21st Century — Hip‑Hop / RapHip‑hop became the global backbone of popular music: production techniques, vocal delivery, fashion, marketing, and even chart methodology all bent around it. It’s the first genre since rock to fully dominate worldwide aesthetics and industry logic.20th Century — RockRock reshaped everything: instruments, recording technology, youth culture, festivals, global touring, and the idea of the “band” as a cultural force. Its subgenres (punk, metal, alternative, grunge) created entire ecosystems.19th Century — Romantic ClassicalThe Romantic era (Wagner, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Brahms) defined modern orchestration, harmony, emotional expression, and the concert tradition. It also cemented the idea of the composer as a visionary individual.18th Century — Classical (Viennese Classical Style)Think Mozart, Haydn, early Beethoven. This period standardized the symphony, sonata form, and harmonic language that still underpins Western music theory today.17th Century — BaroqueBaroque music (Bach, Vivaldi, Handel) introduced tonality, counterpoint, and the early forms of opera. It’s the architectural foundation of Western composition.16th Century — Renaissance PolyphonyPalestrina, Victoria, Lassus. This era perfected vocal polyphony and shaped sacred music across Europe. It’s the blueprint for harmony before tonality existed.15th Century — Burgundian / Franco‑Flemish SchoolDufay, Ockeghem. These composers created the first pan‑European musical style and formalized early counterpoint. Northern Europe was the creative engine of the century.14th Century — Ars NovaA radical French/Italian movement (Machaut) that introduced rhythmic notation, syncopation, and early secular song forms. It’s the birth of modern rhythmic complexity.
13th Century — Gregorian Chant (Late Dominance)While chant originates earlier, the 13th century is when it becomes codified, standardized, and central to liturgical practice. It’s the backbone of Western sacred music.12th Century — Troubadour / Trouvère TraditionSecular lyric poetry set to music, spreading across France and influencing the entire continent. It’s the first major wave of vernacular, non‑religious musical culture.11th Century — Organum (Early Polyphony)The first steps away from monophonic chant toward harmony. Notre Dame polyphony begins here, setting the stage for all later Western music.
>>129478359>Hip‑hop became the global backbone of popular music: production techniques, vocal delivery, fashion, marketing, and even chart methodology all bent around it. It’s the first genre since rock to fully dominate worldwide aesthetics and industry logic.I think it's probably synth heavy/edm stuff. It shapes a lot of pop/dance. There's not exactly a lot of "rapping" going on outside of hip hop.
the animated gif in the original post is Artificial Intelligence or some kind of editing
>>129478519it's not real? :(
>>129478359>21st Century — Hip‑Hop / RapWe're barely a quarter into this century though, why are you talking about it like it's some retrospective? Are you a time traveler OP?
>>129478359Thanks ChatGPTard, but periods aren't genres. Classical isn't a genre.
>>129478359>21st Century — Hip‑Hop / RapHouse is bigger than hip hop.
>>129478894>The Classical period was an era of classical music between roughly 1750 and 1820. It falls between the Baroque and Romantic periods. It is mainly homophonic, using a clear melody line over a subordinate chordal accompaniment, but counterpoint was by no means forgotten, especially in liturgical vocal music and, later in the period, secular instrumental music. It also makes use of style galant which emphasizes light elegance in place of the Baroque's dignified seriousness and impressive grandeur. Variety and contrast within a piece became more pronounced than before, and the orchestra increased in size, range, and power.
>>129478500>>129478532>>129479217pathetic cope
>>129478359if you're not dividing the 20th and 21st century by decade you're just doing it wrongas audio technology got better and cheaper the rate of change in popular music became too quick for a single genre to properly represent the whole centurythe rock music you speak of basically was the rage around two decades (60s and 70s) and even then it split radio time with funk or folk or disco or soul or pop what have you. it didn't suddenly die obviously but it waned out and other genres got the slice of the pie
>>129481028>two decadesnonsense, the 80s and 90s are mostly remembered for the rock stuff, also it started in the 50s
>>129478359>vocal delivery>chart methodologynot seeing theseexplain>fashionnot much outside of that cultureskateboarding has influenced fashion more (i know it's not music)
Hip hop isn't music though.
