Knowles and Wayne

Grant Mellerson, Reporter

Hip-hop in the 2000s had a multitude of variations. This genre was inspired by disco rap, disco rap focused primarily on drum beats that were accompanied by rhyme speech. Hip-Hop is the genre that consists of rhythmic rap, RnB., and rhyming words with multiple lines of the song. Most hip-hop songs consist of an upbeat tempo. From storytelling to talking about life goals, artists of the 2000s were ones to remember. The music that got produced in that decade were hits that still get played to this day. But focusing notice to two specific artists that shaped the decade in their distinctive ways. These two artists have paved the way for some of hip hop’s top stars of today.

The first artist was Beyoncé Knowles, still relevant today especially with her renaissance tour this year. But focusing on the 2000s era, she’s known for her hits “Single Ladies”, “Halo”, “Dangerously in Love”, and so many more. Beyoncé showed the music industry just how important touring is and just what it can do for your career. She has accumulated over 767.3 million dollars across her 375 total shows. “Beyoncé was lauded by music journalists for her simultaneous dancing and singing abilities” She currently has won more Grammys than any other female artist, winning her 32nd this past Grammy awards.

The second artist is Lil Wayne. From 2004 to 2010, he released six albums, seven mixtapes, and twenty-five singles and has featured on over 80 songs. He dominated the sales, especially with the release of his album “Tha Carter III” which sold over a million copies in its first week. He also helped current music stars Nicki Minaj and Drake get their careers started. He signed them to his imprint Young Money. Both Manaj and Drake have sold over 17,237,000 record sales. Even today they still remember where they came from. Nicki Manaj referenced Young Money in her hit feature “Rake it Up” by artist Yo Gotti. This shows that she still respects and recognizes her original label. All five of Wayne’s “Tha Carter” albums have reached platinum status. The first one was released in 2005 and the fifth one  released in 2018. Lil Wayne had fans excited for the release of the next one. Even now, some fans are hopeful for the sixth album in the series. The hype that surrounds it is unimaginable.

Beyonce and Lil Wayne are iconic stars from the early 2000s and have gained respect from those around them. The world recognizes their talent by the number of sales they received, how long they have been relevant, and how many sales they have made. The music industry would be very different if these two never had the thrilling careers they had. Some of today’s stars may not have found their inspiration if it wasn’t for these two. At the end of the day though, music in the 2000s was a time for the ages, there was nothing like it, and the nostalgia that they bring back when people today hear those songs is like no other.