Don’t call it a comeback. Hip-hop has been here for years, squabbling for respect among the in the music game. While the genre has had its peaks and valleys over the past five decades, the time is nigh for hip-hop to rise from the ashes again.
Hip-hop sales, and music sales in general, have been down in the past decade due to a number of factors. But the latter part of 2024 proved there may be a change coming. Kendrick Lamar ended the year with three No. 1 singles—”Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin, “Not Like Us” and “Squabble Up”—and a No. 1 album in GNX.
Travis Scott scored hip-hop’s biggest debut and the fourth biggest debut in 2024 overall with the re-released mixtape Days Before Rodeo. Future had a precedent-setting year, becoming the first rapper to notch three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart in a calendar year.
2025 is starting with similar success, with Lil Baby’s WHAM, The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow and Kendrick Lamar’s GNX coming in at pole position on the Billboard 200. Don’t forget about Drake, whose new collab album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PartyNextDoor is headed to the top of the charts. Drizzy appears to be ready to get personal on his upcoming solo album, which will be highly anticipated.
It’s not just some impressive moves being made on the charts. Thanks largely in part to K-Dot, hip-hop has been celebrated on two major platforms earlier this month. The Compton, Calif. rapper pulled off a sweep at the 2025 Grammy Awards, becoming only the second rapper to win Record of the Year as well as Song of the Year for a rap song, beating out A-list pop acts like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter and the Beatles.
Former XXL Freshman Doechii has blossomed into rap’s next big star, as evidenced by her Best Rap Album win at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl halftime show performance was another boon for the genre as a halftime show record 133.5 million people bore witness to one of the greatest rap acts of the past decade.
Hip-hop is currently having its moment. Sometimes, popping out and showing them is the only way to go.
