While music-industry sales have plummeted, no genre has fallen harder than rap. According to the music trade publication Billboard, rap sales have dropped 44% since 2000 and declined from 13% of all music sales to 10%. Artists who were once the tent poles at rap labels are posting disappointing numbers. Jay-Z’s return album, Kingdom Come, for instance, sold a gaudy 680,000 units in its first week, according to Billboard. But by the second week, its sales had declined some 80%. This year rap sales are down 33% so far.
Hip-hop now faces a generation that takes gangsta rap as just another mundane marker in the cultural scenery. “It’s collapsing because they can no longer fool the white kids,” says Nickels. “There’s only so much redundancy anyone can take.”
Before anyone accuses me of being an old fuddy duddy (which I am) I grew up with rap music. From the 80s through the 90s I listened to Run-DMC, Public Enemy, the Getto Boys, Cyprus Hill, to name a few. Eventually I got bored of the new stuff coming out. The music industry should realize that all genres of music will eventually become niche, mutate into something new, or die.
Well, I would offer that there’s a better explanation than “rap is dead”. Since it started off among the black population, and suburban white guys listen to it to “keep it real”, it’s lost some of it’s cool factor. I’d also say that it’s just more prone to P2P downloading than other music because the culture changes almost daily in effort to be cooler than anyone else. Plus, the folks who listen to it need to keep their cash in their pockets to afford those $10k wheels for their $12k car, or their $70k car on a $25k/year income.
You folks are crazy.
Maybe you don’t like the genre per se, (I know I don’t) but there are good quality music everywhere. Even rap has good performers and performances. It’s just that by nature, rap should never ever be mainstream. It’s a contradiction in terms. Like everything else in the world, when corporations get a hold of something genuine, they ruin it trying to apply a formula, and watering it down to get the most audience.
The best rap stuff comes out of those independent, small outfits, and garage bands and producers. And is to be consumed locally. The rest is just exploitation. 50cents is closer to Aguilera than to it’s roots… Sounds flaky…
I wish they could say the same thing for pop punk..
Note that the first generation of rappers were the only ones with real talent (with a few exceptions). RUN-DMC, LL Cool J, The Fresh Prince, and even Ice-T and Ice Cube’s “gangsta” (today’s gansta rappers would laugh at the lyrics that shocked America 20 years ago) are far better than any crap called rap today.
#2 – “if you’re thinking of buying a rap album, take about $10 or $12 out of your wallet and wipe your ass with it.”
ROFLMFAO!!!! I used to love Sam Kinison.
#5 – Moss – Yes, I agree. Rap music is an oxymoron.
#15 – “You can’t spell “crap” without “rap”…”
ROFLMFAO!!!! Again!
#6 –
Honestly, it’s not just rap that is dead, it’s all music! The recording industry and MTV have pretty much destroyed it all. It’s not that there aren’t good bands/groups out there (even rap), its that the record companies would rather take some untalented moron, bling him up and have him spout out pointless retarded lyrics, instead of spending the time to find someone with talent. And they can get away with it because they still print money!
I know I’m gonna get flamed for this but NERDCORE 4 LIFE (or until something better comes along)!
We need some new crossover genres. Maybe:
Christian-Deathmetal
Punk-Country
Speedmetal-Polka
Maybe just Baptist Dance music…
#21 – jim – there isnt much real creativity in music anymore (a few exceptions of course)
And here’s one of those exceptions.
This is a great blog site with many interesting and intelligent readers and I always enjoy reading these threads…
However, less than 5% of you know jack shit about music.
Rap and Hip Hop are two different things, neither is even close to dead.
You really have to look past Billboard charts. If there is a poster advertising an album in a window at the mall… that album is probably recycled, focus-grouped, watered-down, Clear Channel approved swill…
But some small percentage of the best music ever recorded, was recorded in the past 12 months, and I cannot remember a time when that wasn’t true.
If you used to listen to a lot of music but you hardly listen anymore, you never liked music in the first place.
If you are asked what music you like and you say “I like all kinds of music”, then you don’t know anything about music.
I may be an elitist snob when it comes to music… but snobs set the standard for excellence. The rest of you are invited to take a free Kenny G CD from the cut out bin at Sam Goody.
Before anyone accuses me of being an old fuddy duddy
Aside from an aging hipster like me, who in this crowd of crusty curmudgeons could accuse you of that?
