It is impossible not to mention: four rap monuments that can hardly be overthrown in the US-UK music industry

The 2010s have passed but many people still remember it as a flourishing period for rap music. In 2023, Billboard highlighted four names that still hold the “four pillars” position in the rap industry in the 2010s. They have made many great contributions to music, set many records, and up to now no one has been able to replace them.

According to Billboard, there is a sad truth that this year, there has not been any hip-hop song topping both the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 charts. Even though a series of new stars have appeared like Megan Thee Stallion. , Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Lil Durk,… still don’t have a hit song strong enough to shake up the music industry and completely conquer the audience.

On the contrary, in the 2010s, hip-hop emerged strongly with a series of hit songs. Notably, there are 4 faces that Billboard favorably calls “Mount Rushmore”, referring to the famous mountain with 4 statues of the 4 greatest presidents in American history. They are Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj and J.Cole respectively. Up to now, no one has been strong enough to knock down these four monuments of the US-UK rap scene in the 2010s. Even at the present time, all four are still responsible for carrying rap music, even though many young artists have appeared.

Drake – the leader of the Billboard charts

Been making his own music since 2006, but it wasn’t until the 2010s that Drake really became famous. An important milestone in the Canadian rapper’s career was 2010 when he released his debut album “Thank Me Later” (2010).

After that, a series of hits such as “Take Care” (2011), “Started From The Bottom” (2013), “Hotline Bling” (2015),… helped him become one of the most popular rappers in the US music industry. -UK.

Compared to many rappers, Drake conquers the audience with his musical diversity, not fixed on a certain topic or content. We can see him sadly enduring loneliness in “Marvin’s Room” (2011), strangely earnest in “Hold On, We’re Going Home” (2013), or simply calling for everyone to stand. Get up and dance to “One Dance” (2016).

Even though the lyrics are sometimes simple, Drake always knows how to play with the melody, thereby creating catchy hits with addictive hooks (choruses). Drake’s charming voice and masculine style make his performances even more attractive.
During the 2010s, Drake had almost no opponents as he completely dominated the Billboard charts. The rapper set a record with a total of 294 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart to date. Among them, 11 hits held the top position, 68 songs entered the Top 10, most notably “God’s Plan” (2018) stayed for 36 weeks and ranked No. 1 for 11 consecutive weeks.

Kendrick Lamar – who writes rap like a philosopher

Born into a poor working-class African-American family, Kendrick Lamar grew up feeling the poverty and misery of lower-class people of color. He skillfully combines personal experiences into rap, not afraid to hum about the dark sides of life and open up like a philosopher.

Kendrick Lamar’s style stands out with its flexible flow and complex wordplay, seamlessly combining thorny social themes while simultaneously referencing many pop culture elements. delicate way. At times, the roughness of Kendrick Lamar’s music is in stark contrast to Drake’s polish on stage.

In the 2010s, Kendrick Lamar only released 4 albums, but almost every album had something to dazzle critics. All are on the list of the 500 greatest albums of all time voted by Rolling Stone magazine. In particular, “To Pimp a Butterfly” (2015) and “Damn” (2017) both won Grammys in the category “Best Rap Album” and received nominations for “Album of the Year”. To this day, many opinions still regret that Kendrick Lamar lost the most prestigious award even though his album was so excellent.
The strength of rapper born in 1987, Kendrick Lamar, is his deep, meaningful rap lyrics. That’s why he was honored to become the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize – one of the most prestigious arts awards in the US – for music. In both top albums, Kendrick Lamar boldly used his pen to delve deeply into painful issues in America, such as racism or police brutality.
Not only highly appreciated by critics, the California rapper is also commercially successful, with 70 songs charting on the Billboard Hot 100, 2 hits at number one and 12 songs in the Top 10.

Nicki Minaj – “pink doll” stirs up the rap industry

Before Nicki Minaj appeared, the US-UK village had a series of popular female rappers such as Missy Elliott, Lil Kim, Nikki D,… But when Nicki Minaj appeared, people only mentioned her name. Right from her debut studio album “Pink Friday” (2010), the female rapper born in 1982 quickly won big commercially, with the hit “Super Bass” alone selling millions of copies worldwide. After that, she continued to set new heights with her second studio album “The Pinkprint” (2014) and the hit “Anaconda”.

When mentioning Nicki Minaj, audiences easily immediately think of the image of an artist with a unique, unmixed style. She scored points thanks to her strong voice, ability to rap, and create a flow as fast as the wind, sometimes fiercely like being “in a trance”. In terms of image, the female rapper also impresses with her seductive “pink doll” image, energetic performances on stage, using her hot curves as a weapon to dominate listeners.

Above all, Nicki Minaj is very clever in knowing how to combine rap into trendy pop songs, produced by famous cool names like RedOne, will.i.am, Swizz Beatz,… The perfect blend of Talent and personal style have helped Nicki Minaj go beyond the rapper, thereby rising to become a pop icon.

Throughout her career, Nicki Minaj has had 130 songs on the Billboard charts, of which 3 were number one and 22 were in the Top 10. A series of hits stirred up the charts, epic tours, and position as an American Idol judge. The title “Queen of Rap” is proof of the female rapper’s influence on the music industry. Up to now, the female rapper is still working hard, even though her juniors like Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion,… are trying to usurp the throne.

J. Cole – overcoming failure to succeed

In terms of hit songs, J. Cole is almost at a disadvantage compared to the three names mentioned above. In his career, he only had 69 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, 11 songs were in the Top 10 but no song was at number 1. However, the rapper born in 1985 still had commercial success, with 5 songs. Albums released in the 2010s all topped the Billboard 200, from the debut product “Cole World: The Sideline Story” (2011) to “KOD” (2018). Most recently, J. Cole’s 6th album “The Off-Season” (2021) also repeated the same achievement, making Billboard unable to help but rank him among the “four pillars” of the rap industry.

Commenting on himself, J. Cole once said that his music was like a smoothie mixing the styles of Eminem and Nas – two of the artists that strongly influenced his career. So when listening to J. Cole rap, it’s easy to recognize images of his predecessors somewhere. However, the rapper still knows how to create a personal impression with unique creations, helping him rise to become one of the important names of the “new school” hip hop era.

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J. Cole’s career story went down in history when he was the one rejected by Jay-Z. But with talent and effort, he became the first artist to be signed to Jay-Z’s exclusive company – Roc Nation – in 2009.

Like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole also knows how to utilize personal experiences as material to write rap. Both are pioneers in creating rap songs that carry inspirational messages, but at the same time bring to the audience authentic images, frankly reflecting the reality of life in America through music.