This is amazing and glad you have covered Hip-Hop so well here.
One potential driver I see that is missing I think is the breakdown of the typical collaboration - competition duality that fueled innovation in hip-hop music. In the "blog era", rappers needed to collaborate with each other much more in order to cross over and share fan bases which meant strong incentives for oneupmanship between themselves, while also self enforcing certain norms and skillsets required for rappers to respect and therefore want to collaborate with you. This is the period where free online mixtapes and remixes were rife, which was allowed as digital monetisation was minimal and exposure was king. This was fired up by trusted select group of blog writers who would determine the music that aligned with those guidelines and effectively anointing who would come next.
In that 2014 - 2018 period, streaming/social media (especially non friend recommendation feeds)/ media changes meant that it was easier than ever for rappers to monetise previously too small distribution channels without having to align with any others, there was no incentive to remix others music/feature with them as much, as that meant splitting royalties more than may be needed, social media would do the hard work to find their top fans for them, and there was the explosion of someone somewhere making reviews willing to say the music was the best of all time or the worst thing they've ever heard and be agreed with.
Initially this was good for hip hop as artists that were being truly creative but blocked out of the limelight by old channels were now able to shine and break through. But by COVID, it had run through the pre refined pipeline of talent waiting in the trenches and no further builds up new talent to take the reins.
I think the Kendrick v Drake feud was effectively pent up demand for that previous competition, exploding beyond any rap fans wildest dreams and giving whiplash to the entire industry, effectively burying any further incentive for working together on the largest scales.
I am not sure where it goes from here, but I like the thought of the "remixing" of hip hop styles into Latin, k-pop, country (I think you may also miss the impact of afro beats growth) that seems to be brewing and I think the next stage is legacy hip hop artists being the flag bearers for some of that. Other genres are also likely to absorb some hip hop styles and be where the kids gravitate too.
On a final note, I wonder how much of this is also the attention economy becoming more competitive, especially with the youth, and music as a whole suffering as a result. One I am sure you may ponder if you have not already done so!
Yes, hip-hop is receding, for many of the same reasons as other genres before it receded: an aging-out listening base who consume less of the media (through lifestyle attrition), mainstreaming contributed to a loss of perceived edginess, loss of novelty (newer genres capture the attention of the younger listeners), and an increasing aversion to its cookie cutter commercialization.
Purely anecdotally, I'm also sensing (based on social media content), that there seems to be a growing interest in more traditionally created and played music, that includes standard melodic and harmonic lines - an interest in instruments and vocalists. Very young content creators are putting out what I would classify as traditional structure that does not incorporate rap or hip-hop stylings.
I can envision a time when "classic hip-hop" will develop a following, and will then become the "Dreams" version of old-time hits that appear in the streaming charts long after the original date of release.
Hip-hop as a standalone genre is receding, but it has influenced and been absorbed, to one degree or another, into currently very popular genres... pop, country and maybe also alternative. So, in that sense, it's already been baked into the music of the day.
Your last paragraph is an entire essay of its own. We’ve had a full generation of hip-hop shaping culture. It is baked in.
The next generation will look for something novel they can make their own. My purely anecdotal view, the rave/electonic/drone will morph into more immersive forms, especially since in person is how they can make money and immersion lends itself well to 360 capabilities of headphones.
I sure hope so, what was once dangerous and edgy decades ago, with artists like NWA, spiraled long ago into tedious repetition, and bland format driven nonsense, as production techniques became easier and simpler.
Hello, I usually just play for fun and don’t really focus on chasing big wins. A gaming friend told me about Spin Mama https://spinmamas.com/ so I decided to give it a try. I liked that I could explore everything at my own pace without any pressure. Even when things were quiet, it still felt interesting enough to keep me going. Later on, when a good round finally hit, it felt satisfying, and I ended my session feeling relaxed and positive.
Hip Hop is more than music, it encompasses the whole culture. Rap is what we do. Hip Hop is how we live. This is an essay on rap music and that should be clear because the culture of Hip Hop's influence is seen in many industries. Virgil Abloh and Pharrell being creative directors for LV is Hip Hop. Ari Melber incorporating rap lyrics in his news show is Hip Hop. Advertising uses not only rap music but Hip Hop style and vernacular. K-Pop is influenced by Hip Hop culture and rap music.
I think what we're is the culture becoming a victim of it's success, it's ubiquitous with modern society and pop culture, it's everywhere. Something that was once scarce, which took effort to find and be a part of, is now accessible to anyone to copy. Hip Hop will evolve, and maybe revert, to a more analog feel but it will not disappear.
Very curious to see where the next few years take us with so much nostalgia and the collectibles market thriving.
This is amazing and glad you have covered Hip-Hop so well here.
