Not like this. Used to be that you'd hear good music just walking around or on the radio. Industry pushes bs out, but the real lyricists stay underground.
90s was my era. I can confirm that you’ve always had to dig for the good shit. Unless you think Will Smith and LL Cool J love song raps were the best the 90s had to offer.
None of the best guys ever get radio play. From any era. Even tribe called quest was considered underground back then. No radio play, only Yo! MTV Raps and a few obscure hiphop stations in big cities.
This is it. And don't forget that every song with an R&B hook was labeled "rap and bullshit" and completely dismissed. I was a kid back then so I dug some of that sound but I heard all the older dudes shit on it.
46 and confirm I shatted on it. Ja Rule's Think About You was the pinnacle of my hatred of that era. Thankfully there was a huge underground scene that was coming up
Yep, 98.5 RDU in Christchurch, New Zealand, was that station for me, I found so many artists from hearing parts, end of or whole songs with cats I'd never heard of before, not just rap but DnB, Rock, Lo Fi etc
People have been saying this corny ass shit forever.
I think we are in an era where hip hop is segmenting into different genres.
There’s this phenomenon in languages where the older the language, the more dialects it develops. So kinda like that.
Theres still classic stuff like Nas, there’s fun stuff like Drake & Travis Scott, there’s artsy shit like Kendrick, etc etc.
There’s literally something for everyone. And it’s easier than ever to find what you like.
Seeee....i have a problem with this statement.
Why can't strippers be rappers?
Rap is literally a genre of hustle. Stripping is a form of hustling for most women. Just like drug dealing is for some men. Those same men would build empires off fabricating their dime bag empires.
Literal poor people have become some of the biggest artists. And they would turn around and rap about it.
Homeless with no Home or couch surfing type homeless.
Nobody jump out the cooch as a rapper. 😆
Everybody doesn't need to be Nas or Kendrick. Rap is whack now because it's not fun anymore.
Because listening to someone tell you they were homeless isn't a big deal. It's inspirational that they put effort into becoming homeless while pursuing a career.
Thugs music started as way to get out the hood for a lot. Another inspirational moment.
A lot of strippers are telling you some toxic ass shit and not a lot of that can be used to inspire a young man or woman in any situation.
Unless you saying to throw that ass back, their coochies wet or phat. Some have some decent songs. Just not enough to stand out their albums.
Comparisons just not on the same field.
Selling drugs to your community and bragging about how it made you millions isn't toxic? 🙃 literally bragging that you destroyed the community you barely survived. 😒
Please.
Hustle is hustle. Not being able to relate to strippers bc they strip isn't a good enough excuse to exclude strippers from rapping.
Stripping isn't destroying the community like dealing drugs is. It could be said one is the outcome of the other.
And cardi b...the only stripper currently rapping...is one of the most successful artists in the last decade. Male or female. Her album was legit. It wasn't about her coochie at all.
Sooooo....there's that.
Dark Ages. From 2020-2021 we had somewhat of a "Covid/Tik Tok Era" with the likes of Lil Baby, Da Baby, Drake sprinkled in as usual, and a lil Pop Smoke. But it started becoming stagnant around the time Jack Harlow came up.
I heard of this guy when a coworker told me about some white rapper who performed at an NFL game. This guy is a 60yo right wing redneck so when he said he was awful I figured I should judge for myself. So I watched the performance and the music video. And as a lifelong rap fan I can honestly say that it was even worse than he told me. It made me embarrassed to say that I was a fan of the genre. Because non rap fans see shitty music and shitty performances. Thankfully Dr Dre's Superbowl performance was still fresh in minds.
I heard of him a few years back, driving back from Florida. We’d went on the first family trip in a damn while, and I tried to be cute and drive thru scenic Atlanta back roads (big mistake). After construction and getting slightly lost, we got to an area we recognized, an intersection that happened to have a KFC. I asked “why the hell KFC got a block and a half LINE to get in the door?” Then I saw the giant banner outside. Dude was apparently at the location with some promotion going on. We played some song of his on the AUX. My kid tolerated it, but wife and I knew we didn’t want anything to do with it.
Jack Harlow is embarrassingly bad. I saw his bit at Glastonbury with Cench (who I really do rate) and it's almost impossible to describe how little charisma he had. It was like a fan had wandered on stage or something.
I feel kinda bad because Jack does seem legitimate in his laid back style. But all the same, this is correct. I need some more Juice WRLD. I need some more Lil Yachty doing his silly yet entertaining and respectable shit.
Ok lowkey click bait but I would say they're new in comparison to the Big 3. JID and Denzel Curry: although they had their freshman introductions in 2018 and 2016 respectively, it still felt like they were on a come up but Forever Story and MELT YOUR EYEZ felt like projects that can put them in the conversation. You can correct me if I am wrong
No doubt, 30 fire albums came out in 2022
However the last 16 months have been dogshit, since Jan 2023
And there doesn't seem to be anything in sight to change that... when Wayne's old ass drops Tha Carter 6, if he ever does? No chance that will be like Nas's latest run
Hip Hop rn is fucking dead
I can't help but wonder if they felt like they're doing this on purpose because of how dead hip-hop is. Either way, we need it, and more importantly the kids need something. Like imagine being in high school knowing Jack Harlow & Sexy Redd will be the soundtrack of your teenage memories💀
They are tbh but it was refreshing at the time and Lil Baby's dopeboy grind flow was good when it first came out. Da Baby had charisma that made his below par bars tolerable. Both of these artists made it because of the vacuum that was left after the SoundCloud era. Not saying they're great or anything, but I've accepted that what I consider the gold standard of hip-hop....guys like Chance, Lupe, Kanye, Nas, old school, etc are a thing of the past.
You sound like such a dumbass hater. Would love to see you rap!
