Hip-Hop Award Season 2025

Welcome to the 60th issue of Backseat Freestyle. This is my weekly hip-hop newsletter I send out every Friday(ish) featuring a deep dive analysis on one big thing that happened over the past seven days. I also include a roundup of links to what I’ve been listening to, reading and watching. You can check out the archive, here, and read more about me, here. If you’re already a BF subscriber, thank you for your continued support. If you’re arriving to this issue by way of a forward, LinkedIn or social media, please subscribe below. And please share this newsletter with your circle so that they can enjoy it; personal referrals go a long way toward my goals for growth. With that said, let’s get into it….

SPONSORED: It’s Girl Scouts Cookie season 🍪. My daughter is a part of a wonderful troop that engages in weekly meetings and monthly activities that challenge the group to learn new skills and build confidence toward achieving their goals. Funds from this year’s cookie sales will help to continue these actions. Disclaimer: shipping isn’t cheap if you aren’t local but the product arrives the same week. If you my peoples and are local, we’ll delivery them to you. To view cookie options (or donation options) and to order click, here.

Front Seat

This is what’s driving hip-hop this week….

(Not as timely as I wanted to be with the year-end review, but recent data this past week from Luminate and RIAA make the delay feel just.)

Regular readers of this newsletter will be familiar with my constant refrain that rap is a top heavy genre. I’d argue that every genre operates this way, as do other industries for that matter. Superstars move the needle across the board. Naturally, during the years when superstars in hip-hop released new music, the overall consumption numbers for rap reflected that action. But despite this notion, Billboard headlines in 2025 were back (back, forth) and forth like Aaliyah when it comes to the culture’s musical health.

Last February, the trade published a column by its managing director of charts and data operations titled “Hip-Hop Back On Top: The State Of The Hot 100’s Top 10 For 2024.” This was after rap contributed 38 percent of all top 10 hits on the Hot 100 in 2024 to lay claim as the most popular genre. It was framed as a comeback. The year prior, in 2023, rap boasted only 23 percent of all top 10 hits falling behind pop and country, setting off alarms on social media and providing fodder for podcasts, especially following this 2022 whopper of a headline from Billboard: “Is Hip-Hop’s Dominance Slipping?” 

Just eight months later, after the comeback narrative, Billboard published this piece—in October of 2025—remarking that “No Rap Songs Are In The Billboard Hot 100’s Top 40 For The First Time Since 1990.” 

This was true, of course, but a headline can only include so much information. 

To wit: 

Is it “Oochie Wally” or is it “One Mic”? 

I’ve been knowingly isolating the headlines because the individual pieces are strong and offer more nuance, but the headlines simply don’t make for a balanced meal and social discourse ate those empty calories right on up. 

Anecdotally, I saw clips about major label gatekeeping, radio playlisting and payola, DSPs and their algorithms, but when it came to the actual music, there was a lot of animus over…the lack of lyricism. Insert facepalm emoji here. That’s a conversation that has been beaten down more than the Cowboys in the playoffs (4-10 since 2000). 

The pendulum just isn’t swinging that way at the moment. 

And pejoratively speaking, the commentary about realness by way of style is not worth it. 

Ten Releases That Explain Hip-Hop In 2023

I wrote a mid-year column in 2023 about hip-hop’s health. Mainly that its DNA had, in fact, spread wide: between the binary code of Soundcloud survivors, across the pond, and underneath pop hits and country jams. Not to mention the success of Bad Bunny is imbued by hip-hop. 

So when you look back at a year like 2023, which lacked new albums by Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole and Future and featured late-year releases by Drake (October) and Nicki Minaj (December), a sort of Rorschach test emerged: was rap really falling off or was it as influential as ever?

Hip-hop’s demise is more exaggerated than anything; according to Luminate, rap bested rock as the most-streamed genre of 2025 by a wide margin: 349.9 billion streams to 260.5 billions; pop and Latin were third and fifth, respectively with 167.2 and 120.9 billion streams. And as streaming has become the most dominant form of consumption, rap continues to dominate in that category: in 2025, the genre accounted for 25.1 percent of total on-demand streams in the U.S. By comparison, country, which has increased its streaming prowess year over year only netted 8.4 percent of total on-demand streams.

I have a more pertinent question, though, as we enter 2026: What if the era of the superstar is over? 

There’s currently a lot of stars in rap: GloRilla, NBA YoungBoy, Gunna, Doechii, Larry June, to name a few. 

