Hip-Hop/R&B Dethrones Rock as America's Most Dominant Genre

Hip-hop reigns supreme.

For the first time in the history of Nielsen Music’s measurement of consumer activities, the combined genre of hip-hop and R&B has dethroned rock as the top genre in the United States, according to Forbes.

Nielsen reports that 25.1 percent of all music consumed in the U.S. comes from hip-hop and R&B artists. Meanwhile, rock claims 23 percent. Much of this comes from streaming, as rock continues to boast 40 percent of all album sales in the country. Hip-hop and R&B claim 29 percent of all on-demand streams across the nation.

This trend is likely to continue as album sales dwindle and streaming explodes. Plus, according to the data, hip-hop and R&B are almost as popular as rock and pop combined on streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Along with this information, Nielsen Music also revealed that Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. is the biggest album of the first half of 2017. The project was recently certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

DAMN. is followed by Ed Sheeran’s ÷, Drake’s More Life, Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, and Migos’ Culture.