>>129481319>vocal deliveryHip‑hop fundamentally changed what “lead vocals” even are in popular music.A. Rhythm > MelodyBefore hip‑hop, mainstream vocal performance was melody‑centric. Rap flipped the hierarchy:- Flow, cadence, and rhythmic density became the primary expressive tools - Melodic hooks became optional, then hybridized (Drake, Future, Post Malone)This shift spread into:- Pop (syncopated talk‑singing)- R&B (trap‑soul phrasing)- K‑pop (rap breaks as structural requirement)- Latin music (reggaeton’s dembow + rap cadences)B. Micro‑rhythmic identityHip‑hop normalized:- Behind‑the‑beat delivery (Snoop, Biggie)- Triplet flows (Migos global)- Staccato punch‑ins (trap era)- Ad‑libs as structural elements (Gucci Mane, Jeezy Migos everyone)Ad‑libs became a second voice, almost a percussion layer.C. Vocal processing as performanceAuto‑Tune stopped being a corrective tool and became a timbre:- T‑Pain Future Travis Scott global pop - Distortion, formant shifting, and heavy compression became expressive choicesHip‑hop made vocal production part of the performance itself.>chart methodologyHip‑hop forced the industry to rewrite how success is measured.A. Streaming rules were built around hip‑hop consumptionHip‑hop fans adopted streaming first and most intensely. As a result:- Billboard and IFPI changed chart formulas to include streams - “Album‑equivalent units” were created - YouTube views began counting toward charts - Playlist placement became a primary promotional toolThe modern chart system is essentially a hip‑hop‑shaped algorithm.
>>129481319B. The mixtape economy broke the album modelMixtapes:- bypassed labels- normalized free releases- blurred lines between “album,” “EP,” and “project”- created the expectation of constant outputCharts had to adapt to:- surprise releases- non‑traditional rollouts- massive tracklists designed to maximize streams (Migos, Drake, Chris Brown)C. Virality became a chart engineHip‑hop was the first genre to fully weaponize:- memes- dance challenges- short‑form video loops- TikTok‑optimized hooksCharts now measure engagement velocity, not just sales.D. Features and collaborations became structuralHip‑hop normalized:- feature‑driven tracklists- cross‑regional collaborations- producer tags as brand signaturesCharts adapted to track multiple primary artists and producers.>fashionHip‑hop is the only genre since rock to completely dominate global fashion logic.A. Streetwear luxury pipelineHip‑hop turned:- sneakers into status symbols- hoodies, varsity jackets, and baggy silhouettes into global staples- sportswear into everyday wear (Adidas, Nike, Jordan)Then it flipped luxury:- Rappers became the primary ambassadors for Louis Vuitton, Dior, Balenciaga- Virgil Abloh (hip‑hop‑adjacent designer) became LV’s artistic director- The “luxury streetwear” category exists because of hip‑hopB. Branding as identityHip‑hop normalized:- visible logos- capsule drops- artist‑driven brands (Yeezy, OVO, Fenty, Golf Wang)The idea that musicians are fashion entrepreneurs is a hip‑hop invention.C. Regional aesthetics became global- NYC: Timberlands, fitted caps- LA: Chicano influence, Dickies, Cortez- Atlanta: jewelry maximalism- Houston: grills- Chicago: designer‑streetwear fusionThese once‑local styles became worldwide templates.
>>129481338
>>129481303I know rock started in the 50s, what I meant is that it really took over in the 60s and the 70s even though it existed alongside folk music and motownI don't think rock was irrelevant in the 80s since that was a particularly important for metal music for instnace but as far as popular music goes synth and electronics oriented pop music and really dominated instead of the usual power trio formatas for the 90s i will agree that there was a resurgence but hip hop and EDM became immensely successful
>>129481436>it really took over in the 60shttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley
>>129481487i'm aware of Elvis and Chuck Berry and whatnot but I was more or less thinking about the british invasion of the 60s and the peak of the cultural influence of counterculture and rock music around the time Woodstock happened at the end of the decade
>>129480972But it's true. >It’s the first genre since rock to fully dominate worldwide aesthetics and industry logic.Hip hop was never that big outside of the USA, House/EDM was always dominating in Europe and it took over the US for half a decade as well. Hip hop is a genre that only niggers and white teens in school listen to because its considered "cool".
>>129480972Hip-hop is kinda insignificant in most countries around the world, it doesn't have 1/10 of the audience that pop, or local music genres, have. try seeing how it fares in asian countries, of african, Middle Eastern, Latin American... it never reached the level rock did in the 80s, and it's already on the decline, by the 2050s it will be as mainstream as in the 80s.
>>129480953>>The Classical period was an eraso you agree
>>129478359>21st Century — Hip‑Hop / RapThe rest of the world isn’t obsessed with black people like americans.
>>129478359If co-worker music was officially a genre (which I think it is) I'd call it the most important genre of the 21st century
>>129482102kek i always thought youd have to be the biggest npc ever to actually listen to ed sheeran on your own free wil
>>129480953>ChatGPTard has shit reading comprehensionWhat a surprise.
>>129478359hip hop (1980-2025) is dead. 21st century will be the year of synth pop and kpop.
>>129478359>21st Century — Hip‑Hop / RapNot Music