One potential driver I see that is missing I think is the breakdown of the typical collaboration - competition duality that fueled innovation in hip-hop music. In the "blog era", rappers needed to collaborate with each other much more in order to cross over and share fan bases which meant strong incentives for oneupmanship between themselves, while also self enforcing certain norms and skillsets required for rappers to respect and therefore want to collaborate with you. This is the period where free online mixtapes and remixes were rife, which was allowed as digital monetisation was minimal and exposure was king. This was fired up by trusted select group of blog writers who would determine the music that aligned with those guidelines and effectively anointing who would come next.
In that 2014 - 2018 period, streaming/social media (especially non friend recommendation feeds)/ media changes meant that it was easier than ever for rappers to monetise previously too small distribution channels without having to align with any others, there was no incentive to remix others music/feature with them as much, as that meant splitting royalties more than may be needed, social media would do the hard work to find their top fans for them, and there was the explosion of someone somewhere making reviews willing to say the music was the best of all time or the worst thing they've ever heard and be agreed with.
Initially this was good for hip hop as artists that were being truly creative but blocked out of the limelight by old channels were now able to shine and break through. But by COVID, it had run through the pre refined pipeline of talent waiting in the trenches and no further builds up new talent to take the reins.
I think the Kendrick v Drake feud was effectively pent up demand for that previous competition, exploding beyond any rap fans wildest dreams and giving whiplash to the entire industry, effectively burying any further incentive for working together on the largest scales.
I am not sure where it goes from here, but I like the thought of the "remixing" of hip hop styles into Latin, k-pop, country (I think you may also miss the impact of afro beats growth) that seems to be brewing and I think the next stage is legacy hip hop artists being the flag bearers for some of that. Other genres are also likely to absorb some hip hop styles and be where the kids gravitate too.
On a final note, I wonder how much of this is also the attention economy becoming more competitive, especially with the youth, and music as a whole suffering as a result. One I am sure you may ponder if you have not already done so!
Yes, hip-hop is receding, for many of the same reasons as other genres before it receded: an aging-out listening base who consume less of the media (through lifestyle attrition), mainstreaming contributed to a loss of perceived edginess, loss of novelty (newer genres capture the attention of the younger listeners), and an increasing aversion to its cookie cutter commercialization.
Purely anecdotally, I'm also sensing (based on social media content), that there seems to be a growing interest in more traditionally created and played music, that includes standard melodic and harmonic lines - an interest in instruments and vocalists. Very young content creators are putting out what I would classify as traditional structure that does not incorporate rap or hip-hop stylings.
I can envision a time when "classic hip-hop" will develop a following, and will then become the "Dreams" version of old-time hits that appear in the streaming charts long after the original date of release.
Hip-hop as a standalone genre is receding, but it has influenced and been absorbed, to one degree or another, into currently very popular genres... pop, country and maybe also alternative. So, in that sense, it's already been baked into the music of the day.
Your last paragraph is an entire essay of its own. We’ve had a full generation of hip-hop shaping culture. It is baked in.
The next generation will look for something novel they can make their own. My purely anecdotal view, the rave/electonic/drone will morph into more immersive forms, especially since in person is how they can make money and immersion lends itself well to 360 capabilities of headphones.
I sure hope so, what was once dangerous and edgy decades ago, with artists like NWA, spiraled long ago into tedious repetition, and bland format driven nonsense, as production techniques became easier and simpler.
Hello, I usually just play for fun and don’t really focus on chasing big wins. A gaming friend told me about Spin Mama https://spinmamas.com/ so I decided to give it a try. I liked that I could explore everything at my own pace without any pressure. Even when things were quiet, it still felt interesting enough to keep me going. Later on, when a good round finally hit, it felt satisfying, and I ended my session feeling relaxed and positive.
Your final statement says it all. The genre must evolve just as the other forms of music especially within our culture.
Hip Hop is more than music, it encompasses the whole culture. Rap is what we do. Hip Hop is how we live. This is an essay on rap music and that should be clear because the culture of Hip Hop's influence is seen in many industries. Virgil Abloh and Pharrell being creative directors for LV is Hip Hop. Ari Melber incorporating rap lyrics in his news show is Hip Hop. Advertising uses not only rap music but Hip Hop style and vernacular. K-Pop is influenced by Hip Hop culture and rap music.
I think what we're is the culture becoming a victim of it's success, it's ubiquitous with modern society and pop culture, it's everywhere. Something that was once scarce, which took effort to find and be a part of, is now accessible to anyone to copy. Hip Hop will evolve, and maybe revert, to a more analog feel but it will not disappear.
Very curious to see where the next few years take us with so much nostalgia and the collectibles market thriving.
Because they eat babies too?