#32 - Did you know that the hip-hop industry has a problem? 🌞

Happy Sunlighter Sunday! Chris here 👋 I have a quick rant on hip-hop today. If Drake, Eminem, Nicki Minaj, and Future didn’t have as much staying power, there would be no hip-hop artist (not counting reggaeton) in the top 25 of Chartmetric’s Top Artists Index. That should be surprising to you as hip-hop took the pole position of being the new “pop” last decade. While there have been plenty of mid-tier hip-hop artists, there hasn’t been a strong hip-hop festival headliner since… Travis Scott (maybe Post Malone), which is why you’re seeing Kendrick Lamar as the default hip-hop headliner for almost every large festival this year. The industry is changing, and it feels like hip-hop is currently facing an identity crisis.

Here's what we have queued up this week:

1. 🌶️ Review of Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd by Lana Del Rey.

2. 🔀 Playlist updates: Luke Combs, ELIO, Fred again…, 070 Shake, and more.

3. 💿 This Week in Music: Believe & Sentric, Ticketmaster NFTs, and Cardi Shark.

4. 🤘 Tours: Adele and Kelly Clarkson take Vegas, Run the Jewels, and The Offspring with Sum 41 and Simple Plan.

5. 🎡 Festivals: Summerfest, FairWell, and a lot more upcoming lineups.

6. 🎙️ The Hip-Hop Industry is Losing its Staying Power

Rating Rationale: Today’s review is combined and longer because you’ll need some backstory. While the 9th studio album by Lana Del Rey subconsciously competes against The 1975 for the longest album title, our initial perception of Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd is Lana Del Rey (Elizabeth Grant) flexing her signature disillusioned sound, consistency across albums, and the numerous controversies that have followed her into this album. If you’re not a Lana stan, you might be surprised to learn that she called off her original debut album Lana Del Ray (her spelling was different for the first album) before releasing her re-debut and now magnum opus, Born to Die. You may also be surprised to learn that most of her controversies around her “glamorization of abuse” stem from an affinity towards the fictional novel, Lolita, in which the controversial protagonist of the novel kidnaps and sexually abuses 12-year-old, “Lolita.” This has inadvertently generated a Lana-induced temptress subculture that has fueled “Lanita’s” music persona. Listen to “Taco Truck x VB” to put 2 and 2 together. The metaphors tied to the sad realities of an abusive relationship, post-trauma indecisiveness and depression, and vengeance through sexuality are not just explored, they're explicitly stated in songs like “A&W,” “Fishtail,” and “Peppers.” A&W (American Whore), one of the lead singles of the album, is a 7-minute controversial masterpiece with sole production credit to Jack Antonoff. Pitchfork previously went against the grain and rated Norman Fucking Rockwell! as the 19th best album of the decade and Lana as one of the most influential artists of our generation, even in the midst of Lana facing accusations of being a fraudulent songwriter. We're siding with Pitchfork. Regardless of your take on Lana’s controversies, you have to appreciate that she unabashedly drives in her own lane and continues to execute.

The Sunlighter Playlist 🔀

This Week in Music 💿

💰 Let’s get down to business: Believe Group, a Paris-based publishing and distribution company, acquired UK-based music publishing platform, Sentric. Safe to say its former parent company, Utopia (a Swiss fintech company which provides data-based solutions for the music industry) is having trouble in paradise. If things go south for TikTok, YouTube Shorts says they’ve got it on lock with streaming numbers in the billions. BMI anticipates a 138% raise for songwriters in the live concert industry after winning a dispute over Live Nation and AEG. HYBE is selling its $435M stake in SM Entertainment. Ticketmaster is testing the waters with NFT-gated pre-sale tickets in hopes that stepping into Web3 will solve its problems in Web2. PPL, an international recorded music royalty collective, announced it’ll pay $21.6M to over 26,000 music rightsholders. BMG reports its strongest growth year yet, with over $900M in revenue and $400M in catalog acquisitions. Sir Lucian Grainge extends his contract as CEO & Chairman of UMG, which comes ~3 months after his statements on changing the music streaming economy for the better.

