The rap in the digital age
Digital media have reached music, in effect, but not all genres equally or in the same way. The case of rap could be considered an exception, since in many ways it is one of the most benefited from it in terms of economic aspect and its consumption.
Since its origins, rap has been reserved mainly for young people who spend hours on the street and show life lessons in each of their themes, something that has not changed in excess in recent years if we just analyze those projects that havebeen created by faithfully obeying the basic rules of rap.
However, the low cost of new technologies and, above all, the multitude of dissemination possibilities offered by the Internet has allowed many rappers – in most cases without record support – they are forced to record their songs with their ownMedia, something that until years ago would have been unthinkable, but that has allowed many young people to enter the hip hop industry only through their talent.
But like everything, the fact that now "anyone" can rhyme several verses and accompany it with a base taken from a digital platform, has led us to a vulgarization of this genre, because it seems that there are no longer filters and that the content does not impressto the general public. Pro otherwise, the possibility of reaching a greater number of spectators, has made many rappers forget the letter and move towards other genres currently much more quoted, such as reggaeton or trap.
So that new digital technologies have triggered endless changes in hip hop, specifically in two elements: the video clip and its diffusion. Since today the back of a record is not necessary to get a song, upload it to Spotify or YouTube, receive thousands of visits, comments, win followers and start becoming a place in the world of music. However, the fact that the Internet has consecrated itself as the preferred environment for the consumption of musical works among young people has had some impact on the quality of the image (video clip) and the sound, since the technical conditions imposed by the various platformsOnline for the climb of videos (in all their formats) has led its creators to export their pieces in low quality.
In short, the expansion of the Internet and ICT has not gone unnoticed by rap;contributing to the creation of projects that until then had not been raised. But without a doubt, one of the effects that has caused the most stir for the arrival of the Internet has been the consumption of musical works at the time they are available on the network;However, the impact of this phenomenon on the rap industry both in Spain and abroad has been positive.
Related to this we find what we know as the dissective dissemination of some projects. As an example we can cite the case of the Spanish rap group rapists of the verse that in 2006 decided to make available to its fans its new album (live to tell it) through its website. In the beginning this action was very criticized, because it could lead to the economic disaster of this group of rappers, but the opposite happened: it became a gold disc and the sales figures far exceeded all their expectations.
Currently the advances of video clips on platforms such as YouTube, or even the publication of reproduction lists offered the same day of the launch of a new album or theme;They have allowed a greater approach between artists and followers.
Thus, for Spanish rap the arrival of the Internet has caused a total revolution, since it has allowed Spanish hip hop projects to be consumed beyond our borders, especially in Latin American. Revolution that affects not only the dissemination of these musical works, but also their content: "Simp.
Nor can we forget the great changes that are generating the arrival of the "sour of streaming". Streaming platforms are supporting a volume of excessive musical works, which has resulted in saturation, especially in hip-hop. But what is excess content in this genre? The answer is found in the eagerness of many artists linked to rap for random issues with which to achieve success, without focusing on developing a complete production. All this has made the rap culture more and more commercial, consumerist, superficial … and less purist.
This possibility of immediate consumption has progressively distributing the uniqueness and authenticity of rap. It is currently much more difficult to enjoy a project, because it is something that is presented to us almost instantaneously, unlike what was traditionally happening when the followers of an artist were looking forward to the sale of their new album.
Rap is, according to many, the genre that has best been able to adapt to the streaming era, being able to meet all demands much more successful than other genres. That is why the great winner of the streaming era is undoubtedly the hip hop.
After this brief analysis we can affirm that rap continues to depend largely on the occurrence of fashions, because despite the story that this musical style brings, it has not been able to find a stable market in which it definitely display its wings. However, with the arrival of the Internet, rap survival is guaranteed, at least for the moment.
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