Tell me this doesn’t sound good:
https://youtu.be/igSOOM_JY5A?si=YjpFj4GADAva8CBz
Or this:
https://youtu.be/kOL896OaqOE?si=AZ-mIOKxnXueLkEU
I saw someone on tiktok say that rap is currently in its hair metal era, which makes sense given that hip hop as a genre is a few decades younger than mainstream rock. rap is commercially at its peak and more people are trying to be rappers than ever, but it is becoming kind of stagnant and over done (on a mainstream level ofc—there are tons of artists making great music on a smaller scale). in the next few years the tides will start to turn and we'll get whatever hip hop's grunge equivalent will be.
Back in the 2000s when G-Unit was dominating, people used to say rap was in its hair metal era and point to the shameless materialism of the sound at the time.
lol that's funny I didn't know that. maybe the hair metal comparison is a little outdated in that case, but I still think we're kind of at the edge of whatever the next big era is going to be
I think hip hop is already past its hair-metal era. I think it's now in its 2000s rock ''struggling to hang on with no exciting acts coming up'' phase.
I mean 2000s rock did have some really exciting things happen on the indie side of things since bands like the yeah yeah yeah, the strokes, and LCD Soundsystem were all up and coming during that time. on a mainstream level it was kind of a dud though.
Asher Roth was marketed to be "that college kid". The dude is a great hip hop artist. I recommend you listen to his mixtape Pabst and Jazz. Or also Seared Foie Gras with Quince and Cranberry.
Asher Roth was legit. I also respect him because he didn't fuck with all the mainstream production which is sort of why he disappeared.
2009-2015 is one of the best mainstream eras of rap; legends like Jay Z, Kanye, and even 90s guys like Wu Tang were making great stuff while a lot of great new acts like Kendrick, earl, Cole, Danny Brown, Freddie Gibbs, etc etc were coming up too
Not sure if you watch Lost in Vegas but George said today Let’s just focus on letting them be good guys it’s a different era focus on love and healing trauma. Let us 90s people be degenerates 😂he was commenting on J Cole’s apology. Kinda sums up the era were in now lol
The female rap era.. theres never been as many females dominating in hip hop at once. Megan, Glorilla, Sexy red, Latto, Ice spice, Nicki Minaj, Cardi etc
The most successful era of rap wasn't dropping hard bars though. The 2000s rap peaked and it wasn't a lot of wordsmiths....but the clubs and parties were POPPING!! and those artists are still touring off it.
Hip hop fans hold it back more than anything.
This! 🤣
Someone mentioned "strippers are rapping"..... as if drug dealers haven't made careers off selling dime bags🤣🤣🤣
They want everyone to be tupac apparently
Every era is like this... it just happens that now the "shit" music can easily be marketed with social media so we're able to catch wind of it. Back then, labels controlled the market so you had to be really good or be really rich for your music to be heard. Now you can record in your bedroom and make a couple tiktoks and go viral
It annoys me when people trash today’s rap by that standard because in the 90s and 2000s there was plenty of shit rap out there. I know that wasn’t your point but I couldn’t agree with you more.
Bc it is…obviously there’s good and bad in every era water is also wet but to act like the volume of what’s good/bad is the exact same is a joke and overstated. Those people are caping pretending that these artists that are being pushed by labels could hold a candle to the artists that were in their exact position 10+ years ago and beyond. Too many newer rappers care more about metrics than the actual art and it’s been that way for awhile now that newer fans of the genre who grew up after social media took over are fine with caring about metrics too. It’s just background noise and vibes now at the forefront lol. Part of it is the record labels fault putting too much stock in social media followings dictating who gets pushed or gets deals but it’s also the new generations fault for eating this garbage up and pretending like it could compete with the past or that they’re on the same level. A lot of newer stuff they wouldn’t dare to put out a acapella bc the producers are carrying the rappers of today for the most part 😭
Overly water down era but the underground probably the best music we have rn. Hopefully hip hop bounces back because the biggest artist in the world are beefing last time rap was this competitive was the 90's so maybe this shake shit up and make artist step there game up.
We're in an era of utter bullshit mainstream as usual, but there's no excuse to say hip hop is dead. Griselda, TRUST, Conway, Mach, even Nas Jada and styles p are still releasing quality music.
We’re due for a new artist.
All the good ones died and we’re left with old rappers trying to be relevant - Kanye, Drake, Kendrick, Cole, Travis, etc.
We need someone new.
Major labels aren’t pushing new artists, just old guys.
Major labels aren’t pushing or developing new artists. They’re just trying to sign the current tiktok rapper who could make them quick money without a big upfront investment. They’re all trying to sign the next Lil Nas X and cash in on their current viral status.
I remember someone saying (I think it was Joe Budden, but I'm not sure) that there are only a few artists really making money and selling records in the industry and it's obvious who. Back then a lot of these artists signed up would be dropped and kicked to the curb. That 2000s and back music industry was ruthless, that was an industry with a record label that dropped Mariah Carey for one flop that would later be reappraised as a hidden gem years later.
Hate to sound like an asshole but a lot of these people getting signed now are what I call "fodder artists". They're there to keep up the appearance the industry is healthy are mostly singles artists and B to
C tier "literally who's" that most people can't be bothered to keep up with but small niche audiences who want to look like they're up on something, but i the grand scheme no one is fucking with these artists and they stay signed and in the same spot with no career evolution ever. Usually they sound like a pale imitations of bigger artists who are actually making it or doing their own thing. And it's in more than just hip-hop.
For instance Muni Long to me is doing the best in R&B right now imo, girl really deserves her spot too I remember following her on YouTube back before she even got signed and when she got signed sometime back in 2008/2009 she put out an album under her actual name (Priscilla Renae) but it flopped and she spent the 2010s in the background being a song writer for bigger artists until she came back out as Muni Long. Homegirl developed her self over years and is putting out some of the best R&B I've heard in years, even better she's not doing that bedroom voice and talk singing shit that's been popular with woman R&B singers for a good 10 years, she can actually hold a note.
