Song of the Summer
The birds have returned from their trips down south. The sun has decided to awake from its slumber and is gracing us with its rays. Dare I say it? Summer is about to begin, bringing with it its once-in-a-lifetime parties and unforgettable memories. And nothing crowns an amazing summer like that song. You know it, don't you? The one at every celebration, with that quotable line and that infectious beat that gets trapped in your head. There is no love like the love for the song of the summer. According to Billboard's Summer Songs 1958-2018: The Top 10 Tunes of Each Summer, Hip-Hop has seen a steady increase since its arrival to these types of lists with "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & Will Smith in 1991. In 2018, Drake took over the summer with both "Nice For What" and "In My Feelings", leading an all-time great summer for the community with eight total tracks. But with 2019's summer season about to begin, will we see a total takeover by the culture, be a victim of stagnation or dwindle due to overconsumption?
Summer 2018 was big for Hip-Hop with many aspects of the community being represented at the top of playlists around the world. Drake and Post Malone ('Better Now" & "Psycho" feat. Ty Dolla $ign) were commercial successes. On the underground and soundcloud subgenre saw Juice WRLD's "Lucid Dream" break through to the mainstream and outlast many of its contemporaries. Cardi B had one of the most powerful guest verses of her career with Maroon 5's "Girls Like You", becoming the standout point of the song. Finally, internationally, Cardi B's "I Like It" with Bad Bunny and J. Balvin gave the reggaeton and Latin Hip-Hop scene such a positive promotion and fire that it made the entire world of Hip-Hop look great. But with all of that at the top of the streaming services, it's important to wonder when this hot streak will end as all things eventually do.
On the side of positivity - at least for me as a fan of the culture and of the genre - the growth of Hip-Hop in the mainstream is nothing but good. The entire genre started at parties and the BBQ's of the inner city. There's an irony in the fact that it all started at an end of the summer party in New York. There is something that feels unreal about it being at the top of the world in the way that it is. To see stagnation in the number of summer hits is what seems like a plausible situation. Hip-Hop can't really grow anymore than it already has without suffocating other genres (ex: country with Lil Nas X's "Old Country Road") on a consistent basis. As well, to expect more of something that is already so popular would be greedy right? Shouldn't we give a little space for something else to grow out of the summer and see the same shine and sun that the community has been getting since last year?
There isn't a single cell in my body that truly believes that Hip-Hop will fall in popularity this year. However, what stands out is how the world has already arrived in the month of June but there isn't something that is definitely a song of the summer. DJ Khaled's Father of Asahad came and went, leaving us with an even more unclear idea of what this song of the summer should be. The person who determines whatever it is isn't Spotify or Billboard: it's you, the listener. Whatever you decided to listen to directly influences the billboards, now more than ever before with streaming platforms. So, make your choice, will Hip-Hop continue its reign or are you over it?