DOOD! WTF is with the picture of Vanilla Ice? You listened to Run-DMC, Public Enemy, etc and the first thing you associate with RAP is Vanilla “assclown” Ice? Old Fuddy Duddy wounldn’t be the words that come to mind. You’re killing me.
Im glad to see music sales are down, no matter what category. The music labels can take their crap and shove up their collective asses.
#6 – John is more into Tupac, Ice Cube, and occasionally Beastie Boys (Brass Monkey to be specific). Brass monkey that funky monkey………
I think Rap was black people’s way at having their own music. It was a kind of protest for being shun from the record industry.
I really thought black rap artist were bringing their race down by talking bad about black woman and shooting people. Not all rapper’s were like that but many have had questionable life experiences. I am not sure that rap uplifted many black youth. I think rather the youth started to think gangs were cool because rappers sung about them. But I will say that their is just as many white untalented artist out there as well.
Some of this can certainly be blamed on the music companies.
44. “the first thing you associate with RAP is Vanilla “assclown” Ice?”
Nope, the first thing I associate with rap dying is Vanilla “assclown” Ice. Can you think of anyone who did more to kill rap than Mr. Ice Ice Baby?!
SN – Touche sir. Yes, I would point the finger squarely at Kevin Federline.
#45: Damn. “…Rap was black people’s way at having their own music. ” Wow. Can I take a look at your Nazi paraphernalia sometime? And for the record… Hendrix, Gillespie, James Brown, Little Richard, and Ella Fitzgerald, and a ‘few’ others were popular before rap. So I would probably say the ‘negro’s (as you would call them) had other options to call their own. For the record…. mainly suburban cracker white boys accounted for the sales. So really its the white boys way of having their own music.
46. SN- Only Milli Fricken Vanilli.
The best thing about this topic is the strong positive correlation between Rap haters and right-wing conservative war-mongers.
Showing your true colors
Vanilla Ice???? I thought that was the Chicago Bear’s Jim McMahon.
Sales are down cause no one pays for music – at least teens to 20 something don’t. The music is still being listened to all over the place.
I liked it back in the Ice-T Cop Killer days (Body Count) when it pissed off Tipper Gore and had Metal overtones.. But then along came hip-hop and bling (thanx for nothing record companies) and it became pablum for the masses..
A brief, sad hiccup on the timeline of music, a footnote.
A handful of talented people took a shot at it – e.g., Blondie’s Rapture , Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly ’90 – did a few amusing things with it, mashed it up with a viable style, quickly exhausted it’s creative possibilities and moved on, leaving it in the capable hands of semiliterates droning violent filth and childish rhymes over the musical genius that can only be found by smoking bad drugs and pressing the buttons on a $300 Japanese box of chips.
The occasional anomaly of some glimmer of cleverness shining out from the putrid sewage cannot redeem what is and will remain worthless unmusical crap created by and for the lowest common denominator, mindless drek that resembles music much like a bobblehead of George Bush resembles Michelangelo’s David.
Ya. Fucking “Music for the Ages.” Don’t make me laugh.
Play a CW record backwards and your pick-up, dog and wife all come back!
Old, I know, but I always like that one! 😉
Cheers
…and you sober up, too.
But some small percentage of the best music ever recorded, was recorded in the past 12 months, and I cannot remember a time when that wasn’t true.
Recorded or Released? Huge difference there.
Though I do agree with you on that most people posting here don’t know jack about Hip Hop/Rap industry let alone the Music Industry itself. But man what are you smoking thinking that a “small percentage of the best music recorded/released was in the past 12 months”!!??
I’m going to assume you mean “Best” within the Hip Hop industry. And “Best” by quality of originality and technical achievement. Maybe, just maybe, the technical achievement might be arguable.
But in no way is the originality anywhere near close. Kanye, and maybe Timbo are alone in probably almost all areas of achievement. But they alone cannot represent your claim. Techn9ne should also be thrown up there, although, given my knowledge of his production process, it still lacks much of what should be considered “Best”
Which leaves me to state that the “Best” production “ever” done in the Hip Hop industry, HAS NOT been acclomplished over the last 12 months. Not even the last 5 years. And don’t make any of the audiophiles start listing the greats of Hip Hop. (Don’t want to have to start listing prolific producers like Quik or Rubin)
I just wanted to note this for those who may have taken your words for some certain value.
