{"id":1778795,"date":"2026-02-18T13:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1778795"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:29:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:29:00","slug":"rap-music-isnt-dead-its-evolving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1778795","title":{"rendered":"Rap music isn\u2019t dead \u2013 it\u2019s evolving"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/0-84-2321-1547\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437825.png&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/music\/article\/69665\/1\/is-rap-music-dead-hip-hop-k-pop-reggaeton\" data-article-id=\"69665\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.76\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Screenshot 2026-02-17 at 12.22.24\" class=\"img\" height=\"1631\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1400\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437825.png\" width=\"2870\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">Youngboy NBA \u201cReturn of <span class=\"nowrap\">Goldie\u201d still<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-02-18T13:29:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"18 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"18\">18,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - music\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\">Music<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/opinion\">Opinion<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\">Music<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/opinion\">Opinion<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>Rap music isn\u2019t dead \u2013 <span class=\"nowrap\">it\u2019s evolving<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>Hip hop is changing, but it\u2019s still as influential as ever before, inspiring everything from K-Pop and reggaeton to the music of Tate McRae. So why are people so eager to declare it dead \u2014 and what are they <span class=\"nowrap\">really missing?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-18T13:29:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"18 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"18\">18,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-18T13:29:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"18 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"18\">18,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/solomonpacemccarrick\">Solomon Pace-McCarrick<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>The death knell sounded in October 2025. After 35 consecutive years in the US charts, and six as the best-selling genre in the country, for one week late last year, rap music failed to appear in the Billboard top 40. Immediately, think pieces <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2025\/11\/23\/good-riddance-to-rap-music\/\">sprung<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/music-for-thought\/the-demise-of-hip-hop-is-near-what-happened-c606e352c928\">up<\/a> across the internet proclaiming the imminent death of the genre, with many citing \u2018overcommercialisation\u2019 as the murder weapon. Even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/kendall-jenner\">Kendall Jenner<\/a> hopped on the bandwagon, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.complex.com\/pop-culture\/a\/jaelaniturnerwilliams\/kendall-jenner-rap-repetitive-kendrick-lamar-tyler-the-creator\">complaining that<\/a> rap music is \u201crepetitive\u201d in an interview last month. But are these people right? Is rap music really hooked up to a life support machine, being read its last rites and, with its dying breath, hastily cutting Kid Rock out of the will?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1>RAP HAS BECOME POP\u00a0<\/h1>\n<p><span>Well, firstly, let\u2019s take a look at the Billboard list in question. It\u2019s true that there are no straightforward rappers on the chart between 25 and 31 October, with almost the entire top 10 being taken up by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/taylor-swift\">Taylor Swift<\/a>\u2019s then recently released album <\/span><em><span>The Life of a Showgirl<\/span><\/em><span>, but that doesn\u2019t mean the genre is absent. Take Saja Boys\u2019 \u201cYour Idol\u201d, for example, which sat at number 20 that week. The song is classified as K-pop, but it\u2019s hard to deny that its synthetic drum loop and central rap verse are lifted straight out of hip hop. Likewise, listen to Tate McRae\u2019s \u201cTit for Tat\u201d, which hovered near the number one spot before being dethroned by Swift \u2013 as much as McRae\u2019s vocals may be pop, the track\u2019s drum loop (and, in particular, the stuttered percussion before the second chorus) is heavily indebted to techniques pioneered by Atlanta\u2019s trap scene in the mid-2010s.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"2FS3JAPTKXs\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2FS3JAPTKXs\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Further afield, take regga\u00e9ton, which consistently ranks as one of the biggest genres globally and has experienced a particular uptick following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/69588\/1\/together-we-are-america-unpacking-bad-bunny-super-bowl-performance-2026\">Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl<\/a> performance last week. 30 years ago, the genre\u2019s Puerto Rican pioneers \u2013 DJ Playero and DJ Nelson \u2013 drew influence from the MC culture and looping production methods of hip hop and its close cousin dancehall, fusing them with traditional bomba rhythms to produce the reggaeton we know today. Bad Bunny is, among other things, a rapper.