Oct 12, 2020 This is a good shout but I see him becoming more of a Gucci Mane type figure just beneath the radar, never quite hitting the superstar peak
Oct 12, 2020 I realize I also forgot to mention Tyler the Creator in OP. He's already big but there's potential to get even bigger there. Carti is another one I didn't mention but between him and Uzi I think Uzi's got the better chance.
Oct 12, 2020 Here in France, non-rapheads don't really listen to any of these artists (well, The Box was a hit though). I don't know any person, rap fans excluded, who even know thugger's, future's or migos' name. The only one with an international superstar aura must be Travis Scott... 6ix9ine and Lil pump are/were quite known... --- was knew and loved too. I do agree about the female artists getting bigger and bigger, they can probably become true 2020s rap icons
Oct 12, 2020 Yeah I was about to say, these people OP mentioned are only carrying the toarch in the USA cause world wide, regular people barely know them and that's sad cause rap used to have artists that were big international. I mean all of them can walk in any country in Europe and get unnoticed, easily. I mean yeah there are people that know them outside USA but only rap fans.
Oct 12, 2020 Yep, exactly this. For real, my dad (50 years old) bought me Kamikaze on CD without me telling him that eminem has a new album and that I want it. He never would have bought me an album from the mentioned artist because their are just to unknown. The OG's are known in almost every generation till maybe 60 years old (maybe even higher). The actual big ones are mostly known in america and for sure also over the world but nowhere near as much as the real big ones
Oct 12, 2020 in my opinion, Drake is for at least now the last one in a very long time to achieve this status
Oct 12, 2020 Yep I don't think people realize how big Travis Scott is especially internationally. Like it or not he's definitely the global breakout trap star. He's in the upper echelon of rap fame now.
Oct 12, 2020 I agree with your points and you definitly are right with the difference between Em an Tekashi, Em has a background and more to show than just a bold persona. Just wanted to point out the similarities. God d--- why you mentioned ringtones, now I have that polyphonic Dilemma version I had way back stuck in my head. lol And you're right, Drake is a master at playing the market and we have to respect the guy for that, that's a huge talent to be able to deliver what the masses want or set the trend, but that's exactly what I'm trying to say: Streaming era, along with the globalization of informationan and instant exchange of informationen that came with the internet, freed us in one way, but it also somewhat standardized a global mainstream culture (which Hip Hop nowadays of course is a huge defining part of, much like rock was in the 80's). It changed the way we consume music. Before you had gate keepers, namely radio and tv stations, that decided who got play, now everyone can expose their stuff on social media, create a soundcloud account or upload their mixtape onto some server for others to download to create some buzz. In that sense, I believe what I'm trying to say is that the amount of different music one can access has broadened, but at the same time if you want to reach mainstream success or the level or stardom you've described you'll have to appeal to the current wave musically (or be a super edgy personality). And unlike before this trend isn't set locally, but globally. If we take a look at the last decade, and I don't have the statistics to back this up, this is an observation, we can see how popular music has become more similar, fast-lived, melodies have become simpler, you have artists copying each others flows, styles and sounds that currently work on the charts all over the world (The Brits, French and Germans as well, trying to sound like the U.S. and vice versa) (and don't get me wrong this is is not necessarily bad, not saying that this copied music is bad). So I believe it's become harder to become a torch-carrying character in the light of this developments, you'll really have to bring some extraordinary vision to the table to set yourself apart from the others while still being able to appeal to a large audience of people to maintain longevity and attention. On the side: The pro of this development is that you can still make a good living as a small artist through the technologies we have now available which allow you to move independent.
Oct 12, 2020 Huge ? d--- you're so wrong with this one lol I don't know what's your definition of huge when it comes to a rap artist worldwide. Does every rap fan worldwide know who Kendrick lamar is ? yes of course. Regular people that don't listen to rap know who Kendrick Lamar is ? Don't think so
Oct 12, 2020 yep, thought about this as well. I think a lot people dont understand how huge someone like pac, em, kanye, jigga, weezy really is
Oct 12, 2020 Yup, been working in different big cities in Europe and people played regular music, in offices, in warehouses, in stores and I heard all those artists. I remember I was working at a big warehouse in Belgium in a very small city called Turnhout and they played Go to sleep by Eminem, DMX and Obie Trice. I was shocked cause the music that was playing inside the warehouse was only radio hits. And that was in 2018
Oct 12, 2020 Kendrick packs arenas and is always the headline. He plays for 15-20.000 people average. If think that's small your far from reality. If you are a rap fan is normal to know kendrick not the other way around. What's the definition of regular people? Because if regular means radio, then they listen to everything. Jigga, Weezy? Really? Dude even 50 Cent is way bigger then those two worldwide.
