Genre
Hip-Pop
20 artists
What is hip-pop? In this encyclopedia, hip-pop means artists who made plenty of mainstream hits and worked with pop stars. It's about reach, not quality: these are the rappers who brought hip-hop to everyone's radio, wedding and gym playlist.
Where it comes from. Crossover is as old as hip-hop itself; "Rapper's Delight" was already a pop hit in 1979. Salt-N-Pepa ("Push It") and TLC made hip-hop and R&B the sound of the charts in the late '80s and '90s. In the 2000s Nelly and Ludacris owned the radio, Lil Wayne sold a million in one week, and Timbaland produced hits for pop stars. In the 2010s Drake, Wiz Khalifa and Post Malone blurred the lines completely, and Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" spent a record 19 weeks at number one.
The sound. Big hooks, melodic flows, clean production and often a sung chorus. Hip-pop follows the trends of its time, from new jack swing to trap.
Key albums
- Hot, Cool & Vicious, Salt-N-Pepa (1986)
- CrazySexyCool, TLC (1994)
- Country Grammar, Nelly (2000)
- Take Care, Drake (2011)
- Beerbongs & Bentleys, Post Malone (2018)
- Montero, Lil Nas X (2021)