🤩 If you want the fun facts to share at your next party: Before his remix of “Perfect” with Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran had his sights set on featuring Jay-Z on “Shape of You” until Jay-Z respectfully declined. Questlove is set to direct Disney’s upcoming remake of the Aristocats film. Lollapalooza Brazil had to refund festivalgoers after Drake bailed on his headlining spot last minute. Cardi B & Offset announced their whole family (kids included) are starring their voices on the upcoming Baby Shark movie, as if you needed another reason to get that song stuck in your head 🦈 Perhaps the less controversial VMAs 2009 incident between Alicia Keys and Lil Mama has finally been put to rest. 🎸 Billie Eilish played an acoustic set for fans in Mexico after her show was canceled, and Flavor Flav confirmed he is, in fact, a Swiftie. Keanu Reeves revealed he’s a big fan of Alvvays (same, Keanu). Latto debuted her 777 talk show on Apple with first guest, Chloe Bailey. Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition announced six finalists vying for a spot at the festival this summer.

🎧 If you care about new music or live show drops: ILLENIUM dropped a collab track with one of our SXSW favs, JVKE. Charlie Puth released a new song along with a new music video featuring Dan + Shay and Sabrina Carpenter. Daft Punk debuted the first song from their upcoming 10th Anniversary album, PVRIS announced a new album is coming this year, Bebe Rexha revealed she’ll have Dolly Parton and Snoop Dogg drop in for features on her next album, Kesha premiered two new songs on SoundCloud, and Boygenius dropped their latest album along with a new short film. Madeon fine-tuned his “Good Faith Forever” show for a final performance at Red Rocks. Wanna see Skrillex perform for five hours? You’re in luck because he plays Red Rocks on April 29 and plans to do just that.

Tour Announcements 🤘

• Adele is extending her Las Vegas residency for another 34 dates and shares that she’ll be recording concert footage for an upcoming concert film.

• Kelly Clarkson is headed to Las Vegas for a brief 10-night residency at Planet Hollywood, where you can catch a performance of her Chemistry…an intimate night show.

• Rina Sawayama is kicking off her Hold The Girl Tour, which runs from June through October of this year.

• At 79-years-old, Diana Ross will be going on her Music Legacy Tour later this summer.

• Latin pop duo Jesse & Joy are headed to the United States for a summer tour.

• Jungle will be on tour later this fall.

• Maisie Peters announced The Good Witch Tour in support of her upcoming sophomore album.

• It’s been 10 years since the first collaborative album between Killer Mike and El-P. To celebrate, Run the Jewels will be going on their 10-year anniversary tour later this year.

• NF announced the HOPE Tour with Cordae, which kicks off in July.

• Will the ODESZA drumline be back? The Last Goodbye Tour is set to kick off in June with support from Bob Moses, Bonobo, Big Boi, TOKiMONSTA, NEIL FRANCES, and others.

• The Offspring are taking Sum 41 and Simple Plan on Let The Bad Times Roll Tour throughout August and September of this year.

• Pixies and Modest Mouse are co-headlining a 19-stop tour that starts in August.

• The World is a Vampire according to The Smashing Pumpkins. Interpol and Stone Temple Pilots think so as well.

• Elvis Costello & The Imposters are going on a summer holiday tour.

• Avenged Sevenfold announced the first leg of their Life is But a Dream… Tour.

• Godsmack and Staind are co-headlining a 25-city tour, which kicks off in July.

Festival Announcements 🎡

🌞 Holler if you’re ready for some Summerfest nights: The festival celebrates 55 years over three weekends this summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From headliners like James Taylor and ODESZA to other performing artists like Bleachers, Lord Huron, and Japanese Breakfast–this lineup has something for everyone.

