Have you ever felt like rap music hasn’t been hitting the same? Last year, people were having serious existential questions about hip-hop and its mortality, all because it struggled on the Billboard charts. After a banner year from Kendrick Lamar in 2024, mainstream hip-hop took something of a hit. Dig past into the underground, and you’ll find a wealth of gems. But most people, unfortunately, won’t look that deep. Consequently, you get lots of people parroting that modern hip-hop just doesn’t hit the same. If you agree, you’re in the same department as Kendall Jenner.
During a Friday, January 9th episode of the In Your Dreams With Owen Thiele podcast, she talked about her music taste nowadays. Naturally, that brought the conversation to her affinity for hip-hop and how it’s waned over the years. Nowadays, she feels like it’s not operating at the peak of its powers the way it used to. Moreover, Kendall Jenner argues that it’s extremely monotonous. “Rap right now is like not doing it for me. I love rap. I do, I love the genre, and when it’s great, it’s great. But everything is sounding really repetitive to me,” Jenner admitted.
Still, rather than completely tear hip-hop down, she did pick a few notable names that excite her.
Kendall Jenner Shares Who She Thinks Are the Best Hip-Hop Artists Working Today
Of course, Kendrick Lamar immediately entered the conversation. She described GNX as “great” and said Tyler, the Creator’s Don’t Tap That Glass really excited her this year. Ultimately, it’s a matter of freshness and newness. Who is operating on the cutting edge today? Within mainstream contexts, those are probably the best choices. “I love Kendrick and people who are…Tyler’s album, I think, is amazing,” Kendall Jenner continued. “I think there’s people that are really pushing boundaries. […] There’s a lot of intention.”
Tyler, the Creator’s inclusion is incredibly unsurprising. The pair’s friendship has been well documented, with pictures swirling of them hanging out at different functions. When Tyler, the Creator sat down with GQ in a segment where celebrities ask them questions, Kendall Jenner was part of the selection. There, she gushed over her friendship with the Los Angeles rapper/producer, while he calls her “the bro.”
“You’re the most fun person to be around and genuinely one of my favorite people. I just want to know, when you go home at the end of the day and sit with yourself, how does it feel? What do you think about?” Kendall Jenner earnestly asked. Given his sense of humor, Tyler laughed it off and wondered how she wanted him to answer it.
The post Kendall Jenner Says She Isn’t Feeling Today’s Hip-Hop, Praises Kendrick Lamar and Pal Tyler, the Creator appeared first on VICE.