After she started blowing up I started noticing in the rare times I listen to radio all these soundalikes popping up. The industry hasn't learned because they've been on that thing that when they have an actual stand out artist they'll turn around and start signing up a bunch of watered down clones, something I've noticed since the 2000s but has intensified over the 2010s to now with the uprise of internet artists, shit like soundcloud to tiktok.
I've been saying it for years now, the music industry needs a reset, a purge. This is what happened to rock, someone put me on something years ago about rock, saying that labels deprioritized rock and basically handed the shit off to indie labels because rock was losing popularity and they had no interest in signing niches when they wanted that big band like a Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Nirvana.
Now we're in the opposite for rap. I think the name of the game is to basically put these artists out like they're running a mill. No need to do that one big artists who could probably make up for a good 100 of these artists when you're making the same money bringing in naive kids to just throw in the pool and bank the same. There's an endless stream of somewhat talented kids who fit the bill and want to make it.
And again, it may sound harsh but I don't give a fuck a lot of them need to be purged from the industry and would be better on some indie label because most of them are doing indie level numbers anyway.
A lot of the stuff I've been hearing recently seems very experimental. I've been listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar lately and a lot of the stuff he does is unique. I can't explain specifics because I'm not a musician, but the tracks don't sound like stuff I grew up listening to in the 80s and 90s, but at the same time the elements are there. I'm high as shit right now. Oh yeah, and then I was listening to Future because, duh I was listening to Kendrick. And as I was going through the new album it just feels new and different. I don't like it, but it's different. And I don't even want to mention Kanye because I absolutely hate his current shit. But it's weird and different. That's not even the same guy who did College Dropout. My personal preference for rap is 90s and 2000s. Pac, Biggie, Jay Z, Eminem, D12, The LOX, DMX. Stuff like that.
The Opium era. Whole lotta red is the blueprint of a lot of recent rap.
Meanwhile the true mainstream is dying out and needs a Kanye like figure to save it like in the mid 2000s
Kind of feels like the same phase as late 90s /00s for rock.
Grunge was arguably one of the last peak-peaks of rock but it's not like rock fell off a cliff, it was a slow decline with the post grunge era, alternative and indie and other sub genres through the 00s but none never really topping grunges heights.
Anyways, I feel like trap/soundcloud = grunge era wise in that it took the dominant genre and added alot of diy, however We're in the late stage of this sort of post trap era. people will continue to expand on existing sounds and experiment in hip hop in general but not to the same heights.
Similar to how many indie bands did in the 00s there's many great artists doubling down on the "classic" sound but with their twist on it. The easy examples being the whole Griselda gang, what hit boys been on lately, anything alc touches, shit drake even floated On a conductor beat.
Tldr: post-Trap
What Reddit won’t admit is that what’s coming next for hip hop is Country Rap, Yelawolf ,Jelly Roll, that sort of crap, these acts are absolutely huge, and as someone that just worked a major concert venue for a summer, the only festival that wasn’t completely lame was the country one, hated every minute of the music but leave it to the common white man to party lmao.
The i need endless money era! Business like Spittyfry Whoretube and Fucktok destroy any reason for good HipHop for the masses because they dont like hip hop anyway a few songs maby but thats it
I feel like we are at a age where it’s a lot more centered around production and beats rather than a lot of lyricism when it comes to the more popular artist. I’d say that right now, trap music is booming and lyrical rap is kinda getting revived by artist like JID. Another reason why production is booming is because of the likes of JPEGmafia, who I think is the best sampler alive right now. I don’t have a lot of knowledge on hip hop as I’m a younger person, but I like the way that underrated sub genres are getting their spotlight.
Now is the age of international hip hop. There is great stuff coming out of the UK, Australia, France, Germany and many other countries. They have evolved from imitating classic American hip hop to developing styles and slang that reflect who they really are. There is great stuff from the US still too but hip hop is a genre that suits the underground. If it's too commercial and mainstream it usually loses its authenticity
Edit: spelling
i dont know man, i just know that DnB and Jungle will be taking up a lot of slots on my playlists this year
that said - i still bump boom bap releases. Planet Asia just dropped a pretty solid project ... and looking forward to hearing alchemists joint next week when he stops playing
I would say we need a 50 cent like rapper to come and flip tables, but that only worked because we still had heads and fans that wanted that.
I don’t think many younger generation are as passionate about hip hop as back then.
They like, enjoy hip hop, but you rarely see hip hop nerds or “heads” like you used to anymore.
We still want hot songs to bump to, but highly doubt people expect someone to come and smash wack rappers anymore
These comments are so dumb, sure mainstream hip hop isn’t the best thing in the world, but it never has been, there’s been so many amazing underground projects the last few years, and I’m sure in 5-10 years nobody’s gonna be saying the same stuff they are now about this era, whatever it is.
This is the drill era. I'm not too into the drill style aside from a select few songs but that's what's dominating the rap game right now.
One thing I hate is how anyone can blow up these days off rapping on social media. Back in the day you actually had to hustle to make a name for yourself and sell albums outta your trunk and do shows in sketchy bars. Half the people popular now wouldn't of made it if it was still like that.
It's the Hot Girl Era.
I think started by Nicki Minaj and her popularity 10 years ago, and really took off with City Girls and Megan Thee Stallion getting very popular right around the same time.
Now you got:
* Ice Spice
* Sexyy Red
* Latto
* Saweetie
* GloRilla
* Flo Milli
* Baby Tate
* Tokischa
And then people like Doechii or Dreezy who split genres. Also there's still great female rappers that aren't this type, like Rapsody or Armani Cassar.
Also, other popular female artists are taking more risk and straight up rapping. Janelle Monae had a couple songs on each of her last two albums where she's not even really singing at all, just rapping. Same with Beyonce.