🦌 FairWell Not Farewell: In its inaugural year, FairWell Festival will be bringing together the sounds of folk and country to three stages in the Oregon desert. Expect RV camping, craft beer, local wine, and an impressive lineup that includes Willie Nelson & Family, Zach Bryan, Turnpike Troubadours, Gary Clark Jr., Mt. Joy, Sheryl Crow, and others.

ICYMI, more recent festival lineups organized by genre here:

• Jazz: Newport Jazz

• Alt/Pop: Maha Festival, Festival D’été de Québec

• Rock: Furnace Fest, Aftershock, So What?!

• A little bit of everything: Helsinki, Deep Tropics, Sziget, Pitchfork

• EDM: Arc Music Festival, Movement Detroit, Sol Fest, Life is Beautiful

The Hip-Hop Industry is Losing its Staying Power 🎙️

A Status Check

At Sunlighter, we’ve covered a few up-and-coming hip-hop artists: Lil Durk, Kenny Mason, charlieonnafriday, and most recently, Armani White. However, the remaining artists that we’ve covered, including those that we feature in our UV Index album reviews, have been primarily non-hip-hop artists. Why? In our humble opinion, it’s because traditional American hip-hop has been in decline. On the surface, hip-hop has proliferated across multiple genres, making it omnipresent. But by that same token, genre-blending has led to the rise of numerous hip-hop subcultures diluting the sound of traditional hip-hop and placing less emphasis on lyrical prowess. It’s not a new problem, but it’s one that’s growing. Production has been more front and center than ever, from the advent of auto-tune to rapid adoption during the SoundCloud era. As digital audio workstations and streaming technology continue to lower the barrier of entry in becoming an artist or producer, oversaturation occurs. When you combine these problems with other music industry trends such as shorter listener attention span and Rob Abelow’s adroit observation of streaming becoming a zero-sum game for artists, you have to wonder… is this the beginning of the end for massively popular hip-hop headliners (just as classic rock, disco, jazz, and other popular genres eventually went out of style)?

Some Controversial Takes

The music industry, like macro society at large, can be cyclical and will evolve over time. Here are a few indicators that are speaking to us right now:

1. 🪞 Re-invention: The wave of SoundCloud rappers has been looking to re-invent themselves. Playboi Carti continues to evolve his production experimentation, Lil Uzi Vert has leaned further into rock and roll, and Lil Yachty has left hip-hop altogether for psych-rock. However, one artist who’s stayed the course is 21 Savage.

2. 🎤 Reliance on Auto-Tune: Melodic rappers and auto-tune contemporaries that range from Young Thug to Don Toliver are great in their own right, but decades from now, will you be recounting these artists as revolutionary? Top-of-mind artists who could help change this trajectory are Roddy Ricch (Nipsey Hussle would be proud) and Rod Wave’s blend of hip-hop and soul.

3. 🔳 Minimalism doesn’t Maximize: Led by effective hip-hop songwriting, minimalist (and melodic) rappers like Lil Baby and Gunna (set back by the YSL RICO case) are arguably the most popular hip-hop artists from the past few years and probably the closest to headliner status. While their cadence, rhyme scheme, and lyricism are compelling, there’s just one problem - their lack of diversity and style causes them to fall short. Maybe that changes as their sound matures over their career.

4. 🤝 Over-Collaboration: Over-collaboration and over-featuring isn’t always a good thing. While it’s a launchpad for more exposure and attention, the negative sentiment tied to becoming a better “feature” artist or inability to surpass the quality of a collaborative album can be an insurmountable career obstacle. It’s a bit different if you’re a songwriter or producer incentivized to collaborate. Think DJ Khaled or Metro Boomin.

5. 👑 No New Queen of Rap: While the social and cultural impact of the most recent swell of women hip-hop artists inspired by Nicki and Cardi is undeniable, artists like City Girls, Ice Spice, Flo Milli, Big Boss Vette, Lola Brooke, Rubi Rose, won’t have the staying power like their predecessors, and they’ll be lucky to capitalize on temporary hype. We hope they prove us wrong. GloRilla and Coi Leray have the best shots. We’re also rooting for Rico Nasty’s unique punk rap style to gain mainstream approval.

