It is true that rap IN PARTICULAR, as was said, has experienced a huge, sharp decline in sales that is simply not consistent with a general decline. It's quite a well-known issue so there's no use in trying to get around it. There was a time that new rappers were popping out right, left and centre, and without even being particularly good could have a massive hit and a sellout album, just as that is still possible for the latest new pop diva etc. Rap fans, on the other hand, have grown a lot more skeptical in recent times, finding themselves increasingly disappointed with the industry's output and, courtesy of the last 7 or so years, the cliche-ridden themes that have permeated the mainstream. Consider the Billboard top 100 at the present moment. In the top 10 there is not a single rap song, even Lil Wayne's Lollipop is not rap. Pick up the charts back in the late 90s though, and it was quite a different story (this is one of the examples used on a TV news item on the subject). Album sales reveal a similar trend.
The dominant format today is all this urban pop stuff. And then, pop more generally.
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