For many years, hip hop music has been one of the largest and most popular music scenes across the globe. Some of the genre’s earliest stars, including Grandmaster Flash, Run-D.M.C., Whodini and many more, set the foundations for the future of the hip-hop scene, with contemporary artists now continuously seeking to further develop the trends within the genre itself.

In recent times, hip hop has enjoyed a real surge in popularity, with many of the genre’s modern artists proving to be some of the most popular across the entire music industry. With that in mind, we’re going to consider why money is becoming an increasingly mentioned topic within hip hop and also take a look at some of the artists who are central to heightening the number of money-related lyrics.

Competitive Rap and Hip Hop

As a result of social media becoming increasingly prevalent in the modern-day, music artists, along with many others, have the capabilities to publicly show their wealth and material items to their audience on a huge scale. The superstar lifestyle, which is available for all to see online through such platforms, is not only of interest to the fans of particular artists, but also their competitors.

Traditionally, in both hip hop and rap music, the genre has been used to lyrically battle other artists in attempts to assert their superiority within the industry by mentioning fame and wealth. In recent years, increasing numbers of artists have sought to bring back this competitive element with many believing that competition is good for the hip hop scene. Perhaps most recently, the back and forth between Eminem and Machine Gun Kelly in 2018 reignited fan interest in rap battles. ‘Killshot’, the track released by Eminem in response to MGK’s ‘Rap Devil’, included numerous lyrics relating to ‘outselling’ his competitor, along with other money-focused lines.

A New Wave of Artists

Over the last few years, the hip-hop music industry has been revolutionized by a new wave of artists after the likes of Cardi B, Gucci Mane, Lil Uzi, Playboi Carti, Post Malone and many more rose to fame. Post Malone, in particular, has been central to contemporary hip hop music gaining traction in traditional pop-orientated sectors. Following the release of his 2018 album, ‘Beerbongs and Bentley’, hip hop music once again found itself deep within the charts as the release went on to become eligible for certified platinum just 24 hours after it was released.

In relation to money-focused references, the American singer heavily features such terms in many of his tracks. According to Lottoland’s interactive feature which allows users to see which artist is the most cash-obsessed, the New York-born artist uses a cash-related term in 45 of his songs, while also specifically using the word ‘ballin’ at an average of 9.14 times in every 10,000 words. Additionally, aside from Post Malone, Playboi Carti includes references to money in a total of 78 of his songs, which perfectly illustrates the influence of new wave artists on the inclusion of money-orientated lyrics.

What Does the Future Hold?

Ultimately, with hip hop music once again rising to the top in the music industry, the recent trend which focuses on money is likely to remain in the foreseeable future. Crucially, with many contemporary artists only recently enjoying their rise to stardom, money-related lyrics could soon become commonplace across many different music genres, but none more so than hip hop.