Best Hip Hop Highlights (Updated in 2025)
A tradition of summarizing the results of the year and remembering everything that happened during the past 12 months is common for most industries. The music industry is not an exception, as fans and analytics from each genre show up in their top lists, compilations, and other formats. In the first months of the year, rap music dominated the whole music industry, as we heard some mind-blowing tracks from top-rated artists. Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, J. Cole, and other musicians were under the spotlight, getting impressive engagement and appearing in top charts over and over again. In this article, we present our compilation of the best highlights in the rap and hip hop industry so far in 2025. We will not only mention known personalities but also talk about new artists ready to take the stage this year.
Kendrick Lamar was considered the most commercially successful rapper of 2024. His latest 12-song album generated total revenue of 379.72 million dollars with streams and had over 32,000 sales. Besides commercial success, he also made a cultural impact by highlighting important topics and problems.
Who Made the Difference This Year?
Success is not only about statistics; it's also about influence in the niche and the ability to make people follow you. Famous rappers step into the spotlight when they make a difference and change the way listeners perceive the music. The one who will dominate 2025 even more than 2024 is Kendrick. One of his latest songs, "Not Like Us," which is literally a diss to Drake, got over 184 million streams on YouTube and nearly a billion on Spotify. Moreover, this number will keep growing, especially after his thunderous performance at the Super Bowl.
On November 22, 2024, Kendrick released his latest album called "GNX." It's been almost two weeks, and this mix already possesses top charts, pushing Ateez and Linkin Park back. Moreover, the fact that the artist will show up at the 2025 Super Bowl in February means the album will be on top for a long time. Furthermore, we will see more fan-made videos and edits with his songs in the background. Some users may not consider this factor, but it's crucial, especially if we talk about a strong social media presence. The music speaks for its author, as people hear Kendrick's music daily, and it makes them check his songs on streaming platforms.
Talking about rising stars, we should mention Nettspend, a young musician who represents the young generation and talks about problems of the youth. His fanbase is considered one of the most powerful in the genre, and even though he has only 75,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, he's already appeared in the list of best new rappers of 2025.
Edward Skeletrix is another rising star of 2025. His style may sound familiar to the fans of XXXTentacion and Playboi Carti. He's more than just an artist. Besides sharing his hip hop albums, he represents himself as a multi-vector artist, wearing stylish clothes and filming clips.
When we visit an Instagram profile of Edward Skeletrix, we see that it differs from how artists usually run their pages and drop content. He shows that he is more than just a musician, but an unusual artist.
His music videos do not look expensive or have super high quality. Sometimes, we see casual video edits with his tracks in the background. For example, his latest clip, Plastic Body, shares pretty simple footage compared to top-tier artists.
Who Will Be the Rapper of the Year?
We can check various ratings created by experts and look at the stats on various platforms, but we can't stand against fans' opinions. When you ask music lovers to name the artists that performed the best during the year, everyone will make the surprising choices. If we take a look back, we'll see that Kendrick Lamar was on top, according to Ranker. The media published a rating of the best rappers of the year so far. The list is based on users' votes and shows who people see as a #1 personality in the industry.
As we can see, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, and Eminem dominate the rank. Of course, it's one of many ranks we can find today, but it shows the global trends in the industry and listeners' personal preferences. Considering the fact that Kendrick took the stage at the Super Bowl halftime show, and his performance made fans go crazy, right now we have a perfect candidate for the rapper of the year. According to the updated data from Ranker, the top 3 remain the same, and Kendrick dominates the list.
Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl Performance: Highlight of the Year?
Super Bowl LIX will be remembered for years thanks to Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance. It wasn't a regular show when artists performed their best songs and blended artistry with individual skills. The 2025 show was different, as the artist presented a complex performance with deep senses, and references, and shared hidden messages with people and the government. The whole show lasted up to 15 minutes, but it took the whole concept of Super Bowl performances to another level. We've highlighted some key details of Lamar's performance, explaining Easter eggs and hidden messages from his performance in our recent article.