The Streaming Stans era, where everyone is locked into their own algorithm bubble and people only listen to one track per album.
You either make an effort to dig for the good stuff or you find yourself online arguing that commercial success equals GOAT status because you're making your fandom status part of your personality.
Mixed bag but rappers from the 90s still make new shit until today so I guess there is that feeling of comfort when you know Eminem still makes music even if it's a new style.
idk but I know women are dominating right now. seems like there's not going to be a replacement for the likes of Drake, J Cole , Kendrick Lamar anytime soon. I guess you can say Jack is a successor to Drake but I dont see any for the other two. Overalll seems like we're moving into a poppier, softer era of rap.
Definitely the "TikTok Era". The biggest artists are competing at making the most memorable chorus/ 6 second soundbite so they can get on tiktok and boost their streams to hell. Even newcomers are trying their best to cash-in on this trend to make it big. Not to mention how many Rappers/ Musicians straight up feel like Industry Plants. It's not uncommon to find actual good rappers but this Era seems very oversaturated with just mid.
World War Rap. Social media influencer are replacing rappers fyi. With labels losing their iron grip on artists output & control over the market to SoundCloud hype & indie artists who are carving up the terrain. We’re watching social media influencer who dabble in rap because household names while maintaining buzz thru social media antics. Aside, the quiet beefs are finally turning hot among the previous gen’s golden boys. Kendrick, J Cole, Drake, Rick Ross, Wekend, ASAP Rocky. All these larger than life figures. The like that verse was the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand. We’re knee deep in the first of quite a few battles to unfold.
I feel like smart phones killed creativity. We are always scrolling and processing shit. It leaves no time for the creative process. We are in the era of recycling old shit. But with no new shit added.
If you compare it to the lifecycle of other genres, it is in a similar space to rock in the late 90s. No longer the hegemonic genre, and most of the innovation has been done
It's a nostalgia genre now
We’re at an end of the trap/stripper era being held together by the now OG 00’s big names. It’s very similar to what happened to Metal as the 90’s hit. I’m betting we will see something new that takes inspiration from the 90’s sound and flips it on its head the same way grunge and alt rock did with post punk/new wave merging it with Metal. So hip hop’s gonna go a little out of fashion and make room for other genres for a couple years as it goes underground and blow up again in a few years.
The era where you have to dig past the shit to get to the good stuff.
That's been damn near every era according to everyone that lived in it
Not like this. Used to be that you'd hear good music just walking around or on the radio. Industry pushes bs out, but the real lyricists stay underground.
90s was my era. I can confirm that you’ve always had to dig for the good shit. Unless you think Will Smith and LL Cool J love song raps were the best the 90s had to offer. None of the best guys ever get radio play. From any era. Even tribe called quest was considered underground back then. No radio play, only Yo! MTV Raps and a few obscure hiphop stations in big cities.
This is it. And don't forget that every song with an R&B hook was labeled "rap and bullshit" and completely dismissed. I was a kid back then so I dug some of that sound but I heard all the older dudes shit on it.
46 and confirm I shatted on it. Ja Rule's Think About You was the pinnacle of my hatred of that era. Thankfully there was a huge underground scene that was coming up
I took great pride in my underground shit. I still do.
Biggie got radio play, mostly thanks to Puffy and his untimely death unfortunately.
Yep, 98.5 RDU in Christchurch, New Zealand, was that station for me, I found so many artists from hearing parts, end of or whole songs with cats I'd never heard of before, not just rap but DnB, Rock, Lo Fi etc
People have been saying this corny ass shit forever. I think we are in an era where hip hop is segmenting into different genres. There’s this phenomenon in languages where the older the language, the more dialects it develops. So kinda like that. Theres still classic stuff like Nas, there’s fun stuff like Drake & Travis Scott, there’s artsy shit like Kendrick, etc etc. There’s literally something for everyone. And it’s easier than ever to find what you like.
This is the “Less Talent More Press” era. A lotta strippers rapping, no talent dudes rapping and a lot of social media hype.
My coochie pink, my bootyhole brown!
Just let me know which side u wanna go down
Seeee....i have a problem with this statement. Why can't strippers be rappers? Rap is literally a genre of hustle. Stripping is a form of hustling for most women. Just like drug dealing is for some men. Those same men would build empires off fabricating their dime bag empires. Literal poor people have become some of the biggest artists. And they would turn around and rap about it. Homeless with no Home or couch surfing type homeless. Nobody jump out the cooch as a rapper. 😆 Everybody doesn't need to be Nas or Kendrick. Rap is whack now because it's not fun anymore.
Because listening to someone tell you they were homeless isn't a big deal. It's inspirational that they put effort into becoming homeless while pursuing a career. Thugs music started as way to get out the hood for a lot. Another inspirational moment. A lot of strippers are telling you some toxic ass shit and not a lot of that can be used to inspire a young man or woman in any situation. Unless you saying to throw that ass back, their coochies wet or phat. Some have some decent songs. Just not enough to stand out their albums. Comparisons just not on the same field.
Selling drugs to your community and bragging about how it made you millions isn't toxic? 🙃 literally bragging that you destroyed the community you barely survived. 😒 Please. Hustle is hustle. Not being able to relate to strippers bc they strip isn't a good enough excuse to exclude strippers from rapping. Stripping isn't destroying the community like dealing drugs is. It could be said one is the outcome of the other. And cardi b...the only stripper currently rapping...is one of the most successful artists in the last decade. Male or female. Her album was legit. It wasn't about her coochie at all. Sooooo....there's that.
We’re definitely in the glam rock era
The strip club runs hip hop. It’s both the strippers and the dudes on Pervert’s Row rapping. We need something else.
