Everything has its cycles; rap music is no different. Over the past few years, sales in mainstream rap music have taken a dip, as artists struggle to strike gold on the Billboard charts. In 2023, rap music failed to chart a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 until Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” while Lil Uzi Vert’s “Pink Tape” became the first album on the Billboard 200.
In the following years, we’ve seen a general disinterest in mainstream rap overall. Albums aren’t moving the needle and have become formulaic in style, sales have seen a decline and ticket sales are stagnant or not selling at all, while rap stars of our time and past decades are aging out of their prime while trying to maintain dominance in a market that isn’t interested anymore.Instead of making cohesive bodies of work, mainstream acts such as Young Thug, Drake and even Travis Scott trade their creativity for top-charting singles that manage to fall from the charts quicker than they rose, putting a stain in listeners’ ears..
Though mainstream rap is dying, the art of rap isn’t. Hip-hop itself is only 55 years old, how could it be dead? If anything, it's blossoming. In just half this decade alone, you can highlight several different movements across the rap landscape. Here’s a few examples:
Playboi Carti’s cultural currency is finally starting to pay off
Since his days as a SoundCloud virtuoso, Playboi Carti has silently carved a cult fanbase within the rap industry. Rappers want to sound like him, while fans want to get a hold of his every move. Carti’s unique ability to turn repetitive, sometimes obnoxious mantras into a mood setter, combined with his varied delivery — he’s used 5 different voices across 4 projects — created an unstoppable beast who’s able to reinvent himself on any track. His third studio album “MUSIC” — released this March — strings together his strengths and weaknesses for a lawless victory lap of a decade-long tenure. His influence has no bounds, from music all the way to fashion. Artists such as Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely, who are signed to his Opium imprint, are carrying the torch for the future of Atlanta rap, while Che and OsamaSon are breaking the mold of rage rap, pushing it to its limits.
Regional rap is alive and well
Rap has taken various forms. In these live soundscapes true to regions and locations, highlighting the unique edge an area has to offer. In the 90s, it was California G-funk, the aughts gave us Houston’s chopped and screwed while Chicago drill caught heat in the 2010s. Now that mainstream rap’s homogenous sound looks to implode, there’s been a deeper dive into local rap scenes across the country.
Take a peek into Ohio, where rappers such as Mg Sleepy, 10TA Lil A and Tse Vic punch-in cutthroat rhymes over bass heavy production. It is the ultimate ‘get money’ music. Raps are served on dirty platters that display the grit of their city of Columbus.
Head over east and you’ll find yourself in Philadelphia, where Skrilla’s off-kilter, zombified raps detail street life. Within the same vicinity lies slayr, the rising talent whose operatic melodies transcend rap into Anime level theatrics.
Even in Buffalo, you can hear great underground talent. Hailing from the East Side, Urth Nose’s hazy heartfelt songs feel like diary entries, with his breezy production coated in vulnerability. Kane Wave’s bravado driven R&B borders between sweet and sour, as wavy production helps him glide in style.
The new stars of U.K. rap
In August, South London producer afrosurrealist released his debut album “BUYBRITISH,” a fusion of traditional U.K. grime with hints of African bounce. The release fully ushered in a new wave of U.K. rap artists who are cementing themselves in Britain’s rap lineage. Following the footsteps of artists like Skepta and Lancey Foux, it’s only a matter of time until they’ve successfully leaped across the pond and made mainstream airwaves in the U.S. While rising star fakemink seems to have the hearts of America’s rap darlings such as Frank Ocean and Yeat, that’s just scratching the surface for most listeners.
Check for artists such as Fimiguerrero, who blends his Nigerian heritage with fuzzy grime production, Ceebo, a natural orator on the mic who details the complexities of Britain's street life and N4T’s rushing Ghanaian music is refreshing to the ear. Other artists such as YT and kwes e have revived Speaker Knockerz’s melodic swag raps for their own splendor. The most underrated talent though is Chy Cartier, the heiress of grime who graces the mic with wit, elegance and a whole lot of bravado.
The future of rap consumerism
If you’ve managed to read this far, you should have a better understanding of the cultural climate in rap today. While this is only the surface, there’s plenty of underground and underrepresented scenes that are all over the internet. Looking past the mainstream is easy when you allow yourself to discover new music. And honestly, it doesn’t have to be fresh releases. New music can be songs from previous decades you’ve never heard before.
Because of streaming, we’ve become too reliant on platforms such as Spotify to aid our listening, rather than discovering our own taste. It doesn’t help that major record labels haven’t done a better job in bringing new stars to light, opting to cycle through short lived acts with zero artist development. The TikTok-ification of the music industry has harmed every aspect of music as we know it, and as consumers, it’s up to us to drive traction and popularity to music we like, especially in these newfound rap scenes of today.
The arts desk can be reached at arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
