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Hip Hop (the name originated from “Hip” meaning trendy and fashionable while “Hop” referring to the the leaping movement) a musical genre based on the foundation og African American rhythm created in Bronx, New York.Black Music in 2010s was one of the most heard sounds of all times and is dominated by Black people, we not only use Hip Hop as a source of income/wealth but to bring up relevant issues, broadcast forms of oppressions and to embrace how unapologetically Black we are. There are five elements of Hip-Hop, emceeing, deejay, breakin’, graff, and beatboxing. Each of those elements have created a unique and universal culture for the Black Community and has continued to be an important role in society today. Artists such as Drake, Lil Baby, Nicki Minaj and many more have all used the original five elements of Hip Hop to create a sound that has changed the world by becoming the most highly streamed genre and most wanted sound of the century. Hip Hop today brings generations together in a way that many thought was impossible, through creativity, artistry, rhythm and beat. We are simply, exquisite.
Drake is the multi-Grammy-award-winning rapper of the 2010s decade. Drake was on the hit show Degrassi. When he was still on the show he was making an attempt to cross over to the Hip hop world with his first mixtape, Room for Improvement and later he released Comeback season. It was not until mid-2009 where he signed a record deal with Young Money Entertainment. His first No. 1 album, Thank Me Later which debuted in June 2010 ended up launching him further into the rap game. He started off the decade as a new upcoming artist with a No.1 album now he is ending this decade with 180 awards including 4 Grammys and a network of 150 million. In November of 2011, he released his second studio album, Take Care which included some Drake classics such as “Make Me Proud” and “The Motto”. Take Care was the album which won him his first Grammy for the best rap album in 2013. His album Nothing Was The Same which was released in 2013 ended up being critically acclaimed where the album focused on his personal struggle for success. Drake ended up releasing a project with Future in 2015 which was followed by his album Views (2016) which was his fourth studio album. The album had been a huge success with spending 13 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard charts. In May of 2017, Drake ended up bringing home 13 awards from the Billboard Music Awards which broke Adele’s record of an artist with the most wins in one year. His fifth studio album, Scorpion had hits such as “Nice For What” and “I’m Upset”. To conclude, Drake has been one if not the most constant rapper in the 2010s decade where he has been award-nominated 639 times since his debut only in 2010.
Billboard’s Top Hip-Hop songs on the HipHop/R&B chart songs thru 2010-2020
2010 – Deuces – Chris Brown Featuring Tyga &
2011 – Moment 4 Life – Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake
2012 – The Motto – Drake Featuring Lil Wayne
2013 – Started From The Bottom – Drake
2014 – Anaconda – Nicki Minaj
2015 – Trap Queen – Fetty Wap
2016 – Panda – Desiigner
2017 – Bad And Boujee – Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert
Bodak Yellow – Cardi B
2018 – Lucid Dreams – Juice WRLD
2019 – Truth Hurts – Lizzo
2020 N/A but the most popular songs so far are Savage by Meg Thee Stallion, The Box – Roddy Rich
Mumble rap can be defined as rappers that do not meet the expectation of lyricism for the genre and artists that mumble or deliver unclear vocals in their rap. There has been a huge debate about mumble rap (also defined as SoundCloud rap) and it is often considered a derogatory term. Many claim that mumble rap initiated with famous Atlanta rapper Future and his 2012 hit “Tony Montana”. Future has said himself that some parts of the song are unclear and hard to understand because he was high while recording the song, but he still feels that it should receive recognition for it’s art. There have been several other artists that some individuals feel fall into the category as mumble rappers such as: Young Thug, Desiigner, Chief Keef, Rich Homie Quan, and Lil Uzi Vert. These are all rappers that have had successful songs to take off in their career despite the label as “mumble rappers”. Although this type of mumble rap is very prevalent, there is also another side of the term that receives attention. Mumble rap is also considered to be songs that are a lot short, very repetitive, and heavy on adlibs such as “aye and uh”. A prime example of this is Lil Pump’s 2017 hit “Gucci Gang”, Migos’ well known 2013 song “Versace”, and Desiigner’s 2016 hit “Panda”. Both of these rap songs are a representation of what many individuals perceive as “mumble rap” and not actual rap music because of it’s repetitiveness and lack of creativity in lyricism. The question that arises is “why are these ‘mumble rappers’ and their songs so successful?”. Most of generation Z are the key answer to this question. This generation tends to shift their focus on the beat and catchiness of the songs rather than the lyricism, which is why the older generations seem to be less interested.
Coming out of the 90’s and early 2000’s into today, many fashion trends have carried over from generations or even been brought back to light. Today in the media and on celebrities we see a fair amount of luxury brands being promoted and worn. Chains, expensive bags such as Hermes Birkin bags, Chanel and plentiful amounts of Gucci in the black community. Saweetie (female rapper) uses the phrase “iced out” to display jewelry like Rolex watches earrings, necklaces and pricey clothing. Wigs have also always been a part of black culture but today it is common to see women with vibrant colored wigs such as neon green, pink, blue etc influenced by rappers such as Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, and the City Girls. These fashion trends help everyone to express themselves and show personality.
