2019 Was the Year of New Stars in Rap
With the game’s biggest stars missing, a new crop of artists stepped up and elevated their status to new heights
The obsession with the mainstream and its superstars has permeated throughout the history of rap. When people rack their brains to think about the best years in rap music, they gravitate immediately to the years that held the biggest releases from the most prolific artists. 1998 is considered one of the best years in hip hop because it featured classic releases from Outkast, Jay-Z, and Lauryn Hill. Same for a year like 2011, which had releases from Kanye West & Jay-Z, Drake, Lil Wayne, and Wiz Khalifa at his peak.
But for this year, there was a distinct lack of releases from the current crop of rap superstars. The lack of significant, new commercial releases from the giants of the genre was noticeable: Drake only featured on a few singles, dropped a two song EP at the beginning of the summer, and repackaged a bunch of loose tracks from over the years into Care Package. Kendrick Lamar only appeared on a handful of tracks, including SiR’s “Hair Down” and 2Chainz’s “Momma I Hit A Lick.” Drake and Kendrick, the game’s two most prominent artists, were all but absent from the scene. Other highly touted artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, and Rihanna pump faked and withheld their releases. Even J. Cole acted predominantly as a supporting act, lending his talents for feature verses and taking a step back on the Revenge of the Dreamers III album.
The lack of a meaningful release from some of rap’s greatest stars left a vacuum among the top tier of the genre. For many music fans, they felt that it was a down year because of this. However, this could not be further from the truth, as 2019 featured a couple of meteoric rises that would have not been possible with a saturated rap landscape. With the door wide open, a whole slew of new artists vaulted themselves into stardom, taking advantage of the missing leaders to carve out a spot among the stars.
DaBaby, who entered the year with a decent amount of momentum off of the strength of his Blank Blank mixtape and his rambunctious Instagram presence, elevated himself to a brand new level. He released two albums, Baby on Baby and Kirk, the latter of which grabbed Billboard’s no.1 album spot, going back to back like the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993. He combined the best parts of his personality to turn himself into a certifiable megastar: his hilarity, an undeniable creativity, and legitimate willingness to beat anyone’s ass that tries to test him.
Megan Thee Stallion also experienced a rapid rise to the forefront of rap with the same mix of rapping ability and overall attractiveness rooted in her social media presence and beauty. She dropped her first-full length mixtape, Fever, in May of this year, on which she scorched every track with perfect execution and confidence only seen in veterans in the rap game. She began to show up everywhere, even capitalizing off her “hot girl summer” meme that took over Twitter, turning it into a collab with Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign that topped the Rolling Stone 100 and peaked at no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
These two weren’t the only rappers to grab a seat at the table for themselves. YBN Cordae placed his name in the upper echelon, with his debut album The Lost Boy garnering a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album, in the same year that he was named to the “Freshman List.” LA-based rapper Baby Keem grabbed the attention of the entire industry with Die For My Bitch, receiving great praise from almost every major rap publication, even capturing the vaunted Drake co-sign.
The Griselda collective, made up of Westside Gunn, Benny the Butcher, and Conway the Machine, went on an absolute tear this year, releasing nine high quality projects, including their label debut WWCD. Fans and artists alike gravitated towards their subject matter and ability, as they received public support from the likes of Nas, Raekwon, and Busta Rhymes, and signed a management deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. In one fell swoop, they became your favorite rapper’s favorite rappers.
What occurred this year was a necessary process in terms of creating new stars for rap. The absence of the old guard of the decade allowed for a new crop of artists to rise to the top, keeping the genre afloat. The same artists that muddled around in the underground took the chance to cement themselves as important players in the genre.
Contrary to popular belief, rap doesn’t need the presence of Drake or Kendrick to dominate the scene in order to be successful. A brigade of talented artists releasing quality projects is ridiculously valuable. Historically, 2019 shouldn’t be remembered as the year where rap’s giants didn’t show up; it should be known as the year where multiple young artists became stars in their own right.
Matthew Ritchie is an average Division III baseball player at Johns Hopkins University, an avid writer, and has way too many opinions on sports and music. Follow his escapades on Twitter, @mkrwrt
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