See I don't think he regressed
He's basically the newest iteration of 2chainz/DaBaby where people subconsciously got tired of hearing that one flow he mastered, I don't think he's doing anything different than he did before, but that's the issue
And Drake wasn't helping these guys get more creative with music, this is where I think the West coast wins over all the other regions. There are too many instances of artists going to Cali and gaining new life
nikkas have hung out around Alchemist and everyone in rap camp to get better at writing.
nikkas have hung out around Tyler to be more confident in their weirder ideas.
nikkas have hung out with TDE in general and become more competitive in a healthy way.
West Coast got Mac Miller to turn in his mainstream cac VIP badge and really tap in, jumpstarted like 3-4 different black people's careers out there and also made his best music
Atlanta underground scene has a lot of that but they don't get credit imo, like I don't think Carti ever blows up if he didn't go through his run at Awful records, OG Maco/Key!, that whole circle somehow stayed underground