Hip Hop may have had a slow start in the commercial space in 2023, but year-end reports indicate that it still reigned supreme upon crossing the finish line.
On Wednesday (January 10), Chart Data shared that “R&B/Hip Hop was the #1 genre in the US in 2023, with 277.27 million total album equivalents sold (25.3% of the market).”
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Per Luminate’s annual tally, “Catalog streaming volume of R&B/Hip Hop tracks in the U.S. grew 11.3% in On-Demand Audio over 2022, though streaming of current titles (those less than 18 months old) is down 7.1% this year.”
Check out the stats below:
The above data may come as a surprise to some.
Juicy J, for one, raised concerns about the state of rap music last year and suggested stakeholders of the community get together to try and figure out a solution. Taking to his Instagram with a PSA of sorts in October, the Three 6 Mafia star addressed Hip Hop’s alleged “40 percent decline” in 2023 and what could be done to bounce back.
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“I know a lot of people don’t want to hear this, but I’m being real,” he began. “Rap music is down 40 percent this year. I’ma say it again — rap music is down 40 percent. Check the charts, check the math.
“I don’t make the rules, I do not make the rules. It’s down 40 percent. What are we as rappers, producers, composers, etc. gonna do about this shit? ’Cause it’s down 40 percent this year. Check the charts! Do your research. This is a fact.”
He continued: “Let’s have a conversation! What are we gonna do? As rappers, producers, composers, songwriters, engineers – what are we gon’ do, man? Rap is down 40 percent, man. We gotta figure some shit out. We gotta sit down and talk. Let’s have a meeting. Let’s meet up somewhere … Let’s talk about this shit, how we can turn this shit around.”
It took all the way to the end of July for a rapper to top the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023 – which Latto achieved thanks to her “Seven” collaboration with BTS star Jung Kook. It was certainly a curious situation after Hip Hop spent the last half-decade as the most popular genre of music in the U.S., statistically speaking.
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Hip Hop was facing a similar struggle on the Billboard 200, experiencing the longest drought of a No. 1 rap album since 1993. That was until July 10, when Lil Uzi Vert’sPink Tape broke the curse.
