As of 2018, Hip-Hop has become the most popular genre in the U.S., thanks to social media. To see this journey, we must go back to the “first” viral Hip-Hop song, “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” by Soulja Boy Tell’em.

This debut single was originally uploaded to YouTube in 2007 and gained a lot of traction, eventually peaking at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. The success of “Crank That” would open the door for other artists to utilize the internet and social media to gain fans and exposure with their music. One artist who would utilize this is Wiz Khalifa. Although having a good following and getting radio time, in 2009, Wiz Khalifa was still a relatively new rapper in the mainstream. Utilizing Twitter, he would interact with fans and collaborate by having producers send him beats. Some of them even made it onto one of his most iconic mixtapes “Kush and Orange Juice”.

Since then, many artists have used social media to collaborate with other artists, communicate with fans, and release new music, so much so that it is almost the norm. One platform that had a big hand in making that switch is SoundCloud. Founded in 2007, it is a platform that allows any artist to independently release their own music without the need for a label. The site is set up in such a way that artists with large followings, and artists with small followings, have the same exposure to those users who have not heard of them. This fair chance makes it so anyone can have a song “blow up” and suddenly their lives are changed forever. One example of an artist who was able to go from unknown, to doing shows internationally, Post Malone.

Post Malone uploaded the song “White Iverson” to SoundCloud in February of 2015, and went to bed. He awoke the next morning a sensation, being mentioned on Twitter by names such as Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller. From this, was able he to secure a record deal and both of his albums released are multi-platinum.

With so many different social media platforms, music can reach people from all over the U.S. and even the world. It has made it so any artist can reach listeners from all over, whether they are a rapper from Philadelphia with an Atlanta sound, or a 16 year old from South Florida. The easily accessible music and the ability to self-promote themselves through social media has launched artists to new heights, and made Hip-Hop the top genre in the U.S.