Fans build theories around his performance, as several elements could have double or even triple senses.
Is Rap Dominating the Music Industry in 2024?
The global growth of rap and hip hop overall showed that this genre is dominating the music industry. The first call was in 2023, when rap artists hit #1 in the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot 200 charts. Moreover, the Chartmetric's report showed that hip hop and rap artists had the biggest presence in the music industry in 2023. This year, the situation didn't change, as Kendrick Lamar holds first place with his track "squabble up." The fact that Linkin Park showed up with their new vocalist Emily Armstrong was a surprise for fans, as the famous rock band was back in the game. However, the hype didn't last for long, as fans were more interested in rap releases.
Are rap and hip hop establishing dominance in the industry шт 2025? The presence is getting stronger, but the global trend still differs. Rap is the second-most-listened genre on Spotify, as pop holds on to the top spot. Still, hip hop is the most listened-to genre on the platform among younger listeners (age gap 18-24). Do you know who is the most-streamed rapper on Spotify in 2025? Unexpectedly, it's Drake, as he keeps this status for eight years in a row. His feud with Kendrick Lamar also made a difference, as people keep listening to his songs. Besides, Kendrick is only number five on the list. Even though Kendrick received 5 Grammys for the track “Not Like Us”, both rappers created a precedent, and fans started listening to their tracks even more.
|
Artist |
Total Streams (Billions) |
|
Drake |
3.38 |
|
Kendrick Lamar |
3.37 |
|
Travis Scott |
1.89 |
|
Future |
1.77 |
|
Kanye West |
1.72 |
Rating of the most streamed musicians so far, as of March, 2025.
Will the Hip Hop Trend Change in 2025?
It's complicated to predict who will dominate the genre this year. From what we see now, Kendrick Lamar is on top of the game, as his music gets millions of streams daily. His tracks are not only gaining millions of streams across several platforms, but also developing new trends in society and making people rethink current situations. At the same time, we can't underestimate personalities like Travis Scott and Drake, who can change the complexity of the game immediately after a couple of releases. Moreover, dozens of young rappers are ready to take the stage and surprise fans with their hits. Yeat, 310babii, Edward Skeletrix, Nettspend, Luh Tyler, and others already made statements, so the upcoming year may be their breakthrough. Their personalities may not be recognizable like others, but it's a matter of time when they will make a name. If several music-related news channels already made statements about
Making a statement in the industry may be tough due to solid competitiveness and the number of rappers who enter the genre every month. If you pretend to create good music and you want it to be heard by your target audience, it's important to push your rap songs to make sure you get first engagement, so the algorithm will be on your side. By using organic Hip Hop promotion from Artist Push, you get combined engagement with streams, saves, and followers. Those who follow you will be real users interested in your content, so you will see positive changes soon.
Who performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2025?
Who is the most streamed rapper in 2025 so far?
Which song has got the most streams in 2025?
Did Drake Respond to Kendrick Lamar?
Does Eminem still get it?
Theo Vice
Love this! The blog post captured the essence of hip-hop perfectly, and it’s a great resource for artists like me who want to stay connected to the culture. Keep highlighting the best in the game, Artist Push!
Love this! The blog post captured the essence of hip-hop perfectly, and it’s a great resource for artists like me who want to stay connected to the culture. Keep highlighting the best in the game, Artist Push!
Angela Hayes
Kendrick Lamar’s influence this year is undeniable! I can’t stop listening to ‘Not Like Us,’ and it’s amazing how his lyrics speak to the culture. Also, props to Eminem for delivering such a well-crafted album with ‘The Death of Slim Shady.’ His storytelling is unmatched.
Kendrick Lamar’s influence this year is undeniable! I can’t stop listening to ‘Not Like Us,’ and it’s amazing how his lyrics speak to the culture. Also, props to Eminem for delivering such a well-crafted album with ‘The Death of Slim Shady.’ His storytelling is unmatched.