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>K-pop followed a similar journey, quite literally starting as Korea\u2019s response to hip hop. In 1992, Korean boyband Seo Taiji and Boys debuted on national Korean television, performing rap verses and choreographed dance routines in baggy baseball jerseys imported from America. The moment marked both the advent of Korean hip hop and the K-pop group formula which endures today. Examples like these are written all over the charts \u2013 despite its detractors, hip hop\u2019s influence looms larger than ever across modern pop music.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span>RAP WAS NEVER JUST ONE SOUND<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Meanwhile, as much as rap music has diffused into the mainstream over the last three decades, it has also become increasingly diffuse itself. Take BigXThaPlug\u2019s \u201cHell At Night feat. Ella Langley\u201d, which was the closest thing to a pure rap song on the Billboard chart last October. Until the light drum pattern and booming rap verse arrive 62 seconds into the song, there is quite literally nothing hip hop about the track at all \u2013 it\u2019s basically country music. What\u2019s more, when you compare it to the second most-popular \u2018rap\u2019 song on the chart that week \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/kendrick-lamar\">Kendrick Lamar<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/sza\">SZA<\/a>\u2019s \u201cLuther\u201d, structured as a ballad between its two West Coast stars \u2013 it\u2019s hard to pinpoint any similarities at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"VQpmWQU5_8E\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VQpmWQU5_8E\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Here lies a second distinction: rap music itself is almost unmanageably vast. Sonically speaking, very few of the genre\u2019s biggest releases over the past year share anything in common \u2013 take Clipse\u2019s <\/span><em><span>Let God Sort Em Out<\/span><\/em><span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/esdeekid\">EsDeeKid<\/a>\u2019s <\/span><em><span>Rebel<\/span><\/em><span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fakemink\">fakemink<\/a>\u2019s <\/span><em><span>The Boy Who Cried Terrified<\/span><\/em><span>\u00a0or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tyler-the-creator\">Tyler, the Creator<\/a>\u2019s <\/span><em><span>Don\u2019t Tap The Glass<\/span><\/em><span>. While the first marks a return to hip hop\u2019s boom-bap heyday, the latter records all represent a wave of new genres and influences into the medium.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Far from signifying a decay in the genre, this diffuseness speaks to something fundamental in hip hop. Speaking to Dazed in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/68877\/1\/mike-and-earl-sweatshirt-head-to-head-interview-live-laugh-love\"><span>October last year<\/span><\/a><span>, Odd Future alumni Earl Sweatshirt defined rap music solely by its malleability: \u201cIt\u2019s the first genre that said, \u2018We got room for everything\u2019, by way of what was initially dealt with as theft and piracy. Rap is the number zero, you can multiply it, throw anything in it and it\u2019s just zero. It can be folk, it can be gospel, it can be anything. It\u2019s forever.\u201d Through this line of thought, rap\u2019s diffusion and dissemination start to seem less like a decline and more like a transcendence of genre itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span>THE \u2018OVERCOMMERCIALISATION\u2019 ARGUMENT<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Returning to fakemink, however, the rising UK Ug star does represent one commonly cited reason behind hip hop\u2019s supposed decline: over-commercialisation. When fakemink recently declared that he was an artist and not a rapper (a statement that he has since doubled back on), some online commentators were quick to accuse him of abandoning his rap roots, reflecting a wider critique of artists like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/drake\">Drake<\/a> who have diluted the genre in search of mass appeal. \u201cDrake is the personification of a culture dying, [he] was making music that was subpar in quality in favour of capitalising on the industry,\u201d reads <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenorthernlight.org\/stories\/sound-and-sociology-is-hip-hop-dying\"><span>one such article<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>This argument presents hip hop\u2019s supposed over-commercialisation as a domino effect, starting with Drake\u2019s mainstream breakthrough <\/span><em><span>Take Care<\/span><\/em><span> in 2011, and ending with \u2018real\u2019 rappers being dethroned by artists like Saja Boys and Tate McRae on the Billboard Top 40 last October. But is this really hip hop\u2019s fault? It seems strange to blame artists like Drake for achieving commercial success, and artists like mink for seeking it, when there are so many pop stars profiting off techniques that hip hop pioneered. Moreover, their success does not seem to come at the expense of other, more traditional rap artists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To some extent, this argument is self-defeating: it was hip hop\u2019s brief absence from commercial charts that led to the \u2018rap is dead\u2019 discourse in the first place, yet over-commercialisation is the cause? Perhaps the real issue is that we\u2019re conflating a culture\u2019s value with its commercial performance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span>WHO PROFITS FROM RAP\u2019S INFLUENCE?