From shunned to celebrated: Hip-hop’s journey into the mainstream

By Megan Sayles& AFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com In 2017, a Nielsen report confirmed that hip-hop had become the most popular genre of music in the U.S., unseating rock for the first time. Today, it’s still reigning supreme across the world, with Spotify announcing that, globally, a quarter of all streams in 2023 were hip-hop music. The genre garnered more than 400 million listeners this year.& Its abundance of admirers has translated into an $8 billion-business as estimated by Forbes. & Many believe hip-hop’s success has been due to the fact that it’s not just a genre but a culture that’s pervaded all aspects of society.& Keith Harrison is the founding director of University of Central Florida’s Business of Hip-Hop Innovation and Creative Industries Certificate. Credit: Photo courtesy of University of Central Florida “It’s outflanked rock and roll and all the other musical genres for the last six or seven years. Within that, hip-hop extends to everything,” said C. Keith Harrison, founding director of University of Central Florida’s Business of Hip-Hop Innovation and Creative Industries Certificate. “It’s become the cultural air we breathe from fashion, to sports, to higher education curriculum.” Hip-hop was born in the South Bronx in New York City...