get sent down by jail or the opps…
Thank you guys so much for bringing this up. It has been on my mind for the last week or so after seeing the disappointing and formulaic output from the Hip-hop industry as of late. I am just hoping there will be some kind of turnaround to set things in motion the way it was in 2018 or even 2021
@@FireflameGames fr the SoundCloud was the best, received so much hate but it was so good and unique and brought a new sound into hip hop. Only problem is I feel like no one developed it and most the big artists from then have passed or are like uzi not sticking to their sound
I actually felt a lot of rappers who had the star power and creativity to lead the genre [commercially] in this decade didn’t fully get that chance because they unfortunately died. The three that come to mind are JuiceWrld, Pop Smoke and XXXTentacion 🕊️ I love hiphop, but I'm an R&B fan at heart. R&B heads had to witness our favorite genre take a hit when R&B stars left their sound for EDM in the early 2010s, then the genre got swallowed by trap beats in the late 2010s. Now, nearly 20 years later, R&B is slightly resurrecting itself commercially thanks to hits by SZA, Summer Walker, Steve Lacy, and Giveon in recent years. It's a slow recovery, but it’s inevitable that music trends/genres will have their peaks and valleys. That goes for all genres - including hip hop.
none of these new guys can do 2 important things: 1. Make hits 2. Making a cohesive album with great b sides. Say what you want about drake, but he has so many hits, but he also has so many underrated b sides. (The resistance, Madonna, underground kings, mob ties, all of the time series songs, etc. etc.
GREAT video guys. such an important topic for the genre that gets a lot of negative light but forgets there are still some positives to look forward to. keep it up🔥
The fact that Westside Gunn got that Utopia feature and Drake used a Conductor Williams beat gives me a bit more hope that the underground scene can become mainstream so the meta can change.
@@Lordcabber1 all I’m sayin is watch the jbp. Their the first ones I heard talking about Griselda in late 2019 early 2020. Then I heard burden of proof n rest was history. Think that’s the same time that drake n Benny unreleased track leaked. They been coming, in a weird way. Cus it Feels like they been here for years but they’re fairly new
honestly we’re just in the fast food era of music and everybody eventually just gets tired of being served the same ol thing. while there are many artists that can make a catchy song, theres not a lot of artists that are willing to take the time out to create a timeless record. too many artists just chasing hits, not a lot just doing this for the love of music. a lot of music out sometimes just sounds forced, bunch of people trying too hard to create the next big hit or the next “different” rap album that changes everything. we need to bring the fun back to music, the best music comes from having fun
mainstream rap is lame nowadays, cause it's just supply and demand. back when rap wasn't a pop genre, the top artists had artistic integrity, cause the fans cared about that. now that exists in the underground scene while the mainstream hip hop sound slowly dies
Let's tell Russell Simmons to restart Def Jam and let's have conversations with rappers and singers that want to have something to talk about and focus on reality for once.
I think that the problem with the music industry is that everybody wants to be famous. We all want our music to be liked and enjoyed by multiple people and we want that to the point of even sacrificing our authentic sound just to get an ounce of fame. Everyone is focusing on becoming famous instead of just having fun and making music that you want to make
ive always had these sorts of complaints about mainstream hip hop. There have been times where there's more good then bad but this isnt the first dryspell. ive had to turn to the underground plenty times.
EDM ran its course in the 2010s. If edm is to be back on top it will have to be a different genre within it like House. What is looking like will take over is Afrobeats and Reggaeton (even though Reggaeton itself is something that will go away)
Facts….and it isn’t a horrible thing..Rock is still huge and all the classics still get numbers… From classic rock to pop punk . I think Country is going to become huge.
It’s not just hip hop , nothings the same anymore.. This generation & society now when it comes to Sports , Films , tv shows , music , podcasts etc etc everything is a competition , compared , hated , torn down , stan’s being obsessed. The internet has completely derailed everyone’s attention & own opinions to the point people don’t have their own one anymore. People will hate a sports player because they think they have too , they will hate an album before even listening to it because it might affect their favourite artists numbers or being AOTY. two big movies come out at the same time , they both can’t be great only one & the other is automatically shit. This is not only going to continue but it’s going to get much worse.
I agree with everything you said. Articulated my thoughts perfectly. The need to bandwagon hate is only a small factor. We all have ears and brains and those are enough to realise that the quality of the art is not what it once was. That's the simple reality. There are so many factors at play from instant gratification, oversaturation, Men no longer being ambitious due to lower testosterone levels and free access to pornography which lowers our sex drive and willingness to impress Women. The carnivorous nature of the music industry, people struggling to get by economically, our fast paced world due to social media. Other forms of entertainment such as video games and so on which devalues the need to exert time and energy worrying about mastering things. There's a lot more at play here and it's our own fault. But yes, I agree that things will get much worse than they currently are. And that's not saying much because we're already in a bad place.
