Really? Maybe it's because I heard Blue Magic seemingly on repeat for a month straight.

I agree with you there. And let's not forget he doesnt write anything down. It all comes from the head.

Uh, isn't Rap number 1 in industry sales? :laughing: Yah, it's impressive he's managed to stay on top for so long, but all that tells you is he's the best of the crap he has for competition.

Mainstream rap's been on a steady decline sales wise. It's more people like Kanye West doing so well as individual's as opposed to the genre itself doing well.

The industry's been in decline. Rap's still number 1, whatever way you look at it.

rap sells decline - Google Search

You'll find tons of articles on it there, rap in particular has been having troubles selling.

More focus is being put on mp3's and ringtones. And in that respect rap is dominating.

Illegal downloading and piracy is also higher then ever, and you could argue that a large amount of the people who listen to rap are younger and would be the ones to use limewire etc.

Regardless, it's still the dominant music form in America and it's ridiculous to say that it doesn't sell.

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.

Yes, regardless of its popularity and sales goig down as Proggy said it is absurd to believe it is not one of the top (if not the top) form of music in this country.