YouTube is showing up and we’re rolling FIFTY DEEP!
Aug 07, 2023 – minute read
Aug 07, 2023 – minute read
🎶 Once upon a time not long ago
When people rushed home to catch the #1 video
I was watching legends in the making on VHS tape
As a teen in Zimbabwe, that was my escape
Shoutout to Uncle Ralph for pioneering that flow
From Ice-T to Ice Spice, Hip Hop continues to blow
Bottomless Culture, Fifty Deep is unbounded
Institutional Memory, the institution is founded! 🎶
If you’re like me, you watched your favorite music videos on Yo! MTV Raps or BET’s Rap City over and over again. Fast forward to today and YouTube allows us to watch almost any video at any time in almost any place. This year marks a whole half a century of Hip Hop’s existence. YouTube’s only been around about a third of that time but no matter what era of Hip Hop you’re looking for, one thing’s for sure – it lives on YouTube.
Because Hip Hop has been poppin’ on YouTube dating back to when Soulja Boy’s "Crank That" video went viral in 2007. Since then, we’ve had trailblazers like Cardi B, Latto, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, SZA and many more ruling our charts. Just last year, nine of the top ten artists in the U.S. were Hip Hop artists and collectively earned over 16 billion views globally.
In fact, the genius of Hip Hop has traveled way beyond the borders of the United States. The whole world is in on it. Global phenom and Argentinian producer Bizarrap has become a fixture of YouTube’s global charts with his BZRP music sessions along with rappers like Dave out of the UK and VannDa from Cambodia. I also want to give respect to the late Sidhu Moose Wala of India for his unique sound. We see Hip Hop artists from places like Turkey, Germany, France, Korea, Canada, Brazil, and so many more around the world sharing their take on the music and climbing the charts everywhere. I also can’t talk about the world and not mention Africa; shout out to Cassper Nyovest and Nasty C in South Africa. Home Team!
I’m proud that YouTube continues to be the institutional memory of Hip Hop. For me, YouTube is a place I can find nearly every version of every song, plus interviews, plus podcasts, plus commentary, plus live performances, et cetera, et cetera. Basically, if it happened and it was recorded, YouTube is where people come to find it. We’re so thankful for that support and stay tuned for more to come…Love!