100% facts. Everything is getting watered down . Add in these agendas like the feminist girl power stuff , and lgbtq now everything is just trash and unoriginal
The problem is your average listener decides what is "Cool" to listen to and what's "Corny" I've seen lots of people bash plenty of great artists making new, Quality material just because they aren't mainstream or because their fanbase is a certain demographic, As if anything that isn't the normal mainstream trap shit is for "Music nerds" Like its uncool to listen to artists like Denzel, JID, JPEG, Earl & Tyler. I think this is part of why the hip hop scene is kinda stuck rn cause people are afraid of being clowned on for listening to something that isn't as widely known or accepted.
@@efrainmendez2623 Not as much as you'd think my dude, I've been around 3 different dudes at 3 separate occasions at work while they music playing, Oddly enough each one of them had that Cash In Cash Out song on they phone, And all three of them would skip the track whenever Tyler's verse was about to start. I asked them why you skip it, The best part coming up, And each one of them said they just listen for 21, And that Tyler was "Wack" "Corny" And "Gay" Lol not even making this up. When I asked if they'd ever actually heard a Tyler the Creator song, They all said no, And that he made "White people shit" Lol legit everyone I've ever talked to outside the internet has either never heard Tyler, Or basically label him as weirdo shit. Could just be where I live I suppose, Maybe his popularity changes with the region or something lmao cause he is NOT popular in the southern central part of this country lol
Big reason for the decline I think is that artists get signed to majors and pushed way too early in their careers. Labels have become lazy in that they don’t develop artists but chase who ever goes viral from a 30s clip of music from the first song they ever wrote. These artists don’t have the experience or the support to generate more hits but also because they haven’t had to grind on the come up they can’t deal with the inevitable adversity.
Music is a young person’s game, Age 10-25 is where current music is generated. Once your’re older than 25, the new music isn’t just going to hit you the same. At the moment you have to stop critiquing new music and let the current 10-25 year olds drive the new music.
lol I just turned 26 and literally I just stopped feeling the same about rap. I listen to the same artists consistently or I’ll listen to old music or a different genre altogether.
It depends what you consider new music. Guys like Lil Durk and Lil Baby, Moneybagg Yo are older than 25 but their music is considered part of the newer generation of music. Even the problem with 10-25 age rappers is that they don’t look at music as art, they look at it as something to get famous off of. That’s why the quality as lacking now.
@@whatwhat9004 Gunna and Durk are both 30+ and to me It seems like they’re passionate about their music unlike somebody like DaBaby or the rappers 10-25
This is definitely a discussion needed for hip hop because it’s definitely music is changing and the way to marketing hip hop is beyond just a label 🏷️
Also they literally killed ALL of the future Goats, did you miss that part? X? Pop? Juice? Peep? Von? Bro those guys were the next 10 years of music, they killed the next 10 years of music.
Hey guys, love the show! One of the parallel Hiphop scenes that offer musical variety and fresh takes is the African Hip-Hop scene. I'd particularly recommend Jovi LeMonstre from Cameroon. He's got a huge catalogue and amazing projects to sift through. He's a polyglot who produces all of his own music, and he passes the base quality test. I'd recommend his more largely English projects Raps 2 Riches Volume I and Young Vizu Annointed Mboko Supreme. Neither of these are albums but they're great entry point for you guys with respect to language. Check him out and other guys from the African scene, should be a fun musical trip in another area of Hiphop. Keep up the good work!
Drake had Wayne, Cole had Jay-Z, Kendrick had Dre but where is Drake's "Drake", Cole's "Cole" and Kendrick's "Kendrick"? Not sure how much those guys are looking for the next big thing. You need once in a lifetime or at least once in a generation talents to push the genre forward.
I absolutely loved this conversation! I’m an independent artist from Vancouver and I'm on the come up, I really needed to hear this especially the last part! thank you Ant & Luca 🙏❤ you guys are the future of media in Hip-Hop 💪
I honestly think we're in a transitionary period in hip hop rn. The trap genre is getting oversaturated and people crave for something more than just another short term viral tiktok hit. This is a breeding ground for creative and ambitious artists to come from the underground with a new spin and completely change the game and those people will be the industry leaders of tomorrow and they could be right across the street from you or in your city. Quiet times like these usually mean that something huge is coming very soon from somewhere won't expect and i'm all for it.