Oh and if you were referring to “Recorded” in the sense that it has not yet been released, well then forget all that I have said. I’ll await for the future.
Oh and Hip Hop/Rap is not dead. Just lack of talent right now. It’s a sound that can adapt to many forms of music. Which is why it has lasted this long.
well since the vast majority of rap fans are at the bottom of the economic food chain it is no wonder that sales drop. hell most people can not afford to pay their house payment. My guess is even if you listen to rap you are more likely to pay your rent/mortgage than buy cds and given that salaries/wages are down and fuel and everything else is up no one can afford cds.
#57 – No… I actually meant music overall… If fact, I’d agree there has been a dearth of good hip hop lately, but there is some good stuff out there.
Good luck finding it because Clear Channel doesn’t play it and Wal Mart doesn’t sell it.
For some solid new indy rock, check out The Klaxons.
I’ll attempt to comment without some of the racial overtones I’ve noticed.
Rap isn’t dead, nor is the Hip Hop culture (by the way there’s a difference). It will have peaks and valleys just as any other genre of music.
You can’t look at a commercial on television without seeing/hearing hip hop culture/rap music.
Movies have rap music in their soundtracks. You hear rap music at amusement parks.
For that matter, you can’t look at your own kids and NOT see the hip hop culture.
My point is….it’s FAR FROM DEAD. You may hate it with a passion, which is your choice, but it AIN’T DEAD. It could be dead IN YOUR HOUSE, but you gotta come out at some point.
Hell, if you are not as internet savvy as your kids, it’s not even dead in your house…..LOL!
You are fooling yourself if you think rap music is dead. It’s not even dying.
Take care, critics.
latuh
Let me first start by saying Hip Hop is far from dead just because the phrase was used loosley and you rock, cuntry, and hip hop hating peolpe jumped to it dosent mean its true…… If anything is dead its most all other forms of music.
Example: every where you go Hip Hop is there on your t.v on your computer in your magazines, ect.
But wheres the rock or cuntry? I honestly never hear anyone playing any other type of music. So I leave you with a quote from Marc Ecko:
“When you show your dis like for the new age of music you truly show your age.”
Hip-Hop isnt dead it lives on in all the good rappers Jay-z, Nas, Cassidy, 50 Cent, Fabolous, Lil Wayne, and Young Jeezy ( Yes Jeezy ) along with countless others.
Geez, dude, learn to spell.
“Hip-Hop isnt dead it lives on in all the good rappers Jay-z, Nas, Cassidy, 50 Cent, Fabolous, Lil Wayne, and Young Jeezy ( Yes Jeezy ) along with countless others.”
No, it lives on with MF Doom, Madlib, Kovas, El-P, J-Dilla, Ghostface, Count Bass D, ect.
See first of all you misunderstood the question … He asked if Rap is dead not Hip Hop – 2 different things, now are we referring to hard core rap? Dirty south Rap? pop rap? Rap is very common, too common. I saw this trend as a former DJ a while back. Once we see Grandmas, and cartoons rapping and even bugs bunny or Fred Flintstone with his shoes untied, trying to be cool. its time for a change. Dirty south and dance rap still plays well in clubs but has little substance. The Hardcore rappers are older and becoming fathers / husbands and cant continue to act the way they did as teens. The cleaner rappers just dont get the street cred to sale records, and the White audience has moved on to other styles of pop and mostly dance music. there is no real history in rap and new rappers have little respect for there predecessors and for the historic value of rap. Most would not be caught dead playing a 5 year old rap song for fear of looking uncool. like other forms of music – classic Motown, Club music from the 70s and 80s. radio pop all hold up because it lasts. a 18 year old that likes little wayne now, would look silly in 10 years singing songs like “Duffel bag boy”. at age 28, where as we can sing Marvin Gay / lets get it on till we die. thats a historic and lasting song. Very little rap gets to that status. some HIP HOP will though. 2 different animals, hip hop is a culture , rap is a style of music.
Now that rap is over, I plan to go back to pre-MTV Stones and Zeppelin!
60. “If anything is dead its most all other forms of music.”
Gee, is reading really that hard?! From the article, right above, in BOLD you fricken moron!
In other words, rap (or hip-hop, or whatever you want to call it this week) is selling less than every other form of music. Moron.
“But wheres the rock or cuntry?”
Actually, Country is the only popular music that is growing in sales. (I”m assuming it’s because country music fans are too stupid to download music off the internet.)