In 2018, mainstream hip-hop was on top of the world, with artists like Drake, Kanye West and Future being the soundtrack to millions of daily lives. In 2026 however, Future released an album remarkably forgettable, Drake released his three worst albums on the same night, and Kanye West’s “comeback” would’ve been lambasted just 6 years earlier.
Where did it go wrong?
Apple Music was released in 2015 and with it came the global switch towards streaming platforms as the main source of listening and discovery. Despite the insanely low payouts destroying countless underground careers, streaming became the number one source of income within the industry, far surpassing physical media.
Streaming allows music to be played in whatever careless order through playlists, completely degrading the value of an album. People would rather listen to the AI-curated “vibes” playlist than listen to a full album experience, and they’d prefer if an artist released an album with 30 horrible songs as long as the 31st makes their gym playlist.
What this creates is consistent passive income for the top 1% of artists, where musicians and songs can be milked for years. Through curated playlists and algorithmic bias, Spotify’s corporate gatekeepers consistently prioritise mainstream fixtures like Drake or Future over undiscovered talent.
And that’s without mentioning Spotify’s abysmal attempt at creating “New Hip-Hop Leaders”. Of the new leaders, Spotify opted to promote artistically bankrupt yet incredibly successful artists like Central Cee, rather than explore the underground and promote exciting artists.
So that begs the question, why would any artist take risks when they could live without ever creating again?
Drake doesn’t benefit from his album being critically acclaimed, and Future doesn’t benefit from creating an enjoyable album experience. As long as Spotify puts them in every rap playlist under the sun, then the quality of the music will never matter, as income is no longer tied to creating the best album.
This has resulted in Hip-Hop having the same millionaire flag-bearers from 10 years ago, yet now with no artistic pressure. Not from upcoming artists and not from listeners, and thus mainstream hip-hop has turned into a competition of which washed up 40-year-old can create the biggest hit on their 30-song album, rather than who can create the best art.
In 2006, Nas stated that “Hip-Hop Is Dead” in response to the commercialisation of hip-hop. He was criticized then by the south, but in my opinion, the creator of rap’s bible was just two decades early.
Megan Anne 
Imogen 
Kyra