Rap is not down because the lack of billboard entries, Its down because line of progression has been disrupted.

[CrimsonTider]

Also One thing that’s really missing in hip-hop right now is collabs and crews.

Back in the day, every top rapper had a team they’d put on, or people they’d bring up, feature on tracks, or take on tour. That energy built movements. Think Jay-Z with Roc-A-Fella, Biggie with Junior M.A.F.I.A., Lil Wayne with Young Money, T-Pain with his endless collab, they all helped launch new artists and kept the culture moving. All the above also did tons of collabs with people outside their crew.

You can hate if you want but DJ Khaled got artists airplay and Billboard hits they might’ve never had otherwise.

Now look at the so-called “Big 3.”
Kendrick doesn’t really have a crew like that and won’t drop an album until 2030, Drake stopped doing collabs, and J. Cole is chilling somewhere on a beach with his family. Travis Scott lost steam since he no longer works with Mike Dean and Yay.

Combine that with labels barely investing in artist development anymore, and it’s no surprise the genre feels like it’s losing steam.

There are still rapper labels, they’re just nit marketed the same anymore

jackboys
4l
YSL
4pf

 

[cartierhoe]

It’s because charting is based on how many white casual hiphop fans are interested in your music

Even if you’re popular nationally with just black rap fans you won’t impact billboard (Boosie, Debbie, keef and YB)

Now it’s damn near impossible to get national black fans to hear your music

It’s also why Artist like Beyoncé and CB don’t dominate billboard even as superstars. They don’t have a lot of white listeners

Random but I was thinking about a thread somebody made on here talking about who would win a Verzuz between Weeknd and CB. I knew a few females who went to Breezy Bowl and I still say CB getting him outta here, he just resonates with black people more.

 

[cartierhoe]

Also One thing that’s really missing in hip-hop right now is collabs and crews.

Back in the day, every top rapper had a team they’d put on, or people they’d bring up, feature on tracks, or take on tour. That energy built movements. Think Jay-Z with Roc-A-Fella, Biggie with Junior M.A.F.I.A., Lil Wayne with Young Money, T-Pain with his endless collab, they all helped launch new artists and kept the culture moving. All the above also did tons of collabs with people outside their crew.

You can hate if you want but DJ Khaled got artists airplay and Billboard hits they might’ve never had otherwise.

Now look at the so-called “Big 3.”
Kendrick doesn’t really have a crew like that and won’t drop an album until 2030, Drake stopped doing collabs, and J. Cole is chilling somewhere on a beach with his family. Travis Scott lost steam since he no longer works with Mike Dean and Yay.

Combine that with labels barely investing in artist development anymore, and it’s no surprise the genre feels like it’s losing steam.

Yeah rappers don't do posse cuts anymore which sucks, like you said Khaled usually had those on lock back in the day but that shyt is over with. Those posse cuts had an element of fun to them because you had different styles of guys coming together on one track. I was talking to a friend of mine about this same thing.

 

[maxamusa]

Don’t forget features. Algorithms have absolutely killed discovering new artist from killing a feature.

It’s doesn’t make any sense to not spam 21 savage and future and lil baby features to maximize exposure

Don’t forget features. Algorithms have absolutely killed discovering new artist from killing a feature.

It’s doesn’t make any sense to not spam 21 savage and future and lil baby features to maximize exposure

I get it; but my kids listen to all sorts of weird "underground" rappers. not sure how they get put on but I can inquire.


either way the landscape has changed; cause their experience of music is strictly digital.

 

[Amo Husserl]

I don't think hip-hop was made with the mainstream in mind, but rappers wanted to go pop.
Billionaires saw their way in and diluted the spirit, now we here...

 

[maxamusa]

Yeah rappers don't do posse cuts anymore which sucks, like you said Khaled usually had those on lock back in the day but that shyt is over with. Those posse cuts had an element of fun to them because you had different styles of guys coming together on one track. I was talking to a friend of mine about this same thing.

Khaled was legendary with that shyt

 

[CrimsonTider]

Random but I was thinking about a thread somebody made on here talking about who would win a Verzuz between Weeknd and CB. I knew a few females who went to Breezy Bowl and I still say CB getting him outta here, he just resonates with black people more.

Definitely CB. The weeknd low key leeched off of black culture to get hot. Weend has lost a lot of his casual white fans too

 

[CrimsonTider]

I get it; but my kids listen to all sorts of weird "underground" rappers. not sure how they get put on but I can inquire.


either way the landscape has changed; cause their experience of music is strictly digital.

I don’t think the ways kids discover music has changed, I just don’t think those artist they’re listening too can become mainstream in this current environment

I don't think hip-hop was made with the mainstream in mind, but rappers wanted to go pop.
Billionaires saw their way in and diluted the spirit, now we here...

A larger point is that rap not doing well on the pop charts is how rap has worked for most of its life

 

[maxamusa]

Definitely CB. The weeknd low key leeched off of black culture to get hot. Weend has lost a lot of his casual white fans too

CB was way before weekend. I'm fried but I feel like weekend came out when drake got hot.


I aint come up on neither drake or weekened.

CB was that dude in real time.

 

[maxamusa]

Yeah rappers don't do posse cuts anymore which sucks, like you said Khaled usually had those on lock back in the day but that shyt is over with. Those posse cuts had an element of fun to them because you had different styles of guys coming together on one track. I was talking to a friend of mine about this same thing.

stunting in my magnum
ridin with my hat low
.45 magnum
barrel full of air holes

 

[CrimsonTider]

CB was way before weekend. I'm fried but I feel like weekend came out when drake got hot.


I aint come up on neither drake or weekened.

CB was that dude in real time.

The Weekend come up was real....It was a combo of mixtapes and a drake cosign but once he got a look from the pop crowd with the 50 shades of grey song he left rap behind frfr.


Weeknd can't fukk with CB from a legacy standpoint. I don't even know how much of a legacy The Weeknd has with black folk

 

[Rekkapryde]

All these new dudes sound like watered versions of what we heard before. Dont even get me started started on production. That shyt is a worst state than rap

every genre has its ending as far as being the big dog in popularity.

 

[Cladyclad]

bytches rhyme on harder beats than alot of dudes too smh

 

[ChatGPT-5]

AI is the future.

prompt: Chicago Drill, talk about the epstein files

make your own billboard.

 

[CrimsonTider]

every genre has its ending as far as being the big dog in popularity.

Billboard does not determine what's going on in rap. It never has and never will. It determines what rappers an rap songs casual white people are gravitating too.

How many of the legendary songs in rap have ever charted?