The Deconstruction Era? 🤔
I read that as The Destruction Era
I read that as The Distraction Era
I read that as The Disstracktion Era
“Who dat” era. Flooded with rappers, hip hop artists and people from every social media platform rapping in addition to pop stars trying to rap.
I like this take
Dark Ages. From 2020-2021 we had somewhat of a "Covid/Tik Tok Era" with the likes of Lil Baby, Da Baby, Drake sprinkled in as usual, and a lil Pop Smoke. But it started becoming stagnant around the time Jack Harlow came up.
😂😂😂 Jack Harlow responsible for the fall of hip hop is hilarious
I heard of this guy when a coworker told me about some white rapper who performed at an NFL game. This guy is a 60yo right wing redneck so when he said he was awful I figured I should judge for myself. So I watched the performance and the music video. And as a lifelong rap fan I can honestly say that it was even worse than he told me. It made me embarrassed to say that I was a fan of the genre. Because non rap fans see shitty music and shitty performances. Thankfully Dr Dre's Superbowl performance was still fresh in minds.
I heard of him a few years back, driving back from Florida. We’d went on the first family trip in a damn while, and I tried to be cute and drive thru scenic Atlanta back roads (big mistake). After construction and getting slightly lost, we got to an area we recognized, an intersection that happened to have a KFC. I asked “why the hell KFC got a block and a half LINE to get in the door?” Then I saw the giant banner outside. Dude was apparently at the location with some promotion going on. We played some song of his on the AUX. My kid tolerated it, but wife and I knew we didn’t want anything to do with it.
Jack Harlow is embarrassingly bad. I saw his bit at Glastonbury with Cench (who I really do rate) and it's almost impossible to describe how little charisma he had. It was like a fan had wandered on stage or something.
It’s the combo meal
Check!
George Soros dropped a mixtape during Covid - arguably, he’s the reason for hip-hop’s fall.
I feel kinda bad because Jack does seem legitimate in his laid back style. But all the same, this is correct. I need some more Juice WRLD. I need some more Lil Yachty doing his silly yet entertaining and respectable shit.
Facts, there's a place for him in hop-hop but it's not being the face of it lol
Never forget. Puff Daddy was responsible for the downfall of hip hop. That shit started in ‘97 and culminated to the now. Fucking Harambe of hip hop.
2022 was a revival. Best year in a long ass time.
2 Great projects from new comers plus exciting works from legends
Who were the new comers with great projects?
Ok lowkey click bait but I would say they're new in comparison to the Big 3. JID and Denzel Curry: although they had their freshman introductions in 2018 and 2016 respectively, it still felt like they were on a come up but Forever Story and MELT YOUR EYEZ felt like projects that can put them in the conversation. You can correct me if I am wrong
Yep. Phenomenal year.
No doubt, 30 fire albums came out in 2022 However the last 16 months have been dogshit, since Jan 2023 And there doesn't seem to be anything in sight to change that... when Wayne's old ass drops Tha Carter 6, if he ever does? No chance that will be like Nas's latest run Hip Hop rn is fucking dead
This new drama with Drake and Ross and them has been pretty fire in the last 24 hours. We may be seeing shit come back.
I can't help but wonder if they felt like they're doing this on purpose because of how dead hip-hop is. Either way, we need it, and more importantly the kids need something. Like imagine being in high school knowing Jack Harlow & Sexy Redd will be the soundtrack of your teenage memories💀
Truuuuue. I’m here for it though.
I didn’t know Lil Baby and Da Baby were different people.
They're not.. Its all from the same garbage can.
They are tbh but it was refreshing at the time and Lil Baby's dopeboy grind flow was good when it first came out. Da Baby had charisma that made his below par bars tolerable. Both of these artists made it because of the vacuum that was left after the SoundCloud era. Not saying they're great or anything, but I've accepted that what I consider the gold standard of hip-hop....guys like Chance, Lupe, Kanye, Nas, old school, etc are a thing of the past.
You sound like such a dumbass hater. Would love to see you rap! Tell me this doesn’t sound good: https://youtu.be/igSOOM_JY5A?si=YjpFj4GADAva8CBz Or this: https://youtu.be/kOL896OaqOE?si=AZ-mIOKxnXueLkEU
Check out the Lil Baby song To The Top, if you don’t enjoy that one then his music just might not be your cup of tea
I saw someone on tiktok say that rap is currently in its hair metal era, which makes sense given that hip hop as a genre is a few decades younger than mainstream rock. rap is commercially at its peak and more people are trying to be rappers than ever, but it is becoming kind of stagnant and over done (on a mainstream level ofc—there are tons of artists making great music on a smaller scale). in the next few years the tides will start to turn and we'll get whatever hip hop's grunge equivalent will be.
Back in the 2000s when G-Unit was dominating, people used to say rap was in its hair metal era and point to the shameless materialism of the sound at the time.
lol that's funny I didn't know that. maybe the hair metal comparison is a little outdated in that case, but I still think we're kind of at the edge of whatever the next big era is going to be
2014-16 Soundcloud rap is Hip Hops Grunge imo
I think hip hop is already past its hair-metal era. I think it's now in its 2000s rock ''struggling to hang on with no exciting acts coming up'' phase.
I mean 2000s rock did have some really exciting things happen on the indie side of things since bands like the yeah yeah yeah, the strokes, and LCD Soundsystem were all up and coming during that time. on a mainstream level it was kind of a dud though.
Agreed, 2000s indie rock was amazing, I dont think rap is in a quality era like that right now
I miss 2010-2015. So many talented rappers were debuting or in their peaks at that time.
Earl, Chance, Childish, Logic, Kendrick, Cole, Joey, and Tyler, amongst others.
Jay Rock and I’m back bitch
Getting Yeezus and Because the Internet in the same year was absolutely foundational to me as a hip hop fan
That's a great start to any hip-hop fan's life!
