African Americans from Chicago and how they dominate hip-hop
For my mixtape project, I will be exploring the origin and evolution of the hip hop genre.
I will attempt to understand and examine hip hop’s place in African American culture, as well as
in pop culture, and the diffusion from its birthplace in New York City across the United States
and the world. Furthermore, I want to know why the popularity of hip hop has recently exploded
in Chicago and why Chicago is becoming one of the hottest cities in hip hop.
An increasing number of the top hip hop artists today are from Chicago like Kanye West,
Juice WRLD, Polo G, Lil Durk, Chance the Rapper, Chief Keef, G Herbo, and King Von just to
name a few. According to YTD top 100 streams by artist, there were 3 hip hop artists top 10 in
streams in 2022 across all genres(Juice WRLD, Kanye West, and Lil Durk).
Gang and gun violence is becoming a large problem in Chicago oftentimes hip hop artists
partake in gang related activities and are victims of gun violence. Many hip hop artists use their
music as a platform to spread the message about ending gun violence as well as the Black Lives
Matter movement, and politics.