New School Hip Hop
Also known as new school rap
A contemporary catch-all label for modern, internet-era rap rather than a strictly defined historical subgenre.
Origins and context
The label grows out of hip-hop’s U.S. origins and is used later to distinguish newer, more digitally produced rap from earlier styles.
How to listen
Start here
- Kanye West - Stronger
- Drake - One Dance
- Nicki Minaj - Starships
History
Hip-hop itself is widely documented as emerging in the Bronx in the early 1970s, with DJs such as Kool Herc helping set the template for the culture at a block party in 1973. From there, the music evolved through the late 1970s and 1980s into a broad commercial genre built on rapping, sampling, scratching, and drum-machine production. “New School Hip Hop” is best understood as a later descriptive tag for rap made in that digital era, especially the 2000s and beyond, when artists like Kanye West, Drake, and Nicki Minaj helped normalize pop-crossing, melody-forward rap on a global scale.
Notable artists
- KWKanye West
- DDrake
- NMNicki Minaj
Essential listening
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Explore connected genres
Sources and further reading
- How Hip-Hop Was Born 50 Years Ago at a Block Party in the Bronx
- Hip Hop/Rap
- Apple Music
Apple Music and Spotify artist pages for Kanye West, Drake, and Nicki Minaj describe their genre-blending, modern rap profiles.
- Apple Music
The term 'new school hip-hop' appears on artist and playlist pages as a descriptive label rather than a tightly standardized category.
- Early Hip-Hop at the Library of Congress