Hip-hop artists are releasing outside of their genre
As music becomes increasingly global, the lines between genres continue to blur. This is particularly true with hip-hop, as many Western artists are beginning to release tracks outside of the genre's traditional sound to engage with new audiences worldwide. So while genres like afrobeats and reggaeton surge — thanks in part to collaborations with major US stars — the sonic view of mainstream hip-hop is also starting to change.
Issues with genre labeling when Western music is no longer the default
Since the inception of the modern music industry, its scope has remained Western-oriented for nearly a century. The same story follows for hip-hop and rap, where the primary tracks that have dominated top charts and radio are released from artists in America—so much so that 68% of the top 50 rap/hip-hop artists globally are from the United States.
Today, thanks to the impact of digitization in music and the rise of social and streaming platforms, global sounds are breaking through the noise in ways that were never traditionally possible. But, as scenes like Afrobeats and Reggaeton move up to compete, artists from outside of Western regions are forced to separate themselves from umbrella terms like “hip-hop” by adding regional terms like “Latin” or “African” — unlike artists from the U.S., who rarely required to use terms like "American hip-hop" or "American rap."
No matter how you slice it, hip-hop/rap does appear to have undergone a dry spell on the top 50. Still, that doesn’t negate the genre’s ability to produce dominating, long-standing chart toppers. In the first quarter of 2024, a rap project has secured the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top 200 list for each month: 21 Savage’s American Dream, Ye and Ty Dolla Sign’s Vultures, and Future and Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You, respectively. Single’s are also dominating, and according to Complex, “hip-hop already has as many No. 1 songs in 2024 as it did all of 2023.”
Hip-hop's influence is so pervasive that it has become a fundamental component of almost every dominant and emerging genre, including K-pop, Afrobeats, and Latin music. However, it's not always feasible to label everything as hip-hop, which can lead to its dominance being overlooked on charts and playlists.
This is why it is crucial to continue paying attention to hip-hop, not just within the United States but globally. Ignoring hip-hop because it appears to be 'in decline' risks losing sight of local hip-hop scenes and the rich cultural expressions they represent. As glocalization becomes more prevalent and the U.S. loses some of its cultural dominance, understanding and appreciating the global evolution of hip-hop will become even more important.
