I only lasted a few minutes into that vid...
Rap has been top heavy for decades. If you are Drake, Cole, Kendrick, Travis, Carti, etc you're making a lot of money and the label is doing whatever you want. I think the difference is that if you're in that middle to sub-middle tier of rappers you're being asked to work more while getting less perks. Previously a guy like a Ferg or Q could make really good money off a few hits and moderate album sales thanks to touring and placements. Now rappers are finding it harder to reach that level because they don't want to work. They don't want to tour. They don't want to be on a bus instead of a plane. They don't want to do festival spots that aren't primetime or headlining-tier.
These are cultural problems more than rap problems. These guys would rather buy streaming equipment than be locked in a studio making records. And a big problem to me is that the black imprint labels can't figure out what's hot anymore. When is the last time a Gucci artist blew? What Gotti artists are popping besides Glorilla? When is the last time TDE had a (male) rapper pop off? When those avenues are struggling you're left with the full labels dictating where shyt goes, which is why we're just getting thot rap.
So no rap isn't dead. Dudes just have to ask themselves how much they want to work, and labels have to ask how long can they prop up the same talentless bullshyt. Thug, Baby...all those guys? They had hits. Catchy singles. Street anthems. Pop features. Where are those right now? Did talent just disappear or were rappers told to make 1 minute songs while forgetting how to make hooks.
