Lot of Rappers since the middle 2010s, especially those TRYING to be mainstream, have said they literally only listen to Rap 95 to 100 percent of the time

While Rappers prior listened to and gained inspo from tons of genres that added to the creativity, sound and styles

Method Man example:

Most Rappers since the middle 2010s trying to be mainstream or mainstream adjacent proudly talk about how Rap is all they know, and even worst it's usually just Rap relative to them. This also adds to the stagnation and infinite recycling that mainstream Rap n wannabe mainstream underground has been stuck in this decade.

While Rappers even like Kendrick n Drake listen to tons of music outside of Rap, and listen to lots of different Rap eras, that adds to their sound, lyrics and creativity. Others too like Kanye, Wayne, 2Pac, Biggie even people like 50 Cent and Young Thug etc.

It was very common from the 80s to early 2010s of Rappers listening to things like Funk, various Rock, Soul, Jazz, various Electronic/Dance, RnB, Pop etc. But now it's not and in some cases n circles it's made fun of and looked at as lame. Thus adds to the ourobours nature Rap is stuck in of the 2020s.

And sumn I don't think people touch when talking about mainstream Rap dying and coming to a standstill. Rappers of the early to middlish 2010s was the last of this such as "the big 3", ASAP Rocky, Future, Chance the Rapper, YG etc.

Sumn to think about, maybe.

TFIF out now!

ktt2.com/water-givers-denzel-waters-official-self-made-music-thread-32587653

They do listen to other genres

Rappers only listening to their own music is what will help kill the genre

It’s fine to stick to a genre but your own bubble? Nahhhh

the problem these lil niggas don’t respect hiphop ,or the niggas that came before them. niggas don’t know how to make classics because they didn’t grow up on hiphop classics.

This new generation don’t respect the craft

When I was 13 I knew classics from the 90s and 80s and respect the s*** out the genre. these niggas not real hiphop fans just looking for a quick buck because they got a little flow

Also forgot to mention in my posts that Rap is/was already a genre of many influences and genres combined into one since the 70s - starting with a lot of Funk, Reggae and Electronic branches that then extended to other genres every decade, such as the Jazz and Soul branches of the 90s n 2000s, or the indie Rock and pop branches of the 2010s etc - even outside of Sampling, it is/was in the DNA itself and with Rap being a young genre but also created by people around many different cultures and scenes while also not having a music school program of their own.

So Rap losing this part of its identity and relying on just itself is how we get to it now retreading same grounds and recycling itself to the very stretches it can barely handle.

what's really stalling the genre is it being taken over by kids with little life experience and low desire to be expressive lyrically

The way i see rap is that while the sonics & flow were always important, and especially in the early days like the 70s, where people weren't really making overtly lyrical or thematic songs, the lyrics and presence on the track still mattered.

now we have kids who know they can coast on aesthetic, vibes, and production, and every song is just their take on what their sonic inspirations like Carti, Yeat, Drake, Future, or Thug do.
and so now, at least if you ask me, the few people that appeal to a listener of All genres are the old guys.
we get a few like Uzi and Yeat who have the crossover potential, and flashes of it, but most rappers now have a niche fanbase that only vibes with that specific sound.
I think we've gotta stop saying rap is dead.

there are plenty of rappers who are inspired by other genres

now are they known to the masses? not really, but they exist. you gotta hunt for em though

these new cats barely know hip hop either

I think this is a big miss

These kids are clearly inspired by older music just not rap

That’s because they had to lmao

If you in my age range and even below
We didn’t grow up in a world where white music dominated. Rap was thriving

In fact I look down on niggas who had to” get into rap”

Niggas not born in this s***?

This more a symptom of society than said rappers

Those rappers from the 80s and 90s and 00s had elders and music programs in schools and churches where they were exposed to different forms of music and genres where their styles could then be shaped.

A lot of rappers also played instruments (scarface, pimp c)

Now? The parents of today have to work 2-3 jobs leaving kids to be parented by the internet, music programs get defunded from schools more than ever, and the chickens came back to roost for all the trauma church kids went through so now the youth dont jack that either.

Tl;dr: capitalism sucks. Who knew

this feels like an extremely anecdotal expression idk, the effort it takes to listen to different genres now is close to zero, maybe generally rappers being less students of music than in past i could see, I guess?

Kids just can't even read or write no more. Back then teenagers were coming up with some of the greatest music we've ever heard

Yeah people always thought it was hard that Wayne only listened to himself

But to me that was a huge reason why he became so stunted

Honestly nowadays it might be the opposite when it comes to rap.

because of literally everything I listed.

Those teenagers had a different upbringing where they had access to information in a practical sense (in your schools, in the after school programs, churches, places where you had NO CHOICE but to just listen and take in all the data.)

The geeks of the 90s assumed if you just put everything in a cyber mall (a.k.a. internet) that everybody would just go see everything out of human curiosity and not just go to the most popping stores in that said mall that would emit the most dopamine (e.g. social media, p***, violence, etc.)

Look what we got a problem with today lol.

yeah for example shock g was a hip hop artist but he also played in funk bands and was a dj as well he’s not this all time great rapper but he helped craft some all time sounds. DMX was a beatboxer and breakdancer at one point, producers like RZA, Premo, Kanye, Bink that had these crazy samples had some knowledge of music as a whole to make those beats. Feels like the soundscape in general is really narrow

i got people telling me got into rap in like 2018 or 2021 or 2023 im like HOW

Not to argue against your point, but capitalism sucking is also what birthed Hip Hop. S***’s crazy

I disagree, I think this perspective is limiting to rappers and reinforces a narrative by them

it’s like saying Bron doesn’t have a bag cause he has unstoppable go to moves lmfao

There’s more music programs now than ever and they are more accessible than ever too