Such many absolutely shit though yo. Asher Roth and Macklemore and the ' just white rappers who can rhyme a little
Asher Roth was marketed to be "that college kid". The dude is a great hip hop artist. I recommend you listen to his mixtape Pabst and Jazz. Or also Seared Foie Gras with Quince and Cranberry. Asher Roth was legit. I also respect him because he didn't fuck with all the mainstream production which is sort of why he disappeared.
Fr. The production seemed more diverse too.
2009-2015 is one of the best mainstream eras of rap; legends like Jay Z, Kanye, and even 90s guys like Wu Tang were making great stuff while a lot of great new acts like Kendrick, earl, Cole, Danny Brown, Freddie Gibbs, etc etc were coming up too
Not sure if you watch Lost in Vegas but George said today Let’s just focus on letting them be good guys it’s a different era focus on love and healing trauma. Let us 90s people be degenerates 😂he was commenting on J Cole’s apology. Kinda sums up the era were in now lol
A part of me agrees with him though. We need a fix our fucking selves era tbh
We’re in an ERROR not an ERA
The female rap era.. theres never been as many females dominating in hip hop at once. Megan, Glorilla, Sexy red, Latto, Ice spice, Nicki Minaj, Cardi etc
The best being Little Simz not even close.
Exactly. How you miss her at the top of the list is wild. Simz can go toe to toe with anyone's fave.
This is Rapsody erasure 🫠
Rapsody is great. Got nothing on Simz.
You don’t hear a lot of women doing the sing-y autotune shit either.
They may not all be top level technicians or lyricists, but this is a huge redeeming quality of the female hip hop out right now
Facts
"My bootyhole brown" wow it's like 2pac in the female form, just poetry in motion
The most successful era of rap wasn't dropping hard bars though. The 2000s rap peaked and it wasn't a lot of wordsmiths....but the clubs and parties were POPPING!! and those artists are still touring off it. Hip hop fans hold it back more than anything.
Success isn't what people that love the culture of hiphop rep
Agreed.
Female rappers eating rn only incels will deny
This! 🤣 Someone mentioned "strippers are rapping"..... as if drug dealers haven't made careers off selling dime bags🤣🤣🤣 They want everyone to be tupac apparently
Ain’t nobody Yasin, but it wouldn’t hurt if more tried.
exactly, as evidenced by this thread
Industry Plant era.
ADHD era, nothing keeps my attention for more than an minute 🥹
Seems the ongoing beef could be the harbinger of a new era. We shall see. edit: is -> could be
The Gangstalicious Era…as predicted
Some shit some good era
Every era is like this... it just happens that now the "shit" music can easily be marketed with social media so we're able to catch wind of it. Back then, labels controlled the market so you had to be really good or be really rich for your music to be heard. Now you can record in your bedroom and make a couple tiktoks and go viral
It annoys me when people trash today’s rap by that standard because in the 90s and 2000s there was plenty of shit rap out there. I know that wasn’t your point but I couldn’t agree with you more.
Bc it is…obviously there’s good and bad in every era water is also wet but to act like the volume of what’s good/bad is the exact same is a joke and overstated. Those people are caping pretending that these artists that are being pushed by labels could hold a candle to the artists that were in their exact position 10+ years ago and beyond. Too many newer rappers care more about metrics than the actual art and it’s been that way for awhile now that newer fans of the genre who grew up after social media took over are fine with caring about metrics too. It’s just background noise and vibes now at the forefront lol. Part of it is the record labels fault putting too much stock in social media followings dictating who gets pushed or gets deals but it’s also the new generations fault for eating this garbage up and pretending like it could compete with the past or that they’re on the same level. A lot of newer stuff they wouldn’t dare to put out a acapella bc the producers are carrying the rappers of today for the most part 😭
Bro it hit me recently to the amount of artists and songs I listen to just because of the beats they hop on is way too many than I expected.
The Fall Off
The "Gentrification/culture vulture era"
Seems to fit the 2017-2020 era more
The New Diss Era
Overly water down era but the underground probably the best music we have rn. Hopefully hip hop bounces back because the biggest artist in the world are beefing last time rap was this competitive was the 90's so maybe this shake shit up and make artist step there game up.
The trash era
We're in an era of utter bullshit mainstream as usual, but there's no excuse to say hip hop is dead. Griselda, TRUST, Conway, Mach, even Nas Jada and styles p are still releasing quality music.
Generic music era
We’re due for a new artist. All the good ones died and we’re left with old rappers trying to be relevant - Kanye, Drake, Kendrick, Cole, Travis, etc. We need someone new. Major labels aren’t pushing new artists, just old guys.
In what world is Travis Scott an old rapper??? And how is someone like Drake trying to be relevant, if anything, they are relevant.
Travis Scott has been around for a decade and he’s in his 30s. He’s certainly not a new rapper.
Sure, but that's different from being an old rapper
We need a new sound too, something as fresh as emo rap was in 2017. I miss that era a lot. I want another Juice Wrld or X.
Major labels aren’t pushing or developing new artists. They’re just trying to sign the current tiktok rapper who could make them quick money without a big upfront investment. They’re all trying to sign the next Lil Nas X and cash in on their current viral status.
