Hip-hop vacuum leaves opportunity

I can rarely recall such a time in hip-hop where there has been such a dearth of big stars. Hip-hop and many of its sub genres are still thriving but when it comes to the big names things have been pretty poor these last few years. Let’s take a look!

Kendrick Lamar is probably the best big name rapper in the universe. He’s rarely put a foot wrong and each of his albums are classics in their own right.

Kendrick is an amazing lyricist and wonderful live performer too, his catalog stands up with pretty much anything in the history of rap. Kendrick, for his own reasons, which we respect, is not gonna go and drop a new album every 12 months, and this is probably a good thing.

I doubt he cares about his streams; he is more likely to be taking downtime or else deep in contemplation about his next career move.

Therefore, in some ways, Kendrick is off the grid right now, so who else is leaping into the big hip-hop void?

There’s still big names and hugely successful artists. Drake continues to have huge success but does his music have the same cultural impact as it did a few years ago? No way. Kanye made a cultural impact this century that has been unparalleled by anyone in hip-hop but his recent album again will not go down as a classic, despite the usual few bangers. Drake and Kanye have not released fully formed great bodies of work in a good while, so there has been an opportunity for those next in line to steal some momentum. Jay Z and Ye once released Watch the Throne but those next in line have been slipping.

Travis Scott had a big opportunity. Momentum, hype, a great live show, an iconic album, (Astroworld) celebrity, great beats and a huge profile.

People died at his music festival in 2021 and though he managed to tip-toe through that crisis, his own long awaited follow-up to Astroworld never really caught the imagination of the wider world.

Other well placed MCs died before they could really take over. Pop Smoke was probably the best of a slew of youngsters to make an impact. You could also make claims for Lil Peep, Juice Wrld or XXXtentacion but I think Pop Smoke was the biggest cultural loss for the genre.

Who else is gonna take the throne? Tyler the Creator makes great music and is culturally important and influential. He’s no Kendrick however. J Cole is still about and veterans like Lil Wayne can still make bangers.

Nicki Minaj is still here and the new school of rap women making an impact includes Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Ice Spice, Sexxy Red, Latto, GloRilla, Coi Leray and many more. I’m a fan of them all but I don’t think any or on the Kendrick level.

There’s big pop crossover rappers such as Doja Cat and Lizzo, but again I’d group them more with Drake at this stage when it comes to their wider commercial impact rather than their hip-hop one.

The golden age of trap music may now be passing, but it did bring us Young Thug, Future, Playboi Carti, 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert, Migos, Metro Boomin’ and many more great artists. Many of these, such as Future, have had a huge impact. Playboi Carti is possibly best placed to continue to do so now, while Yeat recently released a pretty big album too. None are gonna ultimately go down as rappers who were as important as peak Kendrick or Kanye though.

Maybe the answer lies outside the US. The Brits are flying right now and ask kids in Cork who they like and many will say Central Cee, Dave, D-Block Europe or even Little Simz, J Hus, Giggs or Skepta, depending on their age. In Ireland we have Offica, Sello, Travis & Ellzz and many more.

Much of the most exciting hip-hop related music comes from sub genres such as trap and drill or even other closely related underground movements such as brazilian funk or jersey club.

Maybe this is where the next huge star will come from. Because at the moment, there’s a little bit of a vacuum. But that can be a good thing too.

The next superstar of rap is probably out there working hard right now!