If it makes people on here feel better, I saw a TikTok once where somebody argued that rap has consistently followed whatever rock was doing two decades after. And that it’s about due to be dying out as well. Couldn’t find the video, but I found a Reddit post where somebody else made the same argument.
reddit.com
Has rap music been following the same path as rock music?
I know the knee jerk reaction to the title question would probably be "no" from both rap and rock fans. Which is understandable, since the two genres have many differences. But I think they have been following similar paths throughout the decades, just at different times. This might be a little hard to explain, but here goes.
Rock music came about in the 50's. Rock was new and raw at that time, pretty basic. In the 60's the genre came into its own, laid the foundation for what was to come. The 70's saw rock branching out more, creating more diverse subgenres and experimenting. The 80's was where rock was at its most ubiquitous, and most superficial, with lots of songs about sex and drugs and parties. This continued a little in the early 90's, but transitioned into grunge. The rest of the 90's saw rock becoming more homogenized and safe. You still had angsty post grunge and alternative rock, but with some lighter stuff as well. The 2000's saw Nu-Metal (actually another subgenre of rock) become big for a while. It combined multiple genres, particularly post grunge and rap. Then, in the 2010's indie rock came along, which is softer and safer than ever. Also, rock is less relevant than ever and has been getting less so for at least the past twenty years.
Then there is rap. The genesis of rap was the 70's, where it was raw and pretty simple. Just like rock in the 50's. Then the 80's saw rap come into its own and set the standard, like 60's rock. The 90's saw rap become more diverse and experimental, like 70's rock. Then in the 2000's rap was more popular than ever, with emphasis on songs about drinking, partying, and having sex. Just like 80's rock. Now in the 2010's we've seen rap become more downbeat and less glamorous, like grunge/post grunge in the 90's.
These are generalizations of course, and obviously don't reflect everything about either genre. But in terms of the big picture, there does seem to be a parallel. Rap seems to be going along the same path, just with a twenty year difference. So does that mean rap will become less relevant in the near future like rock did? Will there be an equivalent to indie rock?
Does anyone agree with this? Disagree? Any alternate opinions?