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>But the dissemination of hip hop techniques throughout the commercial mainstream does reveal a deeper issue that is currently being neglected \u2013 and partially perpetuated \u2013 by the \u2018rap is dead\u2019 discourse. Hip hop might be more influential than ever, but that doesn\u2019t mean the same communities are profiting. Rap music is deeply rooted in the African-American experience; it was born in New York\u2019s Bronx neighbourhood in the early 70s, and early hits like \u201cThe Message\u201d were primarily concerned with the social issues that that neighbourhood faced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"PobrSpMwKk4\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PobrSpMwKk4\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>The genre\u2019s spectacular popularity in the decades that followed is a powerful testament to the innovation of these early pioneers \u2013 the use of sampling, the democratisation of storytelling through rap, and the looping of drum patterns are all now cornerstones of modern production. But these histories largely go untold in the cultural narrative around popular music today, and risk being further silenced by premature declarations of the genre\u2019s death. Perhaps we need to reframe the discussion: rather than declaring that rap is dead, we should celebrate that it\u2019s more influential than ever. This might not rectify financial imbalances within the industry, but it would certainly be a step forward in recognising these foundational contributions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! 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class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"DLH_PRESS_FINAL\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-2-3000-1995\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437175.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Danny L Harle: \u2018You can\u2019t overestimate the power of your own club night\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/69624\/1\/ticket-prices-are-sucking-the-fun-out-of-pop-harry-styles-taylor-swift-music\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"GettyImages-1393470392\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-0-1012-673\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437133.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Pop music isn\u2019t fun anymore<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/69623\/1\/musicians-protesting-ice-raid-minneapolis-noise-colorado-immigration\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"iceout\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-0-1024-681\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437131.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Sonic warfare: How musicians are using \u2018noise protests\u2019 against ICE<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/69565\/1\/judeline-past-present-and-future-of-spanish-music-andalusia\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Judeline_Retouched_Sent_7\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-2-3000-1995\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436480.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Judeline is the past, present and future of Spanish music <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/69594\/1\/chanel-beads-is-searching-for-meaning-in-this-big-old-world\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"DC290_S06_SoundOn_ChanelBeads_KendalWalker_02\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/111-0-1605-1068\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436776.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Chanel Beads is searching for meaning in \u201cthis big old world\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline\" data-newsletter hidden>\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>The death knell sounded in October 2025. After 35 consecutive years in the US charts, and six as the best-selling genre in the country, for one week late last year, rap music failed to appear in the Billboard top 40. Immediately, think pieces <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2025\/11\/23\/good-riddance-to-rap-music\/\">sprung<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/music-for-thought\/the-demise-of-hip-hop-is-near-what-happened-c606e352c928\">up<\/a> across the internet proclaiming the imminent death of the genre, with many citing \u2018overcommercialisation\u2019 as the murder weapon. Even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/kendall-jenner\">Kendall Jenner<\/a> hopped on the bandwagon, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.complex.com\/pop-culture\/a\/jaelaniturnerwilliams\/kendall-jenner-rap-repetitive-kendrick-lamar-tyler-the-creator\">complaining that<\/a> rap music is \u201crepetitive\u201d in an interview last month. But are these people right? Is rap music really hooked up to a life support machine, being read its last rites and, with its dying breath, hastily cutting Kid Rock out of the will?