@@francescoalexgiacalone878I think 2007 is a perfect example Gangsta Rap was dying and Kanye came Graduation and changed the WHOLE game Wayne had a big influence too, making more "pop/rap" hits and paving the way for Drake
Too much auto tune, too much copying, too much of the same subject matter, and too much trendy music but not good meaningful music. Literally I have so much skill and am constantly struggling to get the equipment I need to go up. It sucks when we boost the worst artists who aren’t innovators. My goal is to go up in rapping, and if I do, I’ll come back to this comment section and let y’all know who I am
I think it’s important to note that x and juice, pop were huge in our youth and were supposed to hold if not guide the generation, alll those collabs, albums, experimental stuff we miss on
The main problem with Hip Hop is that most people won’t look beyond what’s happening in the mainstream. While everyone saying the genre is dying in popularity and is struggling to chart, the underground is flourishing and so many classics are coming out. Artists like Mach Hommy, Billy Woods, Elucid, Roc Marci, Westside Gunn, Al.Divino and more are hardly ever mentioned, but there are few of countless artists who are making classic, timeless art in this era
hip hop is, really stagnant rn, the people who were superstars 10 years ago are still the superstars today, the cole, kendricks and drakes and for the genre to regain life, the truly creative groundbreaking artists in the underground scene like earl, jpegmafia, etc to get label support and really grow into superstars slowly without chasing virality, thats what will revive the genre i believe
The next Pick 3 was supposed to be XXXTentacion, Juice Wrld and Pop Smoke. Not saying they were going to be bigger than the hip hop artists we have today, but they were definitely going to be the artist taking the most risks and innovating this genre as well as the artist pulling in large numbers of new fans from outside of traditional hip hop culture. Rest in peace to all of them.
That's what late 2000s rock people said but then the 2010s came and rock was nowhere in the mainstream and put all its focus into new extreme subgenres like djent, which I draw parrels to that new Yeat type stuff (not sonically, just how extreme and non-digestible it is.)
Theres so much medicrity that gets overhyped and its been that way for almost a decade at this point. What was once a relatively innovative genre continues on the same trajectory that made rock music lose their market share. The label push will never happen towards anything that isnt committee based. Its more commerce than artistry and people are getting tired of hearing the same old stuff
They can’t make hit hits like that of a swimming pools, and maad city, or a power trip, over, the motto.. they have to make hits like that to get on the radio. . especially now a days.
@@bezzie7hegenius Denzel Curry has a song called Walkin that fit radio like a glove one of the best hip hop songs I've heard in years radio just ain't play it
@@bezzie7hegeniusjoey badass had TEMPTATION, easily could have been a radio hit. Most hit songs aren’t even liked by the general public. There was a study that was done that basically said the more you hear a song, the more you like it. These corporations shove “hits” down our throat that really aren’t that great and we just assume it’s good. Joey is too conscious for radio. Radio rarely likes a good message.
Before smart phones I would buy albums and listen to the whole thing. I was excited for the experience. Now I just listen to playlists on shuffle… I don’t know what happened to my brain but social media has changed all of us.
Hip hop is in it's hair band phase. Stale and formulaic. The grunge phase is hopefully coming soon. A revert to emotional music that will supercharge the genre.
Any flavor we could want is already out there... I can't see any subgenre of rap that hasn't already, going mainstream. I think music has largely become about "what is everyone else listening to?" and hip-hop has too much diversity to-- in that landscape, survive.
Hip hop isn’t died. The only artist that is releasing is Drake ppl are waiting for him to stop chasing the trend. Travis flopped, Lil Baby, Megan, DaBaby, Cardi B all just chilling and not working hard like 2018-2020.
I think a big issue right now is female rap has taken center stage, and there nothing wrong with that, but all of these female artists come out of nowhere, with major label push. There’s no build up behind them, the content is the same, and it’s not even written by the artists themselves. Like I said there’s nothing wrong with female rappers, Nicki did it with no problem, and she would rap circles around 98% of any male artist she collaborated with. But we saw the grind from the bottom. We knew she wrote her own lyrics. Another issue is the music is just so violent. The ladies are making fun music, it’s just so sexually charged and as a Man U don’t want to be out in public bumpin “my coochie pink my bootyhole brown”. It just is what it is. Afrobeats is taking off because it’s just fun music. Rap hasn’t been fun in a while. And that’s translated over into real life with the deaths of so many artists in such a short amount of time. I know a lot of folks don’t want to become emotionally invested in artists these days because they can be gone at any moment and it hurts to lose an artist that really had an impact on you. What I think is gonna happen is that bars are going to make a comeback. Anybody can be a rapper these days. And any/everyone is trying to harmonize their way into a deal. But it’s gonna come down to who is actually saying something in a way that’s catchy too. It’s gonna go full circle. Algorithms have been killing rap more than they’ve been helping. Part of the allure of hip hop was always discovering artists organically. That was the magic of SoundCloud. Finding an artists through word of mouth or on your own, not because an algorithm showed them to you. All artists these days do is try to cater to an algorithm in order to be seen and they all end up sounding the same because different doesn’t get you visibility/ playlisting. Rap has to go back to its roots to win back over its fans. Other genres of music are just much more appealing and easy on the ears right now
You say there’s nothing wrong with it but they’re not Lauryn Hill, they’re not Eve, they’re not Missy Elliot. Also, not enough female singers like a Mariah, a Amy Winehouse, a Mary J, a Ciara, etc. Artists like Snoh Aalegra, Jorja Smith, Miraa May should be WAY bigger.
