Is Mainstream Rap Dead Or Does It Need Another 2011? | Defector

"The whole topic felt forced, like when ESPN comes up with ridiculously specific stats to fit whatever narrative they want to sell during that particular segment. Rap started as an outsider's genre, so it sounds like a good thing to not be a part of Top 40. There's also the fact that most of the biggest pop stars in rap had not dropped much that year: no Drake, no Kendrick, no Travis Scott."

"But some people, judging from my YouTube recommendations, seem to disagree. YouTube is awash with video essays about the death of rap, how audiences have moved on, and how, naturally, it's all rap's own fault. Opinions on rap, like everything else, are usually based on childhood nostalgia. If you grew up on popular rap radio in the 2000s, you're likely disappointed by popular rap radio today, and are more likely to consider today's rap stale, dying, and destroyed."

"The best rap lives out on the fringes, in the underground, at the nightclubs, blowing up in the streets and influencing what comes next on the radio. If you've only ever treated rap, or music in general, as a passive activity, then of course you'll be disappointed with what you're being fed. Pop music has always been music by algorithm, and finding the most interesting stuff has always required a willingness to dig for it."

A manufactured crisis emerged when no rap song hit the Billboard Top 40, but that gap reflected a lack of major pop rap releases rather than genre collapse. Several prominent rap stars released little that year, while artists just below the Top 40—Cardi B, Meg Thee Stallion, and NBA Youngboy—remained active. Online video essays claim rap is dying, but many such judgments stem from childhood nostalgia tied to 2000s radio. The most interesting rap typically appears on the fringes—in underground scenes, nightclubs, and the streets—and discovering it requires active digging beyond algorithm-driven pop feeds. Rap currently lacks a clear next-generation superstar, with NBA Youngboy the most prominent young figure.

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