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1>RAP HAS BECOME POP\u00a0<\/h1>\n<p><span>Well, firstly, let\u2019s take a look at the Billboard list in question. It\u2019s true that there are no straightforward rappers on the chart between 25 and 31 October, with almost the entire top 10 being taken up by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/taylor-swift\">Taylor Swift<\/a>\u2019s then recently released album <\/span><em><span>The Life of a Showgirl<\/span><\/em><span>, but that doesn\u2019t mean the genre is absent. Take Saja Boys\u2019 \u201cYour Idol\u201d, for example, which sat at number 20 that week. The song is classified as K-pop, but it\u2019s hard to deny that its synthetic drum loop and central rap verse are lifted straight out of hip hop. Likewise, listen to Tate McRae\u2019s \u201cTit for Tat\u201d, which hovered near the number one spot before being dethroned by Swift \u2013 as much as McRae\u2019s vocals may be pop, the track\u2019s drum loop (and, in particular, the stuttered percussion before the second chorus) is heavily indebted to techniques pioneered by Atlanta\u2019s trap scene in the mid-2010s.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"2FS3JAPTKXs\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2FS3JAPTKXs\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Further afield, take regga\u00e9ton, which consistently ranks as one of the biggest genres globally and has experienced a particular uptick following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/69588\/1\/together-we-are-america-unpacking-bad-bunny-super-bowl-performance-2026\">Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl<\/a> performance last week. 30 years ago, the genre\u2019s Puerto Rican pioneers \u2013 DJ Playero and DJ Nelson \u2013 drew influence from the MC culture and looping production methods of hip hop and its close cousin dancehall, fusing them with traditional bomba rhythms to produce the reggaeton we know today. Bad Bunny is, among other things, a rapper.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>K-pop followed a similar journey, quite literally starting as Korea\u2019s response to hip hop. In 1992, Korean boyband Seo Taiji and Boys debuted on national Korean television, performing rap verses and choreographed dance routines in baggy baseball jerseys imported from America. The moment marked both the advent of Korean hip hop and the K-pop group formula which endures today. Examples like these are written all over the charts \u2013 despite its detractors, hip hop\u2019s influence looms larger than ever across modern pop music.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span>RAP WAS NEVER JUST ONE SOUND<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Meanwhile, as much as rap music has diffused into the mainstream over the last three decades, it has also become increasingly diffuse itself. Take BigXThaPlug\u2019s \u201cHell At Night feat. Ella Langley\u201d, which was the closest thing to a pure rap song on the Billboard chart last October. Until the light drum pattern and booming rap verse arrive 62 seconds into the song, there is quite literally nothing hip hop about the track at all \u2013 it\u2019s basically country music. What\u2019s more, when you compare it to the second most-popular \u2018rap\u2019 song on the chart that week \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/kendrick-lamar\">Kendrick Lamar<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/sza\">SZA<\/a>\u2019s \u201cLuther\u201d, structured as a ballad between its two West Coast stars \u2013 it\u2019s hard to pinpoint any similarities at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"VQpmWQU5_8E\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VQpmWQU5_8E\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Here lies a second distinction: rap music itself is almost unmanageably vast. Sonically speaking, very few of the genre\u2019s biggest releases over the past year share anything in common \u2013 take Clipse\u2019s <\/span><em><span>Let God Sort Em Out<\/span><\/em><span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/esdeekid\">EsDeeKid<\/a>\u2019s <\/span><em><span>Rebel<\/span><\/em><span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fakemink\">fakemink<\/a>\u2019s <\/span><em><span>The Boy Who Cried Terrified<\/span><\/em><span>\u00a0or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tyler-the-creator\">Tyler, the Creator<\/a>\u2019s <\/span><em><span>Don\u2019t Tap The Glass<\/span><\/em><span>. While the first marks a return to hip hop\u2019s boom-bap heyday, the latter records all represent a wave of new genres and influences into the medium.