A Guide to the Rap Social Media Universe
From 40-year-old Eminem stans on Facebook to teenage Lil Nas X fans on TikTok, rap communities are splintering to different social platforms. Here's a guide.
Image via Elijah Justice/Complex Original
In late April, a Twitter user named @gothamcityrap posted a TikTok video where he danced to Benny the Butcher’s verse on Westside Gunn’s “Gods Don’t Bleed.” It was clearly a stunt for attention, but it also showed how ridiculous it is to see a cheerful TikTok dance set to intricate drug raps. The whole thing was about as odd as seeing Playboi Carti debuting his next video on Facebook and expecting not to get assailed by boomers.
There was a time when every artist fought for attention on MySpace (and then on Facebook and Twitter) but there’s now a wide variety of social media platforms boasting communities with disparate rap tastes. As the Griselda TikTok video demonstrated, crossing those suggested lines can be startling in hilarious, if not cringey ways.
Social media mirrors the divided population that occupies it. We’re all a part of society, sure, but we each engage with communities that share our interests and worldview. Similarly, we prefer social media platforms where our own communities are most present.
Twitter’s text-centering format and abundance of media professionals makes it the best space to get into a debate about who the best Queens lyricist is, or to learn from a meaningful thread about an obscure artist. TikTok’s quick hitting video-centric style makes it perfect for dances and challenges. Punchlines and other one-liners find their place on Instagram photo captions, while a full video explicating an entire verse may do best on Facebook’s traditionalist-populated platform.
The internet has its corners for everyone, and we put together a guide to highlight some of the most notable communities. This isn’t a completely uniform roundup, because some platforms are actual DSPs whereas others offer mixed media experiences, but the guide shows how different communities, and different rap subgenres, have their ideal digital spaces.
Primary demographic: About 15-35
Quintessential artists: Kanye West, Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug, Griselda
Least liked artists: 6ix9ine, Logic
Rap’s best platform for: Getting off hot takes, discussing who got who on a record, and live-tweeting new albums
Something you could do or say to immediately be dragged and reported: Make a moralizing tweet about how all “females” rap about is sex
Twitter is the home base of online rap discussion. Perhaps it’s the sheer size of “Rap Twitter,” which is full of rap media, rap stan accounts, and artists conversing about music. The text-predicated format makes it a prime venue for discussion, but the limited character count encourages the spiciest take possible—nuance be damned. Depending on how much you like to debate, Twitter is either engaging or exhausting day to day.
To Rap Twitter’s credit, there’s always something to debate because many of its members are well-versed in rap history (and ready to clash with those who aren’t). It’s the home for tweet threads about unheralded artists, as well as concise celebration of rap history via an “(insert artist) understood the assignment” tweet.
It’s also the best venue for real-time commentary. Whether it’s a midnight music release, collective ire for the Grammys, or programs like TV One’s harrowing tell-all with DMX, there are always people spilling their first impressions on the timeline. Some of the best times on Twitter are when everybody is getting off jokes about a diss track or breaking story. But on the flipside, that echo chamber can mean misinformation spreads fast on the platform, such as this year’s Tory Lanez – Megan Thee Stallion court case gaffe.
Twitter is one of the most progressive social platforms, which means artists who make stupid comments or are accused of abuse are most susceptible to facing backlash. Artists from marginalized communities tend to receive more love than they do on almost any other online platform. That’s not to say that they’re universally supported, though, as the incessant debates about women in rap indicates.
Another downside of the discourse is that sometimes the conversations aren’t productive, with bad faith arguments and stan culture which can devolve a well-meaning conversation into the trump card of a “YoungBoy is better” reply.
Twitter favorites include Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug, Lil Nas X, and other bold artists as well as respected lyricists like the Griselda crew, Roc Marciano, Freddie Gibbs, and more.
Primary demographic: About 35-60
Quintessential artists: Eminem, Logic, most ’90s-’00s-era rappers
Least liked artists: Any “lil” or “young” rapper
Rap’s best platform for: Complaining about how “mumble rap” is destroying hip-hop and there’s “no good music” with other people who aren’t on the pulse of new artists
Something you could do or say to immediately be dragged and reported: Post a Lil Nas X video
Facebook is the platform that we all learned back in the day, and some people decided to actually stick with it. It’s as if it’s isolated from the rest of the internet, as evidenced by the “meanwhile, on Facebook” memes. It has the highest amount of users from older generations, which means traditionalist rappers are celebrated the most, and lyricism is prioritized above all.
That also means that young artists who stray from traditional rap in any way are often demonized. In the case of Lil Nas X’s “Montero” video, that demonization can be literal. You can read comments under “Montero” posts and see the hysteria and fear from the conservatives who reside on Facebook. But curiously, you can also search Eminem and note just how many people are in the “I don’t like rap, but I like Eminem” category.
That’s not to say that these tastes are the whole of Facebook. The mammoth platform has thousands of pages, groups, and insular communities who celebrate a wide variety of rap. But your 45-year-old relative who thinks that Lil Uzi Vert isn’t “real hip-hop” probably isn’t in many of them.
Primary demographic: About 15-35
Quintessential artists: Drake, Meek Mill, Cardi B, Saweetie
Least liked artists: Experimental boom-bap
Rap’s best platform for: Posting your latest listen in your story, interacting with your favorite artist on livestream (and ogling their lifestyle)
Something you could do or say to immediately be dragged and reported: Make a fake graphic “reporting” a big story
Everybody’s on Instagram, more so than any other platform. That means that there aren’t any particular subgenres that get more love than others, but there are certain experiences that Instagram offers best.