6. 🔧 Drill is Temporary: Drill has had a recent surge in popularity, but its increasing explicitness likely lends itself to a temporary trend. Murder music isn’t perennial, but Pop Smoke, Lil Durk and NLE Choppa have made it mainstream again… for now.

7. ⚰️ Death Industry: Finally, the death of rappers has greatly taken a toll on the hip-hop industry. While the industry can assist with supporting the estates of slain rappers, posthumous albums just aren’t the same as cohesive works directed by a living artist. Lil Peep, JuiceWRLD, and XXXTentacion helped pioneer emo rap but none of them are here with us today. The untimely death of Takeoff has taken away one of the last good hip-hop groups of the past decade (especially now after BROCKHAMPTON’s split). Some artists have had luck on their side, like Lil Tjay, beating the odds after being shot 7 times during a robbery attempt. Finally, let’s not forget the impact also made by Bankroll Fresh, Nipsey Hussle, Pop Smoke, PnB Rock, Young Dolph, King Von, and trailblazing Indian hip-hop artist Sidhu Moose Wala.

Who’s Up Next?

With the industry facing an identity crisis, there’s a massive vacuum waiting to be filled. We don’t have any one particular artist in mind on who might fill the space, but here are some trends and artists that might take advantage of the opportunity (and it’s not necessarily traditional hip-hop):

1. 🌎 Globalization: As we discussed in our New Year’s issue, with music continuing to globalize, we think afrobeats and dancehall will continue to gain traction. Burna Boy, WizKid, Davido, Tems, Popcaan, Koffee, and others are at the forefront. In the past five years, reggaeton and latin trap have dominated streaming, thanks to Puerto Rican and Colombian artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Ozuna, Karol G and others. More recently, the growth of Spanish-influenced hip-hop has spilled into adjacent genres and other Spanish-speaking countries. Grupo Firme and Banda MS have proven banda can go global. Rosalía brought Spanish flamenco into pop. Bizarrap, Duki, and Nicki Nicole are turning the music industry spotlight on Argentina. This might only be the tip of the iceberg.

2. 🧪 British Grime: Although a byproduct of globalization, UK grime has developed into a category of its own and can be considered a subculture of British hip-hop. While we have the stance that subcultures can be dilutive, in the UK, grime has developed as the prevalent sound of hip-hop within the UK. This has directly contributed to some of the best UK hip-hop artists, including Giggs, Skepta, Stormzy, Headie One, and more recently, Central Cee and Slowthai.

3. 😄 Staying Positive: With constant negative newsflow and a depressing geopolitical/economic environment, music that emphasizes more positivity feels like a trend that not only may improve society as a whole, but also capitalize on introducing a refreshing sound to hip-hop. Maybe this is currently why satirical hip-hop artists have gained traction 🤔

4. 💙 An Ongoing Renaissance: Lastly, we want to acknowledge that the R&B renaissance is alive and well. There have been numerous artists dominating the space, most recently, SZA, and its’ more recent artists (especially songwriter-turned artists) continue to show longer-term promise. These artists include Emotional Oranges, Ari Lennox, Summer Walker, Chlöe, Lucky Daye, Justine Skye, FLO, and Nija.

💬 Now that you know our take, let us know where you think we might’ve gone wrong. We’ve enabled comments below 👇🏼

Wrap Up 👏

We're closing the newsletter this week the way we opened. Here’s an oxymoronic stroke of genius (this is itself an oxymoron) from the comedic rapper that can only pair with biscuits and an artist with no money (bbno$). If you’re not following, this is how bad hip-hop subculture has gotten. We prefer Lil Dicky or the O.G. satirical artist “Weird Al” Yankovic.

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See ya next Sunday 😎

Chris and Donya