But after a calendar year that saw major releases from Central Cee and Playboi Carti, in particular, garner critical acclaim yet fall short of blockbuster status, it seems hip-hop is fully enmeshed in its niche period. (Kendrick’s GNX and “luther” were the only rap releases in 2025 to reach Top 10 status in the year-end album and singles categories in streaming.)

Hip-Hop Award Season 2024

Perhaps the next few years will see more artists maxing out their existing tribe more than attempting to grow a larger fan base. 

It’s worked for NBA YoungBoy and Yeat, for instance. The former was just announced by RIAA as the most certified rapper of all time. And the latter might be the niche posterboy, however, his streaming numbers rival that of Latto’s numbers despite her lopsided earned media footprint and larger social media following.

Much like my analysis in 2023, I’d argue that hip-hop continued to widen its scope last year. New voices continued to emerge. British acts regularly impacted this side of the pond (Santan Dave’s The Boy Who Played Harp was a standout.) Both U.S. and world music borrow liberally from rap. Fridays feature a firehose of quality hip-hop being released across an ever-growing lineage of subgenres. Plus, there’s a dependable interest in veteran acts.

Still, at times, this never quite feels large enough. 

What I do view as the main threat to rap’s health doesn’t lie with the artists or the artistry. Rather, the ecosystem that supports the fan experience. Discourse is diluted to posting fire emojis or calling something trash, content is largely limited to recording performances (On a stoop! In a Cadillac! On the 1 train!), and the pipeline from streaming to radio is like the Asthma straw challenge. Also, for as much as streaming has given us and additionally, as technology has made it easier than ever to create, the ensuing abundance of options simply makes for less moments that rise to the level of events. 

For all these reasons and more, hip-hop isn’t battling its history like many argue. Instead, it’s up against all the other attention-seeking options of the day that Hollywood has been facing. That’s video games, short creator clips, memes, live streams and the like. 

Hip-hop was better than ever in 2025 and continues to be as big as can be—going forward, however, it may take more acts to regularly carry the weight of the culture than in the past.

🚙 🚙 🚙 🚙

Back Seat

Respect my mind or die from lead shower.

MVP

Clipse (Winner)

The Alchemist

Cardi B

Playboi Carti

Chance The Rapper

Playboi Carti impressed me the most, in terms of a proper release, but after his highly-anticipated MUSIC hit streamers, the reclusive rapper didn’t capitalize on his absence the way Clipse did. Is that forgivable? Yes. By all accounts, it was a banner year for the Opium chief. And while Let God Sort Em Out wasn’t a perfect album, the highs from the set soared above any other artist’s material. Whether we’re talking about the rumbling boasts on “P.O.V.” or the marching 101 of “F.I.C.O.”, the Brothers Thornton were deep in their LV bags. Cardi B had a lot of expectations to meet but the Bronx Bomber showed no signs of a sophomore slump on Am I The Drama? She’ll be working the album months into the new year. I’ll get more into Chance The Rapper below, but I considered J.I.D. in this slot and Wale, too. The former received a big-time Grammy nomination for God Does Like Ugly, but, for me, the sequencing on the album didn’t catapult the collection of tracks to the heights of the material. Wale’s everything is a lot featured a focused Folarin and though I enjoyed it, I found it difficult to put ahead of some of the other picks. NBA Youngboy, Gunna, Larry June and Freddie Gibbs are put out standout albums that left their marks on my algorithm. But The Alchemist was simple too responsible for some of the year’s best albums and tracks and since he was the backbone of Larry June and Freddie Gibbs’ albums, respectively, I gave an MVP nod to the Los Angeles producer.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

YK Niece (Winner)

Jim Legxacy

Ray Vaughn 

Chuckyy

BunnaB

It’s hard to argue with hits and YK Niece was attached to three big records in 2025: Pluto’s “Whim Whammi,” BunnaB’s “Innit” and Metro Boomin’s “Take Me Thru Dere.” That’s not a coincidence. Plus, the latter record netted the most viral trend across social. For all that and more, she’s tops. Chuckyy’s ascent has been swift, but despite the fast track there’s been a steadiness to his development. I’m keeping a close eye (and ear) out for him. Ray Vaughn took some tough blows from Joey Bada$$ in their tête-à-tête (Maurice Garland will text me about this word usage. Haaa.) but he not only head his own in defeat, he one-upped the Brooklyn rapper on the official release tip. Although BunnaB’s voice isn’t as shrill as Flo Milli, there’s a combustible element in their flow they both share. The former isn’t as cheeky as the latter, but the Atlanta rapper has a similarly sharp sense of narrative across her tracks. Jim Legxacy is a young man of many talents; he’s sort of a British B.o.B. in that regard, with just as much potential.

