On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti Is hip-hop dying?
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Dec 5, 2025 Somya Krishnamurthy, a music journalist and author of Fashionkilla, dives into the current state of hip-hop, addressing the recent absence of rap songs in the Billboard Top 40. She highlights concerns over the genre's declining commercial popularity while unpacking fans' responses and cultural confusion. Somya discusses the impact of streaming on artist development and the prioritization of metrics over musical taste in the industry. The conversation also touches on challenges faced by independent artists and the loss of regional radio influence, raising questions about hip-hop's evolution.
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Measured Commercial Decline
- Hip hop's market share slipped from 30% in 2020 to 25% last year and streaming of new rap dropped about 9% this year.
- Those metric shifts prompted debates about whether hip hop's commercial dominance is waning despite cultural influence.
Labels Favor Pre-Proven Artists
- Labels now expect artists to prove themselves online before signing, shifting A&R toward metrics over long-term development.
- That removes the old incubator period where artists could be developed over years.
Metrics Over Taste In A&R
- A&R meetings increasingly prioritize streaming numbers and followers over music, live show, or artistic taste.
- Somya warns that outsourcing taste to metrics misses the qualities that make lasting stars.
