What year did the shift begin to the current era of Hiphop?

[ShaDynasty]

2004/2005

Crunk
Start of snap
TI
Wayne
Jeezy
Gucci
DJ Toomp
Kanye
DJ Drama mixtapes
Houston hits mainstream
Three 6 Mafia hits mainstream

every artist or producer today can draw their roots and inspiration from the intersection of those artists and sub genres/cultures in 04/05

But that's not the same as when the shift happened. That just says artists growing up were influenced by that stuff.

Around 1991/1992 there was a clear shift, Hip Hop production stopped relying on the same old techniques and started experimenting and breaking into new sounds and styles like Dr. Dre's smooth and musical compositions, Jazz rap, the Wu-Tang sound. The difference between the beats on Paid In Full in 1987 and the beats and song compositions on Low End Theory in 1991 is a fukking chasm.

1997 was another clear dividing line for Hip Hop, you had big mainstream rap records from Biggie, Puffy, Will Smith, Wu-Tang, Missy etc. After that it just grew bigger as an expansive cultural force.

Things start to get murky in the last 10-12 years because it has so much to do with the internet and genres crossing over with each other. Kanye might have started the shift with 808s & Heartbreaks, but it took a few years for people to catch on and start taking the next step with that sing/rap style, which also coincided with soundcloud and other music sharing sites blowing up.

 

[YakSpiller]

When Lil B birthed these internet rappers! Swag swag!!

 

[DatNkkaCutty]

Future
Thug
Quan
Dej
Durk
A Boogie
(For RIGHT NOW)

All started shiftin it where it's at now.

ASAP, Wiz, and Fetty all laid that initial groundwork. Everyone is still Wayne son sons tho, far as I'm concerned STILL...

IMO, Pop Smoke was about to shift the landscape again and solidify that sound across the US. He had the aura, energy, and presence to do so. I don't think cats like Fivio, are doin it at the level he was...

He was on track to become the next rap monster til he got killed, and of course nggas would've started adjustinin their sound across the board, to what he was doing successfully...

IDK where we goin next.

 

[zayk35]

05-07 if you really think about it these rappers of today were literally kids during that time and they grew up when skill was diminished. You had that Snap shyt, Trap was in its infancy. Then here comes T pain and Souljah Boy. Then Kanye beat 50 on the charts. Imo all that set the stage for where we are now.

 

[Amor fati]

Everything has sounded the same since 2012 to me

My exact thoughts but these folks say that 2012 hip hop sounds diff to 2019 hip hop, that can only be further from the truth in my opinion

 

[L $ C]

2015. The rise of streaming platforms, Future and Young Thug’s ascension, new era of trap producers blows up, SoundCloud rapper take over.

And the guys on the 2016 and 2017 XXL Freshman class changed the game.

this

 

[L $ C]

 

[L $ C]

Began with 50 cent to be honest..if you think about it.
The senseless beefing and discrediting of superior rappers to him taught the public not to take rappers seriously anymore, thus opening doors for all the wack 'Lil so and so's..'

has nothing to do with it



if u woulda made the argument for 50 being a clout demon and always arguing about sales then maybe