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Far from signifying a decay in the genre, this diffuseness speaks to something fundamental in hip hop. Speaking to Dazed in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/68877\/1\/mike-and-earl-sweatshirt-head-to-head-interview-live-laugh-love\"><span>October last year<\/span><\/a><span>, Odd Future alumni Earl Sweatshirt defined rap music solely by its malleability: \u201cIt\u2019s the first genre that said, \u2018We got room for everything\u2019, by way of what was initially dealt with as theft and piracy. Rap is the number zero, you can multiply it, throw anything in it and it\u2019s just zero. It can be folk, it can be gospel, it can be anything. It\u2019s forever.\u201d Through this line of thought, rap\u2019s diffusion and dissemination start to seem less like a decline and more like a transcendence of genre itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span>THE \u2018OVERCOMMERCIALISATION\u2019 ARGUMENT<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Returning to fakemink, however, the rising UK Ug star does represent one commonly cited reason behind hip hop\u2019s supposed decline: over-commercialisation. When fakemink recently declared that he was an artist and not a rapper (a statement that he has since doubled back on), some online commentators were quick to accuse him of abandoning his rap roots, reflecting a wider critique of artists like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/drake\">Drake<\/a> who have diluted the genre in search of mass appeal. \u201cDrake is the personification of a culture dying, [he] was making music that was subpar in quality in favour of capitalising on the industry,\u201d reads <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenorthernlight.org\/stories\/sound-and-sociology-is-hip-hop-dying\"><span>one such article<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>This argument presents hip hop\u2019s supposed over-commercialisation as a domino effect, starting with Drake\u2019s mainstream breakthrough <\/span><em><span>Take Care<\/span><\/em><span> in 2011, and ending with \u2018real\u2019 rappers being dethroned by artists like Saja Boys and Tate McRae on the Billboard Top 40 last October. But is this really hip hop\u2019s fault? It seems strange to blame artists like Drake for achieving commercial success, and artists like mink for seeking it, when there are so many pop stars profiting off techniques that hip hop pioneered. Moreover, their success does not seem to come at the expense of other, more traditional rap artists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To some extent, this argument is self-defeating: it was hip hop\u2019s brief absence from commercial charts that led to the \u2018rap is dead\u2019 discourse in the first place, yet over-commercialisation is the cause? Perhaps the real issue is that we\u2019re conflating a culture\u2019s value with its commercial performance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span>WHO PROFITS FROM RAP\u2019S INFLUENCE?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>But the dissemination of hip hop techniques throughout the commercial mainstream does reveal a deeper issue that is currently being neglected \u2013 and partially perpetuated \u2013 by the \u2018rap is dead\u2019 discourse. Hip hop might be more influential than ever, but that doesn\u2019t mean the same communities are profiting. Rap music is deeply rooted in the African-American experience; it was born in New York\u2019s Bronx neighbourhood in the early 70s, and early hits like \u201cThe Message\u201d were primarily concerned with the social issues that that neighbourhood faced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"PobrSpMwKk4\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PobrSpMwKk4\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>The genre\u2019s spectacular popularity in the decades that followed is a powerful testament to the innovation of these early pioneers \u2013 the use of sampling, the democratisation of storytelling through rap, and the looping of drum patterns are all now cornerstones of modern production. But these histories largely go untold in the cultural narrative around popular music today, and risk being further silenced by premature declarations of the genre\u2019s death. Perhaps we need to reframe the discussion: rather than declaring that rap is dead, we should celebrate that it\u2019s more influential than ever. This might not rectify financial imbalances within the industry, but it would certainly be a step forward in recognising these foundational contributions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/69665\/1\/is-rap-music-dead-hip-hop-k-pop-reggaeton&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/0-84-2321-1547\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437825.png&#8221;] Youngboy NBA \u201cReturn of Goldie\u201d still February\u00a0 18,\u00a0 2026 Music \/ Opinion Music \/ Opinion Rap music isn\u2019t dead \u2013 it\u2019s evolving Hip hop is changing, but it\u2019s still as influential as ever before, inspiring everything from K-Pop and reggaeton to the music of Tate McRae. So why are people so eager [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1778795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1778795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1778795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1778795\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1778795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1778795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1778795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}