When artists like Eedris Abdulkareem were making mainstream rap music, many of you dismissed them as “wack” simply because their sound didn’t fit the version of Hip Hop you considered authentic.
Here is the uncomfortable question: how many of the records made by the “real” rappers you constantly praise are actually being listened to by the same audience you claim should determine what good Hip Hop is?
Modenine released albums,l and many of you who constantly complain about the state of Nigerian Hip Hop don’t even press play.
Terry Tha Rapman releases a single and video, and the engagement is barely there.
Ladipoe drops a new project and after a week, many of you have already moved on to the next conversation.
This is not an argument for abandoning lyrical Hip Hop or lowering artistic standards. It is an argument for understanding the difference between artistic credibility and market relevance.
Hip Hop critics sometimes speak as though their approval represents the entire listening public. It doesn’t.
The consumer ultimately decides what gets replayed, streamed, shared, performed, monetised and remembered. Critics can influence conversations, but they cannot manufacture demand.
And this is where I think we need to be more honest with upcoming rappers.
If an artist wants to build a sustainable career, telling them to simply “stay real” while ignoring audience behaviour, marketing, distribution, branding, sonic evolution and changing consumption patterns is an incomplete advice.
You can preserve your artistic identity and still understand the market.
You can be lyrical and still make records people want to hear.
You can respect the foundations of Hip Hop without being trapped in the sound, structure or business model of another era.
The danger is when we convince young rappers that commercial appeal automatically means they have compromised their authenticity, while simultaneously failing to show them how the music business actually works.
They may spend years making technically impressive music that nobody discovers, while believing the problem is simply that “the industry doesn’t appreciate real Hip Hop.”
Eventually, reality catches up.
Because talent without audience development is difficult to sustain.
Bars without distribution can remain unheard.
Great music without marketing can disappear.
And authenticity without adaptability can become a box.
The responsibility of Hip Hop critics shouldn’t only be to tell artists what is “real.” It should also be to help them understand how to make their art connect with the people who are supposed to consume it.
If we genuinely want Nigerian Hip Hop to grow, we need fewer ideological arguments about who is “real” and more honest conversations about music, consumers, culture, business, trends and sustainability.
Let artists experiment. Let them evolve. Let the audience decide.
And most importantly, stop giving upcoming rappers advice that sounds good in Hip Hop debates but may not necessarily work in the real music market.
Seyi Vibez got more pull in Nigeria than Burna Boy. If both of them should drop a song on the same day I can bet my money that Seyi Vibez will pull more first day streams on Spotify in Nigeria than Burna Boy.
Make una no whine Loseyi o!
🚨| Most-streamed African Artists on Spotify in 2026 so far:
#1. Tems — 1.696B
#2. Wizkid — 1.674B
#3. Burna Boy — 1.643B
#4. Asake — 1.335B
#5. Tyla — 1.138B
Burna Boy about to overtake Wizkid and move into #2.
How long do you think it will take?