I've been enjoying this year of hip hop. From clipse to Boldy James, Larry June, JID, Hit Boy/Alchemist, Starlito & Don Trip, to Mavi. If you didn't find anything that you enjoyed that says you're more accustomed to being told what to like instead of formulating your own thoughts
Kendrick Got The Rap Game Looking Like Pride Rock When Scar Took Over
- Thread starter Silkk
- Start date
Controversy
Superstar
tehparadox
Banned
To be honest, there’s no real Drake dominance at all, as confirmed by Billboard the other day. He only racks up huge global streaming numbers because you have to add up the small number of streams spread across each of his 700 songs.
As always, his music is nowhere to be seen on the charts. 2025 was dominated by artists that dropped music LAST year.
As always, his music is nowhere to be seen on the charts. 2025 was dominated by artists that dropped music LAST year.
I actually had an epiphany a few mornings ago while skimming through some new releases that dropped. I threw on the new A$AP Ferg and immediately shut it off after 30 seconds of the first few songs and went back to De La’s new album for a palette cleanser. Then I thought, “wow… De La really ruined a lot of these other albums for me because they shined a light on the lack of substance in mainstream rap”. It’s really night and day. What GNX lacked in substance (although there was still stuff to unpack), it more than made up for with the overall soundscape of the project, which was different than anything else out there, then and now, while still being very accessible.
What we’re left with is a sea of mainstream rappers trying to restore a feeling that doesn’t necessarily need to be restored. Nobody is trying anything new. Meanwhile, the older heads are carrying the torch and putting out quality releases, staying true to their sound, and finding ways to stay culturally relevant without sounding dated.
Long story short, this isn’t a Kendrick problem. It’s an everybody else problem, but I’m sure the OP was at least semi-aware of that when he started this thread
I’m just glad to see artists focused on creating albums again, instead of chasing that one “hit” that might stick.
What we’re left with is a sea of mainstream rappers trying to restore a feeling that doesn’t necessarily need to be restored. Nobody is trying anything new. Meanwhile, the older heads are carrying the torch and putting out quality releases, staying true to their sound, and finding ways to stay culturally relevant without sounding dated.
Long story short, this isn’t a Kendrick problem. It’s an everybody else problem, but I’m sure the OP was at least semi-aware of that when he started this thread
I’m just glad to see artists focused on creating albums again, instead of chasing that one “hit” that might stick.
Playaz Eyez
Veteran
I actually had an epiphany a few mornings ago while skimming through some new releases that dropped. I threw on the new A$AP Ferg and immediately shut it off after 30 seconds of the first few songs and went back to De La’s new album for a palette cleanser. Then I thought, “wow… De La really ruined a lot of these other albums for me because they shined a light on the lack of substance in mainstream rap”. It’s really night and day. What GNX lacked in substance (although there was still stuff to unpack), it more than made up for with the overall soundscape of the project, which was different than anything else out there, then and now, while still being very accessible.
What we’re left with is a sea of mainstream rappers trying to restore a feeling that doesn’t necessarily need to be restored. Nobody is trying anything new. Meanwhile, the older heads are carrying the torch and putting out quality releases, staying true to their sound, and finding ways to stay culturally relevant without sounding dated.
Long story short, this isn’t a Kendrick problem. It’s an everybody else problem, but I’m sure the OP was at least semi-aware of that when he started this thread
I’m just glad to see artists focused on creating albums again, instead of chasing that one “hit” that might stick.
It’s over for those 19 track, 42 producer-credited albums of no direction. Those are the albums that come and go the most. After you nod your head a few times to Rob49, Moneybagg Yo, etc you just keep it moving.