Nicki is guilty of doing the same thing they did. Hip Hop was already looking bad in the early 2010's when greats like Nas, Jay-Z, and Em were considered "washed" and were making albums more for hits than anything else. What changed all of that was Kendrick dropping GKMC and us seeing people try to make more thought provoking albums after that. If anything what Hip Hop needs is a new artist similar to Kendrick that instantly becomes well known and blows up by doing something other than making hype music. Promotion does play a part in that and like you said it certainly needs to change and highlight all of hip hop and not just the hype music
@@sosamanotf642I was about to say the same thing bruh. These underground guys are not good either. You check them out and you're just as disappointed. I've seen so many underground rappers say, "I'm going to be the one to save the music industry" and I go on to listen to their music and it's the lowest common denominator type of music. The same guys who idolise Uzi, Carti and Ken Carson and rage at their festivals, are the same guys telling us underground music is thriving
Rap really hit its stride from 2004 to 2014. Around 2014, every beat started to sound the same and every rapper started to sound the same. And no one has actual bars.
Man. If at least 1 person would give me a listen .. I'd say hip hop is in great hands. Just need the exposure honestly. Nowadays everything is money, folks don't care about talent in mainstream hip hop.
Imo as a pretty young listener to hiphop ever since 2016, I feel like there's mainly 2 reasons on why mainstream hiphop has been on a decline for the past couple of years. 1. Sound. Trap is tired and people are tired of hearing the same kind of beats and instrumentals and rapping styles. 2. Substance. The things people talk about in most rap songs nowadays are too redundant and boring, and also not relatable like the ultra violance in drill music. Just my two cents tho
I kinda hope the genre levels out because it’s sooo bloated and all over the place. Hiphop50 united the genre but one thing that hasn’t changed is that the FANS DECIDE WHOS ON TOP. Social media also destroys an artists mental when it comes to creating a piece of music. Sure hip hop outlets review all these albums/singles, but what they post is the sales and not what said album/single provides to the genre.
On the topic of social media, I think they'd feel better if they tried something new, stood 10 toes down on it, & got hate for it than to feel like the music ain't all that but the label telling u its a hit, or the yes-men in ur crew telling u its fire then getting sh*tted on on Twitter knowing u shouldn't have dropped this BS 😂 now u gotta push, promote, n perform these weak songs to convince everyone else its better than what it is
What i really miss is a top 3 kinda like 2010 when drake, kendrick, and j cole. They dint have that today and its because we have technology an shit and social media
I would add Mac Miller to that list. Even though he was older than the ones you mentioned, he perfectly fit into the more melodic approach the genre has taken. Rip Mac
@@marsianBOK agreed, I just think Mac was already such a staple in rap. I think we were yet so see the best of some of these kids we lost. Definitely robbed of plenty of great Mac Miller music as well. He was reaching his peak.
IMO Hip Hop isn't the same due to not only the LACK of substance, (bc the older club listens to HIP HOP, while the younger club listens to RAP. Know the DIFFERENCE) but this new generation of kids & youth have a shorter attention apans. They live for TRENDS, SOCIAL MEDIA, CLOUT. So therefore there's no LOYAL FANBASE BUILT anymore, like back in the day. With the Pac's, Biggie's, Kendrick's, J.Cole's, & Drake's. After them, it's literally been like FAST FOOD RAP. What's good in the moment.
we’re in a rap ragnorok, a dry period where rappers are struggling and falling off, in order to determine who will last, adapt and actually be big artists to stay in the coming years. I assume after this year the landscape will have changed drastically, and we won’t have a dry spell in terms of quality
In my opinion I’m glad this is happening because eventually either the music industry would loosen the grip on hip hop as a whole and then have actual hip hop artist take over the narrative as it should instead of them selling an exaggerated image back to the people who created it. I see more diversification it might not be the most popular genre after this but let’s keep it real long as it’s black it will be profitable but then they(music industry) would then have to barter and be equitable. So this will be an interesting ride I’m excited to see where this goes
