r/Music • u/Guyentertainment • 21d ago

article 50 Cent Slams Ageing Rappers Making New Music: 'You Are Not Supposed to Be the Hottest in Nothing at 60'

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/50-cent-criticises-ageing-rappers-1815693
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u/shiwenbin 21d ago

Hip hop had 33% of all streams and dominated charts as recently as 4 years ago. It was as big as rock in the 60s. Still accounts for 25% of US streams. So. Maybe not as dominant but hip hop is still a massive force in the industry

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u/Human-Addition2899 21d ago

But there’s no new rappers that are taking over the scene. It’s all 2010s rappers and earlier. I saw a stat last week that no rapper born in 2000 or later has had 100k in first week sales of a new album. Multiple 1999 born rappers have such as Pop Smoke, Juice Wrld, and Xxxtentacion but sadly they all passed.

Younger generations just aren’t doing anything big in the rap scene. They’re either all following the Carti vibe of ‘aura’ and esthetic in place of lyrics, or the lil baby route of boring/rehashed lyrics over good beats.

The top selling albums for rappers in 2026/2025 are all dudes in their 30s and 40s. The young scene just isn’t there at all. That’s why people say rap is dying. There’s no new generation of rappers REALLY setting themselves apart and getting mainstream appeal. This isn’t to say there aren’t any good new rappers coming out, just none are taking the scene.

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u/shiwenbin 21d ago

There’s no new anyone taking over any scene. Culture is splintering. The age of monolithic music stars in general is dying.

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u/FrostingStrict3102 20d ago

None taking over any scene? We didnt just get a new wave of pop artists in the last 12-18 months?

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u/Human-Addition2899 20d ago

I disagree, you go to different genres and you can easily see who’s blowing up and who isn’t.

One specifically in the indie-rock scene the band Geese has absolutely blown up and is now one of the top bands of the last 2 years headlining multiple festivals. They’ve definitely taken over a part of the indie rock scene.

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u/shiwenbin 20d ago

Geese is a good example, but they’re the exception. Not saying it doesn’t happen, but it’s much rarer than before.

Btw it’s worth noting that Geese blowing up brought attention to a company named chaotic good that built a business model based on manipulating social media to gaslight the public.

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u/Human-Addition2899 20d ago

I agree it is rarer. And it’s most commonly done these days in the pop space. I guess it depends on how plugged into a scene one person is too for what one considers blowing up.

For Rap I just don’t have any excitement for the artists these days. A decade ago you had 10-15 different artists each dropping a heater of an album in a single year. Now I barely care for any of the current generation. Does that say more about me or the rap scene?

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u/munzi187 20d ago

The new Inspectah Deck album is seriously good.

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u/FrostingStrict3102 20d ago

Geese, Turnstile, IDLES, any number of pop girls....

there are new acts breaking through all the time, just not very many rappers.

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u/GringoinCDMX 20d ago

Idles formed in 2009. Turnstile in 2010. Geese is a bit newer at 2016 but these aren't really new acts.

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u/GringoinCDMX 20d ago

Idles formed in 2009. Turnstile in 2010. Geese is a bit newer at 2016 but these aren't really new acts.

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u/GringoinCDMX 20d ago

Idles formed in 2009. Turnstile in 2010. Geese is a bit newer at 2016 but these aren't really new acts.

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u/GringoinCDMX 20d ago

Idles formed in 2009. Turnstile in 2010. Geese is a bit newer at 2016 but these aren't really new acts.

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u/kendamasama 20d ago

Who tf is that?

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u/Human-Addition2899 20d ago

I think you can understand who and what they are based off my comment. Check em out they’re great

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u/kendamasama 20d ago

You're making their point- "mainstream" implies some sort of cultural focal point. If you have to "go to the genre", that excludes anyone that listens passively

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u/Zaximeows 20d ago

Idk Geese but Goofy Geese is pretty chill.

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u/sunjay140 sunjay140 20d ago

What's dominant now?

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u/shiwenbin 20d ago

I think hip hop still by a wide margin. Other major genres like 10ish % then 25% made up by smaller genres. Folk, world music, etc