The State of Music in 2020
Music Writer Haley Wathen takes an indepth look at the state of music in 2020. Rap and Hip-Hop are featured for their staying power.
- Lousiville, KY-IN (1888PressRelease) November 18, 2020 - “Music is usually in a fluid state but recently there is a staleness across the board. The one exception is music that connects itself with other genres” states music writer Haley Wathen. Rap and Hip-Hop have always been the most expansive and intertwined finding its way into other music styles and even culture itself. Its influence is constantly evolving even into newer genres like KPOP (Blackpink, Monsta X, NCT, BTS and many others.) Its creativity and dominance cannot be ignored in the music industry.
The current trend seems to be unstoppable because there are so many successful sub-genres. Artists like $not, JameirKGolden, and Fatboibari dominate the Lofi-Hip-Hop movement. Who knew Emo-Rap was even a thing? Lil Peep, Xxxtentacion, and Juice Wrld created this most interesting genre. A newer sub-genre is Country Hip Ho Lil Nas X has made a big leap creating the Country Hip Hop hit “Old Town Road.” He has taken over the genre and made it a relevant music outlet. Another sub-genre is Alternative Hip Hop. Kanye West is one of the many artists known for this genre. Mixing a wide range of styles and sounds this sub-genre continues to push past the mainstream stereotypical sounds. Wathen goes on to say “this just goes to show how intertwined hip hop is with other genres. These artists have different styles but share global influence across multiple segments of the population.”
Rap and Hip-Hop are both at the top of the music charts week after week. Its diversity is its selling point. Yes, it is a music genre, but it is also a culture (to sample a cliché.) Artists find themselves evolving by incorporating sounds and styles by other performers. Music speaks to everyone and as Rap and Hip-Hop evolve the audience has continued to grow.
After interviewing several hard-core fans, Wathen found that most people feel that “this has been a most unusual year and we have found ourselves in a whirlwind of cultural movements and upheavals. The issues of the Black Lives Matter movement, COVID-19, and the presidential election have all been integrated into current lyrics. Sheltering-in-place has driven artists to release music directly to social media outlets by recording songs at home. Topics of police brutality and isolation have dominated song lyrics this year. Since so many people are living online these days the lesser-known artists are being discovered.” Wathen feels that a record contract is not necessarily needed today thanks to digital concerts and streaming platforms. Outlets like Rolling Loud have allowed artists to launch during big time events. It is great to see these artists take big leaps in their careers even when the world is in a pandemic and in-person concerts are a thing of the past.
Rap music’s original identity of “rhythm and poetry” has certainly withstood the test of time. Outside forces have certainly strengthened the influence of rap and hip-hop. Society is on “edge” right now and these music genres are allowing people to discuss their feelings and share society’s woes. From Djing to “Knowledge of Self and Consciousness” speaking to people with lyrics that are impactful while combining music from genres worldwide will allow future growth in this segment of the music industry.
For more information, please contact Haley Wathen, Freelance Music Reporter, ( @ ) riphaleyedit, or at riphaleyedits ( @ ) gmail dot com .
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