6th MAN

Rob49 (Winner)

Pooh Shiesty 

G Herbo 

Anycia 

Saba Pivot

Sometimes an artist has everything it takes to reach stardom except for a defining record. Rob49 was a consistent as any rapper in hip-hop. From week to week, I often automatically added him to my personal playlist whenever a new track arrived. When “WTHelly” landed, he went cosmic. He’ll be a different act in 2026 when he puts out his sophomore album and, I think, the anticipation will mold him into a top notch act. The same could be said for G Herbo. Always a respected artist, he elevated with “Went Legit,” which was and still is a huge record; its shelf life is longer than Wemby. (It just wasn’t the sensation “WTHelly” was.) Anycia knows how to put together a body of work. She followed up Prince Pop That with the DJ Drama-assisted Grady Baby. Third time’s the charm? Saba Pivot is also another consistent thread; his No ID collaborative LP showcased a polish to his already strong repertoire. My pick is Rob49 but if I were a betting man Pooh Shiesty is most likely to be in the MVP conversation at the end of 2026.

MOST IMPROVED

Chance The Rapper (Winner)

Little Simz 

YFN Lucci

Chance the Rapper’s Star Line was a stellar album. The quirky humor from his best work is active throughout the project and he levels just the right amount of seriousness on the heavy topics. He’s wholly original when addressing his life’s standing, i.e. divorce and happiness. Highly recommend the LP and it’s a hell of a comeback for the Chicago rapper, whose last collection, The Big Day, failed to ignite like Coloring Book.

Trunk (Music)

Music, news, reads, podcasts and videos that I’m checking for this week.

Loose Ends

I thought the Joey Bada$$ v. West battle would make more of a lasting mark. Though my text groups weren’t exactly wowed by it, Joey and Ray Vaughn both delivered quality raps throughout as did the others who participated. The Brooklyn rapper was dominant, however; his album didn’t quite measure up to Ray Vaughn’s project but in the end everyone raised their own bars.

“LaFerrari doors open up like it’s therapy,” was my favorite bar in 2025; “the Bezos of the nasal” was a close second.

There was so many November and December releases that slid under the radar, but Mavi’s The Pilot captured my interest.

Earl SweatShirt’s New York Times PopCast appearance might have been the best rap interview of 2025.

I pressed play on everything by Lefty Gunplay last year.

New Joints

Admittedly, I’ve only listed to A$AP Rocky’s Don’t Be Dumb one time since it’s release; my initial thought was this is the argument for taking too long to put out an album. There’s a sense he’s trying to sync two different albums into one body of work. It’s an interesting LP, though, and I use interesting as a compliment. He’s engaging with a variety of sounds and wrestling with topics that are new to him as an artist.

I appreciate that J.Cole is a classicist when it comes to hip-hop and so his “Disc 2 Track 2” is likely an Easter Egg of a warm-up to his forthcoming (and long-awaited) The Fall-Off album. It’s a nifty number, where he raps his life in reverse, and, I suspect, it’s even more impressive in sequence on the LP. The most extreme of the social media commentary on the track has been funny; either “he better not claim King” because he bowed out of squaring off with Kendrick or “he’s gonna save hip-hop” — let’s just appreciate one of the best rappers of his era doing his thing.

What I’d Like To See in 2026

Mixtape behavior. Give me unauthorized but highly creative material. I don’t care if it’s on YouTube, on livemixtapes.com, or downloadable via an artist website. Our talent pool is deep, but sometimes they drown in the pomp and circumstance of an album or the confusion of a “project” that is a semantic vehicle that provides cover but often not much else.

Less A.I. artists and more strategic use of A.I. tools. I’m looking past you, Timbaland. And I’m looking at you, Beanie Sigel.

Backseat Freestyle is written and produced by me, Jayson Rodriguez, impartially and independently via my company, Smarty Art. If you have any comments, feedback or questions, feel free to email me: [email protected]. If you would like to discuss sponsoring an issue of the newsletter, contact: [email protected] and check out the rates, here. And follow me elsewhere:

Bluesky: @jaysonrodriguez.info

Instagram: @jaysonrodriguez

Threads: @jaysonrodriguez

YouTube: jaysonrodriguez

LinkedIn: @jaysonrodriguez302

Podcast: @ wherever you listen to them