Today Hip Hop has a lot of influence on teens and young adults. Dance has always been a way for individuals to express themselves and show their talents. Especially on social media such as Tik Tok.
Drake vs Meek Mill, Lil Wayne vs BirdMan, Drake vs Chris Brown, Jay Z vs Kanye, Cardi B vs Nicki Minaj, Drake vs Pusha-T
Hip-Hop has been a male dominating genre for years making it hard for female rappers to achieve success in this particular aspect of the music industry. However, the female rappers in the 2010’s decade seem to be reclaiming their spot in the game. At the start of the decade in 2010, Nicki Minaj emerged as a newly signed artist to Lil Wayne’s record label Young Money Entertainment. Her album Pink Friday was released by the label in November of 2010 and ultimately reached number one on US Billboard 200. Singles from the album such as “Super Bass”, “Your Love”, “Moment 4 Life” and a few more, all reached the US Billboard Hot 100 top 40 singles. She is known for her “Barbie” persona and the flow of her raps ranging from sweet and soft to sharp and vulgar. Nicki has more than 40 BMI awards, 6 AMA awards, 10 BET awards, and has 10 Grammy nominations. It has been said that she has made the most appearances on the Billboard 100 than any other artist since Aretha Franklin.
Another female rapper that took off in the 2010’s decade is Cardi B. Her hit single “Bodak Yellow” was one of the most popular rap songs of 2017. After this, Cardi’s career continuously progressed. Her album “Invasion of Privacy” went gold within 24 hours in 2018. From being a stripper to starring on the famous show Love and Hip-Hop, Cardi B has made a huge name for herself in the music industry. She is often bashed for her raw and unfiltered lyrics, but she owns it proudly because that shows her authenticity. She’s the first female rapper since Lauryn Hill to get a number one hit by a solo female rapper on the Billboard. As a solo female artist, she has also conquered a win for the Grammys Best Rap Album.
Megan The Stallion is the newest and hottest female rapper currently in the Hip-Hop industry. You might have also heard her refer to herself as her “Tina Snow” persona. If you have ever heard a female reference to themself as a “hot girl” or having a “hot girl summer”, then you are aware of the intense impact Meg has had on the industry through her music. She tweeted, “Being a Hot Girl is about being unapologetically YOU, having fun, being confident, living YOUR truth, being the life of the party etc,”. Meg stresses the importance of loving yourself and being comfortable in who you are to all of her “hotties”. She brought some spice to the industry by showing her characteristic of being very hypersexual. In 2018, she was the first female rapper to be signed to the 300 Entertainment label and she is now managed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation company. Megan’s career expanded when she released her single “Big Ole Freak” that eventually peaked at 65 on the Hot 100 in 2019. This same year, Meg released her song “Hot Girl Summer” that featured Ty Dolla Sign and Nicki Minaj. The song peaked at #11 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In April of 2020 she released a remix to her hit “Savage” that featured famous artist Beyoncé. It marked a huge accomplishment in Meg’s career as the remix reached number 1.
These are just a few of the women that are currently dominating in Hip-Hop. There are also other artists such as Saweetie, also know as the “icy girl”, the City Girls, a rap duo with Yung Miami and JT, Dreezy, Young M.A, Asian Da Brat/Asian Doll, Kash Doll, Doja Cat, Rico Nasty, Tokyo Jetz, and etc.
The global impact that Hip Hop has which was born in New York’s Bronx neighborhood in the 1970s and is based on themes such as urban life, social issues, and politics — it has changed the mindset and style of not only the African American community but the world as it once was. The musical genre Hip Hop has become so much bigger than just Bronx, New York and has reached places such as the United Kingdom and West Africa. The power of hip-hop music has continued to increase in contemporary society, and its influence continues to rise through the expansion of markets and consumer base. This particular genre of music didn’t just give us beats to our dance moves but a voice that many didn’t have before. Hip Hop is not just words and rhythmic beats it is a sense of power that comes when listening and performing this type of style. KRS ONE once said, “Hip Hop is more than music. Hip Hop has crossed cultural boundaries that other music genres have never crossed… Hip Hop is a state of mind, an entire generation. We are the generation of hip”. And 2010 is the decade of a new style that has emerged and has yet to simmer down. Although Hip Hop started in the Bronx it has reached far beyond which it was intended and will continue to reach many more. Overall, the 2010’s decade of Hip-Hop has had a huge impact. It established a larger digital platform which allowed Hip-Hop to reach every corner of the world. Sites such as Youtube, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Music have allowed artists to be heard on a broader range globally. Youtube is the biggest platform for music streaming with 48% percent of the streams worldwide as of 2018. Collaborations with American and Latin artists have also demonstrated the global impact of Hip-Hop. In 2018, Cardi B collaborated with famous Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and Colombian singer J Balvin to make the Latin trap song hit “I Like It”. The single reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. It is known as the highest-ranked song led by a female rapper on the Billboard Hot 100 for the 2010’s decade. In 2017, Beyoncé featured on the Latin hit “Mi Gente” released by J Balvin and and French singer Willy William. The song ended the 35-week streak of “Despacito” by reaching number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart and it eventually reached number 3 on the Hot 100. Lastly, the single reached #1 on the US Digital Songs chart.
Top 100 songs –
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