IG started as the platform to showcase photos, which has made it the best place to see high-quality flicks. But the smartest artists utilize its video features. There’s Rick Ross’ morning motivation clips, artists like Lil Uzi Vert and Cardi B offering random glimpses of their inimitable lifestyles, and Saweetie’s latest stomach-bubbling concoction. These short clips serve to connect with the music persona while feeling like they’re getting a glimpse of the real them—which is what fandom is made of these days.
While Twitter limits users to short statements, IG users can post a photo and express to their heart’s content in the caption, a tactic we’ve seen used in disparate manners by artists.
There’s been some annoyance with Instagram’s constant rollout of new features, but the classic ones have become integral to the social media landscape. IG Stories allow both artists and fans to share snippets of what they’re listening to. Stories can even emulate tweets, which is ripe for artists to post news about new music, as well as veiled shots at competitors and random threats to retire. Instagram Live was revolutionary when it first dropped. Facebook and Twitter both allow users to livestream now, but entertainers pretty much exclusively stream on IG, allowing their users to feel like they’re “with” them, whether they’re in the studio or just chillin’ at home.
The ‘Gram also helps connect fans and artists in unique ways, mainly through the explore page. If the IG algorithm senses that you enjoy watching freestyle videos, or rap accounts showcasing new artists, it’ll recommend new pages which give you the chance to discover even more artists. If you follow rap history or jewelry accounts, you’ll be exposed to even more via the explore page. It can also link users with visibility opportunities, and of course, producers and photographers ready to work for an affordable price. Instagram comments are also one of the best places to quickly see quick consensus on a story, whether it’s a “hot or not” post or reactions to a breaking news story.
You can scroll through your timeline or explore page and be exposed to photos and videos from all corners of the world—tailored to your taste. It’s an ideal vehicle for artist discovery, and to figure out which artists deleted their posts and are about to drop new music.
TikTok
Primary demographic: 7-20
Quintessential artists: Lil Nas X, Drake, 24KGoldn
Least liked artists: Anyone whose music doesn’t lend itself to a dance or skit
Rap’s best venue for: Dance challenges
Something you could do or say to immediately be dragged and reported: Post yourself dancing to Benny the Butcher rhyming about the drug game
TikTok is for the kids. The 5-year-old platform has replaced Vine as the go-to space for funny skits and dance videos, making it a valuable buzz-boosting vehicle for certain songs.
The platform has helped spread awareness of hundreds of songs like K Camp’s “Lottery” and “Old Town Road” through skits and challenges. The right hook or actionable line could help a song go viral and expose it to people unfamiliar with the artist.
The TikTok come-up has become so prevalent that there are now artists specifically catering music to go viral on the platform, most notably Drake’s “Toosie Slide” and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Body.” Many people who expressed displeasure with both songs were met with, “it was made for TikTok.”
That discovery is possible because scrolling through the app and explore page puts you on game about the newest music, trends, and dances. If you don’t know what’s trending, scroll through TikTok for a good while and you’ll learn what’s up. TikTok dances have become a genre all their own, though the app has had controversial moments with the biggest accounts stealing dances and trends from Black creators.
TikTok, more than any other social media platform, has managed to affect the creative process. Artists looking to go platinum know it’s a good idea to make a dance song or lace their single with lines designed to be acted out on the app. The challenge is the new street team, which allows TikTokers to add digital addendums to their favorite music in creative ways, creating a one-of-a-kind interactive dynamic with artists.
SoundCloud
Primary demographic: 17-26
Quintessential artists: Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti
Least liked artists: Traditionalist lyricists
Rap’s best platform for: Finding a young, genre-bending artist and interacting with the DIY community
Something you could do or say to immediately be dragged and reported: Post a song or album from a major label artist (the DMCA is watching)
SoundCloud was once a red-hot platform that ignited polarizing supernovas like XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, Lil Peep, and 6ix9ine into stardom, until it tragically dissolved as quickly as it came. Artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, Lil Pump, Rico Nasty, and so many more are still around, but it feels like the time of every A&R searching for a “SoundCloud rapper” to sign has passed.
Perhaps that’s for the best, though. Some communities are better left untampered with by the majors, who so often have ideas about palatability that dilute an artist’s essence. That’s especially the case for the young rebels in the insular SoundCloud scene, who cultivated punk-trap and emo-trap fusions that are better left untamed. There are artists of all kinds who upload their music to SoundCloud, but the artists who operate primarily on the platform have cultivated one of the rap world’s most experimental communities, releasing free projects for their peers and listeners to share and comment on.
While the SoundCloud community isn’t the ideal venue for dialogue, it allows listeners to leave time-stamped comments to note the exact moments that songs moved them. They can also re-share them to their own pages and playlists, giving the platform a curatory element.
Bandcamp
Primary demographic: 20-40
Quintessential artists: Elucid, billy woods, R.A.P. Ferreira
Least liked artists: Major label acts
Rap’s best venue for: Directly paying an up-and-coming, left-of-center artist for their work
Something you could do or say to immediately be dragged and reported: Be a rapper with millions of fans trying to poach Bandcamp Friday
Bandcamp is one of the most “if you know, you know” music spaces on the net. Some people are only vaguely familiar with the indie-appeasing platform, but for some rap consumers, it’s the main space they consume music. The latter dynamic bodes well for the indie artists on the platform. So many of Bandcamp’s most successful artists are uncompromising, left-of-center artists who demand fair compensation for their work—which means they don’t care for the music industry. Bandcamp’s model allows them to receive a more equitable share of proceeds from their work and exist in a space where fellow artists and fans respect their DIY ethos. They can also connect with fans who feel the same way as them and leave reviews about their music.
The 10-year-old platform has made that easier over the past year with Bandcamp Fridays, an initiative through which the service waives its cut of music sales for one Friday a month, giving artists 100 percent of sales). Bandcamp Fridays have also spurred donations to organizations supporting marginalized people all over the country, which was especially useful during last summer’s uprising.