WTF Happened to Rap Concerts?

Hip-hop shows as we know it are in crisis. On a weekly basis, it feels like we’re getting more and more stories of shows going off the rails, tours being canceled due to low ticket sales, or artists just straight up canceling their scheduled shows at the drop of a hat. And then when you consider the physical danger of attending a show with the subpar performances that’ve become industry standard, it’s no wonder that even major rappers are struggling to push tickets while others are resorting to heavy ticket discounts.

So, what’s going on with rap live shows and how did we get here?

#Drake #hiphopmadness #hiphop #rap

-----

Narrated by: Spencer Pearman
Written by: Antonio Johri
Edited by: Roman Bill
Music by: Josh Petruccio

© HIPHOPMADNESS 2024. All rights reserved

[alienn]

Aight homies. I'm still tryin to check out some good live shows. Yall got like a list of your favorite rappers or musicians I should check out?

[hakeemsesay]

Not only is concert etiquette atrocious, but the artist themselves are just completely lazy with their performance

[committedtodd]

I'd argue most rappers have to tour because there's no other way to make money, not because they're passionate entertainers who want to give fans a memorable experience.

[prawnee]

Why would you want to spend $100 plus, seeing a DJ pretending to mix music and a rapper whose vocal is low on a pre-record? People are savvy to it now. It ain’t live music.

[AyoLeem]

Problem is artists now don’t practice performing, what they do in the studio doesn’t correlate to their appearance.

[TheWutangclan]

There’s an episode of Family Guy where Peter and Lois got high on weed performing at a concert. In their mind, they thought they were killing it. But in reality they were screaming and shouting random things. A lot of these new rappers sound exactly that.

[newnamesameperson]

A lot of concerns feel like low effort karaoke. Most artists sound absolutely nothing like they do on their songs and that's immensely disappointing

[ej.osei]

One thing that Yachty said and Tyler touched on recently which I think perfectly describes this new era of music especially in the hip-hop/rap scene and culture is the least popular thing about new artists is their actual music. They’re Internet personalities who happen to make music as part of their overall brand.

[jaymoney_]

Another factor, music is not the main source of entertainment anymore for many teenagers, it’s competing with gaming, streaming, social media etc.

[valentin]

DMX performing in front of like half of earths population is peak hiphop concert

[Craycrayallday]

The Yeezus tour was one hell of a show. I saw Kendrick open, and eventually during his performance I noticed the entire stage looked like it was covered in huge blankets. As Kanye was about to start, they unveiled the stage and I saw the stage which looked like a huge glacier. That show was amazing, I was iffy on the album at first, but after hearing the album live, I understood it more. Blood on the leaves and hold my liquor brought chills down my spine. That show was amazing, more akin to seeing like a play than your typical concert, between the stage, costume design, dancers.

[kabrne]

Ain't no one paying to hear an MP3 of a song playing while the rapper misses 85% of the lyrics and poses instead

[thatisntryan]

Every problem in the music industry stems from the fact that labels stopped signing musicians and started signing social media influencers

[Brandon-ygmw]

Biggie looking 30 in the video of him freestyling at 17😂😂

[NoirNameless]

Combination of things. A lot of new artists don’t really have fanbases, they have listeners. So people won’t show up to their shows, but they’ll listen to their little TikTok viral songs. Artists being late/not showing up to shows soured the experience (happened to me with Travis in Chicago last year). And artists overestimate their reach by booking shows they aren’t big enough for.

The concert going experience is also weird now. Why are there mosh pits at a Tems show? Lol. Etiquette has gone out the window. It’s crazy, cause you’re safer at a Slipknot show than a Travis show. So adopts the whole punk show aesthetic, but didn’t understand that there’s unwritten rules. “If someone falls, pick them back up” “if someone’s hurt, help them” etc. bands stay scooping the crowd making sure no one gets hurt and that nothing weird is happening in the crowd. Rappers don’t do that much, I notice.

[ThoughtOuter]

Both the artists and fans are to blame for the heavy decline. Artists barely practice on their craft or know any breath control performing over playback tracks barely rapping the words and forgetting songs. There's no showmanship or any type of entertainment at all especially with male rappers who are clearly just showing up for the check. Then we have fans who have the shortest attention span nowadays and can't view anything without pulling up their phone and recording it. The lack of respect for the genre of hip hop in general from both sides continues on and on when you have people in the genre disrespecting past greats or saying they don't even like rapping or hip hop they just doing it for a check. Don't get me started on how everyone thinks they are a "GOAT" or a "Trendsetter" nowadays everyone apparently started something and wants credit and respect for it.

Just some of the many heavy drawbacks of Hip Hop becoming so mainstream now

[SUBKOLOR]

Probably a lot to be said about how the come up works these days. You used to get noticed for your live performance and following. Now you're chosen for your virality and online following. There was never a need for the artist to learn how to perform outside of the studio and watching them learn how to figure out what a live audience wants is crushing them.

Give us a reason to see live music!

Even DJ sets are more popular and engaging than live hip hop on the main stage. Wild.

[liljay]

Befor the Travis Scott Incident I always wanted to go one of his concert I’m good off that now😂😂😂

[Toastfacekillah]

Its the phones for me. The damn phones!!! Put them away 😡😡😡

[killagilla]

I will never pay these exorbitant prices. Dont let em rob you people.