"Rap is DONE. Aint no more money in rap. Only .1% gettin money. The Drake's....YBs...." - Akademiks

[⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐]

It’s been that way, the illusion has weakened

Even Mid-tier artists are living within album cycle budget to project an image that’s marketedly unsustainable with the numbers they produce

I’ve posted these exact words before

 

[MushroomX]

I would say Rap itself has just gone beyond it's borders.

The gatekeepers were Labels, DJs and Radio back in the day... now the Gatekeepers are TikTok, Streaming Algorithms and Memes. Rap was originally local, but with the web... local isn't a thing now, its now about who is viral.

 

[WIA20XX]

How do you think this holds up for the future of the genre?

Being able to put out a good song or a good album is the loss leader.

The Build up

• Good "rap" + good beat = radio spins and streams...
• That parlays into maybe some good visuals via a music video
• That parlays into social media.
  • maybe you gotta cool dance
  • maybe you're cool peeps online

The cash in

• Brand Deals
• Touring
• Your own Merchandise
• finding a white avatar -
• Your own non-rap content

And eventually Hollywood. Word to Ice T and LL Cool J.

So if cats (or labels more likely) want to get paid to "rap" - they basically gotta do it this way.

If cats just stick to just making good music/good videos - maybe you can tour Europe and be a favorite of the critics.

Cats like Rasco, Dilated Peeples, Smif n Wessun (all of BCC), Rebel INS (All of Wu Tang really), or Jean Grae - Just rapping alone can't pay the bills.

 

[spliz]

There's money in rap, but you have to market yourself more so now than ever. You need to mix your rap career with your social media career. Learn to navigate this new world of streaming, podcast, and vlogs all without being corny. Record labels are going all in on pop and country. Now more than ever, you have to be responsible for your career. Unless you're trying to sign a 360 deal; I just don't see labels putting in as much effort as they did in the past.

This is also a good time for the titans in hip-hop to take control if the large record labels don't want to.

People was shytting on Doechii and calling her a plant, but the push that she gets is what the industry is supposed to do for an artist.

As far as Doechii. I see way more people that hate Anxiety than love it. To the point it became an online meme type shyt. So why does it play so much? Who the fukk is requesting it when people damn near universally love the Gotye song WAY more? shyt is the epitome of forced.

 

[2Quik4UHoes]

In all sincerity, Black America constantly had a fresh new genre to tap into before Rap music came along. Feels like it’s been used by the industry in a way that’s dramatically slowed the innovation and creativity you’d commonly find.

Now you’ve got a situation where it’s been over saturated, standardized, and swarming with white folks and there’s no fresh new outlet for Black folks to go to. Not sure what it would take now but if we’re being fair it’s the whole machine itself.

 

[Ziggiy]

product is trash now mainstream wise

There it is…

 

[Roid Jones]

Ebro, Joe and others in the industry have been warning of this for years, this should be no surprise to anyone, there has been a shift in the industry and everyone connected to it has to adapt.

 

[O.Red]

My question too is why did labels stop supporting it? Its cause and effect and honestly I think labels didnt like how popular rap became and there was a silent effort to mitigate it.

All the labels care about is making money, they don't care what kind of music it is

The shyt just got stale

 

[Justin Nitsuj]

They know exactly why that clown Drake getting big money and it’s definitely not his Black side that’s helping him. Well he’s benefiting from it like the culture vulture he is.

 

[Bugzbunny129]

Who needs to pay rappers when you can get their voice for free in ai

 

[lib123]

Pop Smoke passing was a major blow to the genre. He was revitalizing it in a major way.

 

[Roid Jones]

That’s why they all got podcast

Yep, it's where the money and future is

 

[Roid Jones]

Pop Smoke passing was a major blow to the genre. He was revitalizing it in a major way.

I doubt it, Pop Smoke would have been fine, but what about the others? rival labels would have cranked out his clones, how would that have helped the genre?

 

[O.Red]

Being able to put out a good song or a good album is the loss leader.

The Build up

• Good "rap" + good beat = radio spins and streams...
• That parlays into maybe some good visuals via a music video
• That parlays into social media.
  • maybe you gotta cool dance
  • maybe you're cool peeps online

The cash in

• Brand Deals
• Touring
• Your own Merchandise
• finding a white avatar -
• Your own non-rap content

And eventually Hollywood. Word to Ice T and LL Cool J.

So if cats (or labels more likely) want to get paid to "rap" - they basically gotta do it this way.

If cats just stick to just making good music/good videos - maybe you can tour Europe and be a favorite of the critics.

Cats like Rasco, Dilated Peeples, Smif n Wessun (all of BCC), Rebel INS (All of Wu Tang really), or Jean Grae - Just rapping alone can't pay the bills.

That white avatar shyt was funny but it's not really true. It's become this boogeyman that doesn't have results equivalent to nikkas fear mongering

And it's not for lack of trying. These labels have been trying to find their white one for all these years and it just ain't panning out. They've thrown every opportunity and plant strategy on Jack Harlow and nobody cares, and I remember that quick era where nikkas was talking that white avatar shyt with him. It's not true. There's only Eminem, and Eminem's success contains a lot of other factors besides his whiteness

What makes hip hop special is it's rawness, and there's a minimum amount of rawness required for nikkas to get anywhere substantial. This is why it still hasn't successfully been co opted compared to other black musical genres. And again it hasn't been for lack of the labels effort. They wish more than anyone that the white avatar was a real thing

The closet thing to white avatar would be Drake. Nikkas hate when Drake gets called a whiteboy but there's a tangible reason. He carries all of the cool hip hop elements, can say nikka, but looks racially ambiguous enough to sell to other races, including white. Mexicans and Arabs started getting fades and beards because they could look like Drake. Wearing "nikka" without having to be one. Purely white rappers can't do that

You can white avatar jazz or, r&b, but rap still has a grit and rawness that can't easily be replicated. It's the defining feature

"And eventually Hollywood" is outdated. Hollywood dying a slow nasty death as we speak, for a lot of the same reasons rap is struggling

And Wu Tang doesn't belong on your list. They just came off of a very successful tour. Not by rap standards, but by general touring standards

 

[O.Red]

I doubt it, Pop Smoke would have been fine, but what about the others? rival labels would have cranked out his clones, how would that have helped the genre?

Pop Smoke wasn't easily cloned. The attempts at copying Pop Smoke failed

Anf XXXTentacion was the next, and possibly final hip hop superstar