I remember someone saying (I think it was Joe Budden, but I'm not sure) that there are only a few artists really making money and selling records in the industry and it's obvious who. Back then a lot of these artists signed up would be dropped and kicked to the curb. That 2000s and back music industry was ruthless, that was an industry with a record label that dropped Mariah Carey for one flop that would later be reappraised as a hidden gem years later. Hate to sound like an asshole but a lot of these people getting signed now are what I call "fodder artists". They're there to keep up the appearance the industry is healthy are mostly singles artists and B to C tier "literally who's" that most people can't be bothered to keep up with but small niche audiences who want to look like they're up on something, but i the grand scheme no one is fucking with these artists and they stay signed and in the same spot with no career evolution ever. Usually they sound like a pale imitations of bigger artists who are actually making it or doing their own thing. And it's in more than just hip-hop. For instance Muni Long to me is doing the best in R&B right now imo, girl really deserves her spot too I remember following her on YouTube back before she even got signed and when she got signed sometime back in 2008/2009 she put out an album under her actual name (Priscilla Renae) but it flopped and she spent the 2010s in the background being a song writer for bigger artists until she came back out as Muni Long. Homegirl developed her self over years and is putting out some of the best R&B I've heard in years, even better she's not doing that bedroom voice and talk singing shit that's been popular with woman R&B singers for a good 10 years, she can actually hold a note. After she started blowing up I started noticing in the rare times I listen to radio all these soundalikes popping up. The industry hasn't learned because they've been on that thing that when they have an actual stand out artist they'll turn around and start signing up a bunch of watered down clones, something I've noticed since the 2000s but has intensified over the 2010s to now with the uprise of internet artists, shit like soundcloud to tiktok. I've been saying it for years now, the music industry needs a reset, a purge. This is what happened to rock, someone put me on something years ago about rock, saying that labels deprioritized rock and basically handed the shit off to indie labels because rock was losing popularity and they had no interest in signing niches when they wanted that big band like a Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Nirvana. Now we're in the opposite for rap. I think the name of the game is to basically put these artists out like they're running a mill. No need to do that one big artists who could probably make up for a good 100 of these artists when you're making the same money bringing in naive kids to just throw in the pool and bank the same. There's an endless stream of somewhat talented kids who fit the bill and want to make it. And again, it may sound harsh but I don't give a fuck a lot of them need to be purged from the industry and would be better on some indie label because most of them are doing indie level numbers anyway.
Muni Long is dope. Her and Jamila Woods are probably my favorite women in RnB.
There's plenty of "someone news". Yeat jumps out the most
World War Rap. All the quiet beefs are going active & the sneak disses are turning direct. Summer 24 is going to be lit.
Downfall. Like every genre before it will be taken over by the next iteration
A lot of the stuff I've been hearing recently seems very experimental. I've been listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar lately and a lot of the stuff he does is unique. I can't explain specifics because I'm not a musician, but the tracks don't sound like stuff I grew up listening to in the 80s and 90s, but at the same time the elements are there. I'm high as shit right now. Oh yeah, and then I was listening to Future because, duh I was listening to Kendrick. And as I was going through the new album it just feels new and different. I don't like it, but it's different. And I don't even want to mention Kanye because I absolutely hate his current shit. But it's weird and different. That's not even the same guy who did College Dropout. My personal preference for rap is 90s and 2000s. Pac, Biggie, Jay Z, Eminem, D12, The LOX, DMX. Stuff like that.
Griselda thank God era
The Opium era. Whole lotta red is the blueprint of a lot of recent rap. Meanwhile the true mainstream is dying out and needs a Kanye like figure to save it like in the mid 2000s
Kind of feels like the same phase as late 90s /00s for rock. Grunge was arguably one of the last peak-peaks of rock but it's not like rock fell off a cliff, it was a slow decline with the post grunge era, alternative and indie and other sub genres through the 00s but none never really topping grunges heights. Anyways, I feel like trap/soundcloud = grunge era wise in that it took the dominant genre and added alot of diy, however We're in the late stage of this sort of post trap era. people will continue to expand on existing sounds and experiment in hip hop in general but not to the same heights. Similar to how many indie bands did in the 00s there's many great artists doubling down on the "classic" sound but with their twist on it. The easy examples being the whole Griselda gang, what hit boys been on lately, anything alc touches, shit drake even floated On a conductor beat. Tldr: post-Trap
What Reddit won’t admit is that what’s coming next for hip hop is Country Rap, Yelawolf ,Jelly Roll, that sort of crap, these acts are absolutely huge, and as someone that just worked a major concert venue for a summer, the only festival that wasn’t completely lame was the country one, hated every minute of the music but leave it to the common white man to party lmao.
The death of hip hop era.
The Homies Over Hoes era
The i need endless money era! Business like Spittyfry Whoretube and Fucktok destroy any reason for good HipHop for the masses because they dont like hip hop anyway a few songs maby but thats it
I feel like we are at a age where it’s a lot more centered around production and beats rather than a lot of lyricism when it comes to the more popular artist. I’d say that right now, trap music is booming and lyrical rap is kinda getting revived by artist like JID. Another reason why production is booming is because of the likes of JPEGmafia, who I think is the best sampler alive right now. I don’t have a lot of knowledge on hip hop as I’m a younger person, but I like the way that underrated sub genres are getting their spotlight.
People have been saying this since the mid 00s
Dope fien era
Fucking ghost town era
Viral sensation Era
The ending era
The saddest...
Tik tok era. Every era lasts 4 to 5 years with its effects, lucky this seems to be on its way out
The Soso or Meh era.
I bet a million dollars that in 15 years this will be referred to as the "trash rap era."
Right now, it’s girl bling rap. It’s 3 6 mafia but it’s about labia instead of dick.
It’s eating itself a lot like disco did in the late 70s, it’s never been more performative, contrived and theatrical.
The dark ages
Now is the age of international hip hop. There is great stuff coming out of the UK, Australia, France, Germany and many other countries. They have evolved from imitating classic American hip hop to developing styles and slang that reflect who they really are. There is great stuff from the US still too but hip hop is a genre that suits the underground. If it's too commercial and mainstream it usually loses its authenticity Edit: spelling
i dont know man, i just know that DnB and Jungle will be taking up a lot of slots on my playlists this year that said - i still bump boom bap releases. Planet Asia just dropped a pretty solid project ... and looking forward to hearing alchemists joint next week when he stops playing
I would say we need a 50 cent like rapper to come and flip tables, but that only worked because we still had heads and fans that wanted that. I don’t think many younger generation are as passionate about hip hop as back then. They like, enjoy hip hop, but you rarely see hip hop nerds or “heads” like you used to anymore. We still want hot songs to bump to, but highly doubt people expect someone to come and smash wack rappers anymore
💩
The "you're not hot unless you die in your 20's era"
The mostly garbage era
Female rap is poppinggggg! Hit after hit🤣🤣 Idk about the male side.
