Spotify launched a new interactive marketing campaign Feb. 26, centered around the current rap landscape. Titled “The Leaders Of The Next Generation,” the campaign prompts rap fans to vote through the Spotify app for two artists, out of eight nominated, to lead the next wave of hip-hop. While online consensus agrees that the three rappers who eventually won were the best options on the poll, a bigger conversation has been sparked: does hip-hop even need new leaders?
The culture surrounding Spotify’s picks is one that appeals greatly to Gen Z music consumers. Songs by these artists are short, simple, and feature catchy moments designed to go viral. For example, Doechii’s 2025 song “Anxiety” was a major TikTok hit, and even won a Grammy for Best Music Video. The success of the song was partially due to its social media presence, which isn’t inherently the issue at hand. However, this prioritization of social media appeal over the actual quality of the music has its effect. Some of Spotify’s picks, like Sexyy Red, make low effort, low quality music, designed to be replayable for statistics. The oversaturation of music through social media has made mediocrity the norm.
A lot of social media users think some of their favorite artists of this new generation have been left out of the top eight chosen. Don Toliver, for example, has experienced some of the most success in his career in the past three years, with high quality, viral hits such as “No Pole” or successful albums this decade cementing him as a blockbuster rapper of the decade. Other underground artists, like Che or Nettspend, have also been omitted from the list. However, I’d argue that Spotify’s poll gave a pretty good approximation of where the talent in this next generation is. Lil Tecca, Baby Keem, and Doechii are all serious forces of nature, with the production, hits, and bars to justify their success.
Spotify’s main error, as online consensus from fans has it, lies in assuming hip-hop as a genre is stagnant enough to need “new leaders.” Some of the past few years’ best selling albums were those of rappers. For example, Playboi Carti’s 2025 release “MUSIC,” selling nearly 300,000 copies its first week, and Kendrick Lamar’s surprise 2024 drop “GNX” sold 319,000. Drake, Youngboy Never Broke Again, and Travis Scott just closed off wildy successful rap tours, and the latter recently broke the all-time record for highest grossing solo rap tour. These artists have been mainstays in the world of hip-hop since the mid 2010s, and they’re still just as relevant today as they were a decade plus ago.
Overall, as much as Spotify’s campaign has recognized artists plenty qualified to lead this next generation, longtime fans of the genre agree that hip-hop is in a great place currently, and the demand for new leaders is low.
