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In A Few Years, 15-Year-Old Rappers Will Be The Norm

How is this digital world we're living in impacting Hip-Hop?

By Rap DisciplePublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Yachty during the XXL 2016 cypher.

There's more music readily available to us today than at any point in human history. Rap music specifically has leveraged the internet and gained a larger audience over the years. It’s so much younger in comparison to other genres like rock and jazz, but it is influencing pop culture.

And guess what? Hip-Hop is about to get younger like we've never seen before. Actually, look around you; it's already happening.

Remember when you used to hear about new emerging artists every once in a while? Now, there's practically new artists being discovered every day and every minute.

And in the past, it was rare to see a rapper as young as Bow Wow with so much buzz.

But the rules have changed. This digital age we’re living in has made it incredibly easy to put music out. Every other day there's talk about another budding SoundCloud rapper or “mumble rapper.” These people range from 17-years-old to their early 20s.

Hip hop is getting younger faster. How long until the norm is 15- to 17-years-old? If Lil Uzi Vert is 23-years-old but he’s labeling 24 as “old,” what does that say about where the culture is heading?

And while that may seem like a stupid comment from Uzi, there's some truth to it. In regards to hip-hop culture, we might see a period soon where that sentiment will become real. The prevailing attitude will be that younger is best.

Artists like Lil Pump, Smokepurpp, YFN Nahmir, Tay- K, and a host of others fall in the 17- to 19-years-old range. Danielle Bregoli hasn't even graduated high school yet and she was signed to Atlantic Records this year. Who’ll be next?

Now, of course, there are a few things that concern me. With so many channels to access music from, there's an oversaturation of content out there. People are looking for what's next more so than ever before.

It's as if the attention spans of some audiences are getting shorter. We don't spend the same time invested in a body of work as we used to. An album that comes out this week might feel old in two weeks.

That's why this giant wave of newer artists begs the question: how long can they last? With so many people attempting to tweak the same style in Hip-Hop and inhabit the same lane, how long can certain artists keep the attention of their audiences? Because after all, how long until someone starts to do what you're doing? Or worse: do what you're doing, but better?

It's an interesting dilemma—one that creates tremendous opportunities for some, but obstacles for others. One-hit-wonders are rare these days because artists don't need radio or chart performances to keep their careers alive.

That's why, if newer artists want to maximize the potential of this ever-younger landscape, they should consider not dropping albums. This is a strategy I first introduced when I reviewed Trippie Redd’s latest mixtape.

Or perhaps these kinds of artists should do an album/mixtape every once in awhile. For the most part, these “mumble rappers” should be dropping EPs more frequently, in addition to the loose cuts they normally put out.

By condensing their music, they can focus on putting their best tracks on a project. In this way, their artistry gets better and they keep their audiences from moving on so quickly. They should drop EPs every one to two months or so to keep up with demand.

All things considered, Hip-Hop culture is changing quickly. These digital times that we’re living in is accelerating that change. In the coming years, don’t be surprised if you start to see more younger artists than ever before.

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Rap Disciple

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