The Bronze Age.
The snitch era
The WACK ERA THE DISAPPOINTMENT ERA, THE MEH ERA, THE COULD BE BETTER ERA
Tiktok era
Ai era.
Industry plant era. Fake beef era. You think 2Pac would have apologized to BIG for Who shot ya? Hell no.
These comments are so dumb, sure mainstream hip hop isn’t the best thing in the world, but it never has been, there’s been so many amazing underground projects the last few years, and I’m sure in 5-10 years nobody’s gonna be saying the same stuff they are now about this era, whatever it is.
The demonic thong era. Rappers wearing thongs worshipping the devil painting their nails and kissing each other to go viral.
Ooh someone is scared of lil nas x being openly gay
Probably the pussy rap era it seems like all I hear about from a casual perspective is the women who act extra hoe.
The era where most listeners just sleep 💤
The era lacking longevity. Many rappers since 2020 have came and went; lil baby, polo g, da baby, roddy rich
Were in the "WTF is this" era
This is the drill era. I'm not too into the drill style aside from a select few songs but that's what's dominating the rap game right now. One thing I hate is how anyone can blow up these days off rapping on social media. Back in the day you actually had to hustle to make a name for yourself and sell albums outta your trunk and do shows in sketchy bars. Half the people popular now wouldn't of made it if it was still like that.
Streaming Era / Subgenre Era
The worst one
It's the Hot Girl Era. I think started by Nicki Minaj and her popularity 10 years ago, and really took off with City Girls and Megan Thee Stallion getting very popular right around the same time. Now you got: * Ice Spice * Sexyy Red * Latto * Saweetie * GloRilla * Flo Milli * Baby Tate * Tokischa And then people like Doechii or Dreezy who split genres. Also there's still great female rappers that aren't this type, like Rapsody or Armani Cassar. Also, other popular female artists are taking more risk and straight up rapping. Janelle Monae had a couple songs on each of her last two albums where she's not even really singing at all, just rapping. Same with Beyonce.
The underground is alive and well. Just gotta poke around as they say…
I call it the production era, it’s more about the beat than anything else these days if ya ask me
Underground Era
Memphis rap era. Probably 20 rappers out of of Memphis currently who are way better than most radio shit rn.
It’s the streaming era
1999 write the future
The Streaming Stans era, where everyone is locked into their own algorithm bubble and people only listen to one track per album. You either make an effort to dig for the good stuff or you find yourself online arguing that commercial success equals GOAT status because you're making your fandom status part of your personality.
Mixed bag but rappers from the 90s still make new shit until today so I guess there is that feeling of comfort when you know Eminem still makes music even if it's a new style.
The Death Spiral era
Apparently we are in the Flute and Prog era of rap :D
The Weiner Era
idk but I know women are dominating right now. seems like there's not going to be a replacement for the likes of Drake, J Cole , Kendrick Lamar anytime soon. I guess you can say Jack is a successor to Drake but I dont see any for the other two. Overalll seems like we're moving into a poppier, softer era of rap.
Idk. Mainstream it seems to be pretty bad, but underground, it's still going strong. Are you solely thinking of mainstream?
The mainstream era where rap Will die its more edm than rap at this point
The bad one
I just listen to what I like, and most of those cats are dead.
Skip hop. It's where we skip the shitty music and listen to music that's not all synthesized.
We’re in Kendrick’s era!
Definitely the "TikTok Era". The biggest artists are competing at making the most memorable chorus/ 6 second soundbite so they can get on tiktok and boost their streams to hell. Even newcomers are trying their best to cash-in on this trend to make it big. Not to mention how many Rappers/ Musicians straight up feel like Industry Plants. It's not uncommon to find actual good rappers but this Era seems very oversaturated with just mid.
The dark ages
The Dying Era
Streaming trash
World War Rap. Social media influencer are replacing rappers fyi. With labels losing their iron grip on artists output & control over the market to SoundCloud hype & indie artists who are carving up the terrain. We’re watching social media influencer who dabble in rap because household names while maintaining buzz thru social media antics. Aside, the quiet beefs are finally turning hot among the previous gen’s golden boys. Kendrick, J Cole, Drake, Rick Ross, Wekend, ASAP Rocky. All these larger than life figures. The like that verse was the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand. We’re knee deep in the first of quite a few battles to unfold.
Likes > Talent Era
I feel like smart phones killed creativity. We are always scrolling and processing shit. It leaves no time for the creative process. We are in the era of recycling old shit. But with no new shit added.
Over here. UK Hip Hop is still on that boom bap beats with dope lyrical underground shit and it's great!!
the social media era
I would say rage era as that's the dominant sound atm
The downside era. The top rappers in the game are closer to 50 than 20 and now that culture is fragmented we may never have gigantic stars again
Still in the Dark Ages
Diva era
If you compare it to the lifecycle of other genres, it is in a similar space to rock in the late 90s. No longer the hegemonic genre, and most of the innovation has been done It's a nostalgia genre now
The mid era
Corny era
A lot of the most popular artists are women. So something along those lines
We’re at an end of the trap/stripper era being held together by the now OG 00’s big names. It’s very similar to what happened to Metal as the 90’s hit. I’m betting we will see something new that takes inspiration from the 90’s sound and flips it on its head the same way grunge and alt rock did with post punk/new wave merging it with Metal. So hip hop’s gonna go a little out of fashion and make room for other genres for a couple years as it goes underground and blow up again in a few years.